44 Atinah of the South African Miiseum. 



which of course cannot be so, because Macquarl's species is a true 

 Bombylius and not a Systoeclius. 1 have also seen the present species 

 from Grahamstown (Cape). 



SYSTOECHUS CTENOPTERUS, Mikaue (1796). 



This Palsearctic species, which seems to be widely spi'ead over the 

 Ethiopian region, is closely allied to mixtus, but distinguished by the 

 smaller size, the eyes of the male, which are very much more approxi- 

 mated, and by the entirely yellow front legs of the female, the middle 

 femora being also less spinose beneath. A single female specimen 

 from Stellenbosch (Cape) (L. Pci-inguey). 



SYSTOECHUS SPINITHORAX, sp. nov., <$ . 



Nearly allied to the preceding species, but distinguished by the 

 silvery sheen of the hairs of the thorax and of the base of the 

 abdomen, and differing from any other on account of the strong 

 bristles on the fore border of the thorax. 



Type <$ , a single specimen from Klipfontein (Namaqualand) 

 (Ca.pe), November, 1885 (L. Peringuey). 



Length of the body 9*5 mm. ; spread of the wings 23 mm. Head 

 black, a little dark yellowish along the mouth borders ; occiput less 

 developed, clothed with soft and dense greyish hairs, which viewed 

 from the front are whitish, becoming quite white below like those of 

 the chin ; ocellar tubercle with black hairs ; frous very narrow, the 

 eyes almost touching, being separated by a very narrow streak not 

 broader than the width of the fore ocellus ; frontal triangle small ; 

 with less distinct middle furrow, with long and erect black hairs on 

 middle and with short and dense, depressed white hairs on the sides ; 

 f acies rather long and prominent, clothed with short and dense whitish 

 hairs, and longer and erect black ones, the moustache not extending to 

 the extreme end of the genae, the last portion of which is therefore 

 bare, as in scabrirostris ; peristome narrow. Eyes with the upper 

 areolets more distinctly enlarged than usually ; antennae entirely 

 black, with the first joint with long black hairs ; third joint a little 

 longer than the two first taken together, with the basal half broadened 

 and narrowly ovate and the apical half linear ; proboscis entirely 

 black, 7 mm. long, with the labium smooth below ; palpi short and 

 hidden. Thorax black, clothed on the dorsum with very short greyish 

 hairs, which, viewed from the front, show a silvery sheen; pleurae and 

 breast white haired ; notopleural line with darker hairs ; uotopleural 

 an postular bristles brownish ; metapleural tuft white, a little 



