46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 83 



kaiserlichen Museums zu Wien, no. 4, p. 133, 1889; ibid., no. 6, p. 144, 

 1893. — CoQUiLLETT, Revision of the Tachinidae of America, p. 140, 1897. — 

 Aldrich, Catalogue of North American Diptera, p. 483, 1905. — Adams, in 

 Willistou's " Manual of families and genera of North American Diptera," 

 ed. 3, p. 377, 1908. 



Palpibraca Rondani, Ann. Nat. Napoli, 1845, p. 22 (Genotype, P. haeiiwrrJioa, 

 new species=MicropaZpws ruficornis Macquart) ; Dipterologiae Italicae 

 Prodromus, vol. 1, p. 63, 1856 ; ibid., vol. 3, p. 60, 1859. 



Spanipalpus Townsend, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 51, p. 110, 1908. (Geno- 

 t.vpe, Trkhophora misceUi Coquillett.) 



Deopalpus Townsend, Idem. (Genotype, D. hirsutus, new species.) 



Epicuphocera Townsend, Rev. Mus. Paulista, vol. 15, p. 240, 1926. (Genotype, 

 E. andina, new species.) 



The type species of all the above genera have been examined in the 

 United States National Museum. The genotype, Micropalpus rufi- 

 comis Macquart (of Europe), differs from most of our species in 

 possessing rudimentary palpi but slightly larger than in australis 

 and incongrua^ the only American species showing any development 

 of these organs. The occurrence of rudimentary palpi and the ab- 

 sence of ocellar bristles in the genotype are characters of doubtful 

 generic importance. Townsend has proposed the genus Deopalpus 

 for hirsuta, which has neither palpi nor ocellars, and Spanipalpus 

 for 7mscclli, which differs from the genotype, ruficornis, in possessing 

 ocellar bristles but no palpi. These characters are subject to some 

 variation within species of this group and are too slight to main- 

 tain the last mentioned genera or Epicuphocera, which has been 

 proposed on even less important distinctions. 



The generic characters of Cuphocera as considered herein are as 

 follows: Propleura and eyes bare; head at vibrissae as long as the 

 antennal axis; face somewhat bulging at middle, its ridges flat and 

 bare; parafacial broad, haired and bearing one or more stout bristles 

 on lower part; front broad and two pairs of verticals present in 

 both sexes; frontal bristles in two rows on widest part of para- 

 frontal in the male; ocellars absent in huccata, torosa, fucata, con- 

 tigua, andina, and usually in hirsuta, present in the other known 

 species; proclinate orbital bristles present in all females and the 

 male of incongrua; arista thickened on most of its length, penulti- 

 mate segment long, not geniculate; vibrissae situated considerably 

 above lower edge of head about on level with mouth; proboscis 

 approximating the height of head; palpi rudimentary or entirely 

 absent; cheek usually three-fourths the eye height. Thoracic 

 chaetotaxy varying somewhat with the species and furnishing sev- 

 eral good characters for separating the forms; three sternopleurals 

 invariably present and usually with three postsutural dorsocentrals ; 

 scutellum with two to four marginal bristles besides a smaller apical 

 pair. Abdomen generally broader and more robust in female, ovi- 



