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UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 224 



Subfamily Dasypogoninae 



Five tribes of Dasypogoninae are regarded as being 

 essentially generalized. All lack the acanthophorites 

 and their accompanying spines. These tribes are the 

 Dioctrini, Phellini, Chrysopogonini, Damalini and the 

 Laphystini. Five other tribes have present the circlets 

 of stout spines on the acanthophorites of the ninth ter- 

 gite in the female sex. In this group we find the Dasy- 

 pogonini, with the Stenopogonini and the small groups 

 of Stichopogonini, Enigmomorphini, and Thereutrini. 



Some interesting zoogeographic relationships are to 

 be found. The Dioctrini occur sparingly in all world 

 regions, poorly in Asia, Australia, Ethiopia and South 

 America. The Chrysopogonini and Thereutrini are re- 



stricted to Australia. The Phellini are restricted to 

 Australia and Chile. The Damalini are most numerous 

 in southern Asia and the northern Neotropical region. 

 They are absent from Europe proper and are poorly 

 represented hi Australia, if at all, but are found in 

 Ethiopia. The Laphystini are world wide, but scarce 

 in southern South America and in Australia ; they are 

 best developed in the Holarctic region. The Stichopo- 

 gonini are almost world wide but seem to be very poorly 

 represented in the Neotropical region. The Dasypo- 

 gonini and the Stenopogonini are both world wide. 

 Endemic genera will be mentioned in the discussion of 

 the several tribes. 



Tribe Dioctrini 



Here are placed those Dasypogoninae, excepting 

 Phellus Walker, Damalis Fabricius, Laphystia Loew, 

 Chrysopogon Roeder and their allies, in which the fe- 

 male ninth tergite is generalized and lacks acanthopho- 

 rites and spines. The genera which fall here are few in 

 number, but they appear to be most generalized of all 

 present day Asilids which have a simple ovipositor. 

 Two species of fossil flies from the Miocene of Colorado 

 have been referred to Dioctria Meigen with a question, 

 by Cockerell (1909, 1917) . The marginal cell is widely 

 open and all of the posterior cells are widely open, ex- 

 cept in Pritchardia Stuardo and Aplestobroma Hull, 

 where the fourth posterior cell is closed and stalked. 

 Palpus always with 2 segments and sometimes with a 

 distinct trace of the antepenultimate segment. Because 

 of certain general similarities hi construction, it is pos- 



sible that B r achy rrlio pala Macquart and its allies such 

 as Austrosaropogon Hardy and even Erythropogon 

 White may have been derived from the ancient Dioc- 

 trini, and of course the same may be true of all higher 

 members of the subfamily. The construction of the 

 head in the Laphystini also shows a similarity in the 

 Dioctrini. The flies of this group are restricted to the 

 Holarctic region, except for the remarkable Australian 

 genus Nerterhaptomenus Hardy, which appears to be- 

 long in this tribe. Several sketches were included with 

 the original description. The types are reported to be 

 lost. Although I made a special search while in Bris- 

 bane at the proper season in 1953, I was not able to 

 collect new material of this genus. The outlying part 

 of this city is the type locality for this genus. 



KEY TO GENERA OF DIOCTRINI 



Anterior tibia with a spine at apex; female terrninalia 



without spines 2 



Anterior tibia without trace of spur or spines 3 



Apical spine of anterior tibia attached to a long, stout, 

 apical process. Anterior tibia and tarsus unusually long. 

 Male hind basitarsus not different from the female. Male 

 abdomen with 7 tergites; female with 8 tergites; acantho- 

 phorites and spines absent. Third antennal segment with 

 dorsal setae and short, stout, spine-tipped microsegment. 



MOLOBRATIA Hull 



Anterior tibia without apical process, the spine weak and 

 curved. Anterior tibia and tarsus not of unusual length. 

 Hind basitarsus in male as long or longer than tibia, 

 flattened, slender, attenuate. Female basitarsus swollen 

 and elongate. Face convex and rather densely long, fine 

 pilose, without stout mystax bristles. Male abdomen 

 composed of 7 segments; female of 5 segments, with the 

 remainder forming a tubular, flattened ovipositor. Third 



antennal segment long, slender and attenuate with a long 

 microsegment and thick, short style. 



Leptarthrus Stephens 



Metanotal callosity with stiff pile or bristles. 



Dicolonus Loew 



Metanotal callosity bare or micropubescent only .... 4 



Antenna unusually elongate, usually 2 times as long as the 

 head, and the third segment bearing 2 equally stout and 

 conspicuous microsegments 5 



Antenna 1 to V/i times as long as the head, or if of greater 

 length there is only a single microsegment present ... 7 



Second antennal segment quite short and beadlike and only 

 one-fourth to one-sixth as long as the first segment; micro- 

 segments of third antennal segment peculiarly constructed 

 and unusually prominent 6 



Second antennal segment very little shorter than the first; 

 microsegment of the third segment distinct but not prom- 

 inent. Lower half of face gibbous and bearing dense, 

 long, slender bristles; posterior femur with stout, tubercu- 

 late bristles ventrally Echthodopa Loew 



