A SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE FAMILIES OF 



THE DIPTERA. 



B}' D. W. COQUILLETT, 



Custodian, Section of Diptrra. 



The lirst attempt at classifying- the Diptera into higher groups than 

 genera Avas nuicle in the year 1802 by Latreille, who recognized and 

 named twelve families, but did not classify these into higher groups. 

 In 1805, however, in a later volume of the same work, he divided the 

 Diptera into two primary groups, to which he applied the terms Sec- 

 tion Premiere and Section Seconde. The latter is equivalent to the 

 modern families Hippoboscidfe and Nj-cteribidw. The first section be 

 subdivided into Division Premiere (equivalent to the Nemocera of the 

 present day) and Division Seconde. 



In 1800 Latreille applied the term Proboscidea to his Section Pre- 

 miere, and subdivided his Section Seconde into two groups, which he 

 named Eproboscidea and Phthiromyiaj, equivalent to the modern fam- 

 ilies Hippoboscidie and N3-cteribida% respectively. In these three 

 groups he arranged the sixteen families. 



In 1825 Latreille reverted to his original classification, containing- 

 only two primary groups, and subdivided the first into the four fol- 

 lowing groups: Nemocera, which is the same as at present recognized 

 under the same name; TauA'stoma and Notacantha, which together are 

 equivalent to the Orthorhapha Brachycera; and Athericera, equiva- 

 lent to the Cyclorhapha with the exclusion of the Hippoboscidas and 

 Nycteribidte. 



Macquart, in 183-1, recognized only two primary groups, the Nemo- 

 cera of Latreille, and the Brachycera, which included all of the other 

 Diptera. He employed the same classification in 1838. 



Westwood, in 1810, adopted Latreille's classification of 1825, together 

 with Macquart's name Brachycera, under which he placed the Nota- 

 cantha, Tanj'stoma, and Athericera of Latreille. 



Walker, in 1848, adopted the two primary divisions founded by 

 Latreille in 1805, which he designated suborders. 



Haliday, in 1851, also adopted these two divisions, and subdivided 

 the first into three groups, the Nemocera of Latreille; Brachvcera, 

 equivalent to the same group of Macquart with the exclusion of the 

 family Phoridas; and the Hypocera, which contained the Phoridaj. 



Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. XXIII— 1227 



653 



