222 



The Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. VIII, No. 2, 



therefore, that these more remote locaUties may be investigated 

 in the near future, and that the coUections made be studied with 

 a view to making our knowledge of North American Tabanidae 

 as complete as it appears desirable to make it. 



The generic characters in the Tabanidae are not abundant, 

 so the faraily cannot be divided up as many other families are. 

 For example, the genus Tabanus, as at present restricted, is very 

 large, containing not less than l,oO'J species from all parts of the 

 world. Even the large number of species indigenous to the Ne- 

 arctic region makes it difficult to recognize all of them, especially 

 if the descriptions are poor. There are a nuinber of names placed 

 under the genus that have never been used expect on type speci- 

 mens, but future collecting will make it possible, no doubt, to 

 more fully establish many of these. I have studied all the des- 

 criptions known to me, and now and then have found specimens 

 that do not appear to fit any of them. During several years of 

 collecting and study, therefore, a number of specimens have 

 been set aside as undescribed. Some of these are named at this 

 time in order that it be possible to refer to them definitely in the 

 future. 



Tabanus muscoideus n. sp. Length 9 millimeters. A species 

 nearly the size of our common Sarcophagids and on account of the 

 plainly striped thorax and black and white abdomen resembles 

 these flies very closely. 



Female. Front wide and clothed with gray dust but with a 

 black area at the vertex ; frontal callosity half as wide as the front, 

 gradually narrowed above and coming to a point half way to 

 vertex. Antenna black, short, first segment small, third wide 

 at base and rapialy narrowed toward the annulate portion which 

 is of nearly the same length as the basal portion. Palpi reddish 

 brown, less than half as long as the proboscis. Thorax black, with 

 very prominent gray stripes, legs black, front coxae very long, 

 nearly two-thirds the length of the femora ; wings hyaline, only the 

 anal cell closed. Abdomen black in ground color, first segment 

 with a small white spot behind the scutellum, second segment 

 with a middorsal gray stripe and narrow posterior gray margin, 

 other segments each with a posterior gray margin which is 

 slightly widened at each end and at the middle. The abdomen 

 is distinctly pointed posteriorly, a character which appears to 

 be characteristic of the species. 



Females taken at Panzos, Guatemala, March 18, 1905, from 

 the back of a mule which was staked out to pasture. 



This is a most peculiar species but, although it has a peculiar 

 appearance, there appear to be no characters which would war- 

 rant erecting a genus for it. 



Tabanus maculifrons n. sp. Length 8 millimeters. A dark 

 colored species with hyaline wings and a narrow gray posterior 



