408 ON THE GENUS CORDULEPHVA, 



i. The early sfar/es. — A glance at the figure of the nymph 

 of Cordulephya nionfaiKi (Plate xi., fig. 1) will shew us, at 

 once, its remarkable resemblance to the larvae of the Eucor- 

 dulina-group. In the shape of its head, the build of head 

 and thorax, the general form of the abdomen, the long, 

 spider-like legs, and the mottled colour-pattern, this nymph 

 and that of ('. 2','/[/'>'(c<' are exactly like those of HemicorduUa. 

 They most closely approach the nymph of H. australice, from 

 which they differ only in their slightly smaller size, their 

 remarkable labium, and the absence of small dorsal hooks 

 (the latter is purely a specific character, as it is absent in the 

 larvae of H. tcm and //. superba). The form of the gizzard, 

 too, is very close to Hemicordidia, especially in the relative 

 sizes and shapes of the teeth on the inner folds. 



We must now consider separately the remarkable labium 

 of Vordulejjhya, which is, at first sight, so different from that 

 of any known species. If we look at the oviter border of the 

 lateral lobe (Plate xi., figs. 2-3), we shall see that, although 

 the upper half is very deeply indented, yet the lower half 

 closely approximates to the form shewn in Hemicordidia and 

 allied genera. In fact, if the deep incisions of the upper 

 half were closed up by a wavy line, drawn so as to continue 

 the shallow crenations of the lower half, we should then have 

 a typical labium of the Eucordulina-gvoup, with full develop- 

 ment of lateral and mental setae, warts and dots on lateral 

 lobes, and sets of small spines on each shallow crenation. It 

 is interesting to note (Plate xi., fig. 4) that the deep upper 

 incisions are not made so as to fit closely into one another 

 (this would be impossible unless the irJiole outer surface were 

 also deeply incised), but that they lie, in the position of rest, 

 just with their rounded tips resting in the tops of the opposite 

 hollows. It is, I think, evident from fig. 4 that, as the 

 labium is now constituted, the persistence of the deep incisions 

 must be a disadvantage to the nymph, since the smaller 

 prey can slip through the openings left by them. I conclude, 

 therefore, that these deep incisions are an archaic character 



