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3. A New Genus and Species of Tanyderidae (Peringueyomyina 

 baruardi) in the South African Museum (Diptera). By CHARLES 

 P. ALEXANDER, Ph.D. (Cornell). 



(With 1 Text-figure.) 



The family Tanyderidae, including the most primitive of the living 

 crane-flies, has hitherto been represented only by two recent genera 

 with nine species. A new and most interesting genus has been 

 recently discovered in Cape Colony by Mr. Barnard, and is described 

 hereinafter as Peringueyomyina baruardi, gen. et sp. n. This is the 

 first species of the family to be made known from the Ethiopian 

 region. 



The distribution of the ten known species of this palaeogenic group 

 of insects may be summarised as follows : The first recent genus to be 

 made known was described in 1859 by Osteu Sackeii under the name 

 Protoplasa for the new species fitchii (1859). This fly is found in 

 eastern North America. In 1877 the second species, P. vipio (0. S.) 

 (1877), was described from California. In 1918 the third and last 

 described species of the genus, P. vanduzeei, Alex. (1918), likewise 

 from California, was made known. In 1865 Philippi erected the 

 second recent genus, Tanyderus, for the Chilian species, pictus, Philippi 

 (1865). Five species have since been added to this genus, one other 

 (patayonicus, Alex., 1913) being Neotropical, the others Australasian, 

 two from New Zealand (forcipatus, O. S., 1880, annuliferus, Hutton, 

 1900), and two others from the small islands west of New Guinea 

 (ornatissimus (Dol.) 1858, miraUlis, de Meij., 1915). In 1880 Osten 

 Sackeii gave to this group the subfamily name Tanyderina, and it is 

 this name that has been adopted for the family. Handlirsch (1909) 

 has reviewed our knowledge of the fossil and recent Tanyderidae, 

 erecting supposedly new genera for each of two of the known species 

 of Tanyderus (Radinoderus for ornatissimus (Dol.), Mischoderus for 

 forcipatus, O. S.) and another (Protanyderus) for Protoplasa vipio 

 (0. S.). Those generic names are based on very trivial characters 

 that have been further weakened by the subsequent discovery of 

 Tanyderus patayonicus, Alex., T. mirabilis, de Meij., and Protoplasa 

 vanduzeei, Alex., all of which, following the characters adopted by 

 Handlirsch, would constitute additional new groups in the family. 

 Thus almost every species would represent a distinct genus, and the 

 difficulty of distinguishing between hese groups would be increased 

 with the addition of forms subsequently to be made known. De 



