DASYPOGONINAH 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



103 



The author was able to study Schiner's type, through 

 the courtesy of the Vienna Museum. Listed by 

 Kertesz as "Patria ignota" the specimen bears a label 

 reading "Brazil." I examined a male of this genus, 

 the species undescribed, from the Hermann collection, 

 which has the label "Africa orientale, Luitpoldkette." 

 This genus is very close to Helolaphyetis Hermann, also 

 from South America. 



Distribution : Neotropical : Apoxyria apicata Schiner 

 (1866). 



Saucropogon, new genus 



Figubes 33, 436, 878, 8S7 



Type of genus : Perasis transvaalensis Ricardo, 1925. 



Robust, black flies having very short, dense, excep- 

 tionally minute, setate pile, and spikelike bristles. 

 From Perasis Hermann they are distinguished by the 

 absence of bristles from the abdominal tergites, except 

 on the first tergite, the marginal cell closed in the 

 margin of the wing, and the second vein recurrent and 

 ending at a right angle. In Perasis the marginal cell 

 is widely open and the second vein not recurrent, and 

 also there are bristles on the first five tergites of the 

 abdomen. The proboscis is stout and swollen at the 

 base but attenuate and sharp at the apex, and is directed 

 forward and extended well beyond the apex, whereas 

 in Perasis the proboscis is small, but little swollen, 

 rather blunt at the apex, and is directed downward 

 and not extended beyond the face. In Saucropogon the 

 lateral propleuron has 1 or 2 long, stout, spikelike 

 bristles and the postalar callosity 2 spikelike bristles, 

 whereas in Perasis both of these areas have only stiff, 

 bristly hairs. In Saucropogon the margin of the 

 epistoma has a curved band of stout bristles and the 

 facial pile is appressed, bristly, and tectiform. In 

 Perasis the bristles are weak, the facial pile fine, and the 

 face less extensive below. In Saucropogon the anterior 

 branch of the third vein ends far above the wing apex 

 but in Perasis only barely above the apex. In both 

 genera the first posterior cell is closed with a short stalk. 

 Length 13 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect : The face is narrowly visible on 

 the upper half, gradually becoming a little more ex- 

 tensive below where it forms a low triangle. The eye is 

 widest, above, narrowest below, strongly convex an- 

 teriorly, and nearly plane through the posterior profile. 

 There is no anterior recession ventrally. The occiput 

 is narrow, about equally developed thoughout and nar- 

 rowly obliterated at the vertex ; its pile is very scanty, 

 being a little more abundant on the lower sixth. There 

 are bristles present throughout the entire length of the 

 occiput including the area behind the proboscis. These 

 bristles become rather stout as far down as the lower 

 sixth of the occiput. The proboscis is of moderate 

 length but strongly and gradually tapered from the 

 swollen base, and therefore rather slender and pointed 

 apically, where it bears some long, stiff, anteriorly 

 directed pile. Medial dorsal ridge inconspicuous; base 

 ventrally with some rather short, stiff hairs. Palpus 



clearly of two segments ; the first is more or less fused 

 and hemicylindrical and excavated ; the second is large, 

 swollen, not porate, and bears unusually stiff, black 

 bristles, except medially. 



The antenna is attached at the upper fourth of head 

 and moderately elongate. The first segment is IV2 times 

 as long as the second and swollen; the third is some- 

 what swollen ventrally on its basal third and thence 

 tapered gradually to a blunt apex, its dorsal surface 

 gently convex. At the apex it bears a small microseg- 

 ment, spoon-shaped, set obliquely on the end of the 

 segment. This microsegment carries on its dorsal mar- 

 gin a conspicuous, rather sharp spur and in the center 

 of the segment the usual apical spine. The first seg- 

 ment carries 2 unusually stout, moderately long, spin- 

 ous bristles set ventrally before the middle, 2 others 

 subapically, 2 shorter bristles located between, and 1 

 lateral element, besides a few additional stiff setae api- 

 cally and also dorsally. The second segment has only 

 long, stiff setae below and dorsally at the apex. 



Head, anterior aspect : The width of the head is IV2 

 times the height. Face below antenna slightly less than 

 one-third the head width and slightly divergent below. 

 The subepistomal area is unusually extensive, concave, 

 pollinose and oblique. The face is very finely pubescent 

 and covered with a dense mat of appressed, flattened, 

 scaliform, silvery pile which immediately beneath the 

 antenna becomes more normal in character. Among 

 the epistomal margin both anteriorly and at the sides 

 there is a fringe, in a single row, of very stout, curved, 

 black bristles; the anterior elements extend nearly 

 straight forward, and there are 8 pairs. Front short, 

 distinctly divergent above, bare in the middle, pollinose 

 laterally and near the eye bearing a row of 6 long and 

 exceptionally stout spinous bristles with additional 

 stout pile opposite the antenna. The vertex is slightly 

 convergent, moderately excavated; the ocellar protu- 

 berance moderately large and bearing 2 pairs of stout, 

 divergent, black bristles with some additional more 

 slender bristles anteriorly. Eye facets slightly en- 

 larged anteriorly. 



Thorax : The thorax is for the most part bare, but is 

 pollinose narrowly along the lateral margins and pos- 

 teriorly along the mesopleuron and upon the propleu- 

 ron, metapleuron, and hypopleuron. Mesonotum shal- 

 lowly and gently sloping anteriorly. The mesonotal 

 pile is dense but microscopically short and appressed. 

 Acrostical and dorsocentral bristles not differentiated. 

 The humerus pilose. The lateral margins bear mod- 

 erately long, very stout bristles as follows: 1 noto- 

 pleural, 2 supraalar, 2 postalar, and no scutellar bristles. 

 Scutellum flattened, with pile similar to the mesonotum. 

 The propleuron bears numerous, stiff, long hairs, espe- 

 cially on the ventral portion. Anterior collar with stiff 

 bristles but the dorsal posterior portion of propleuron 

 bears 2 long, exceptionally stout, spinous, black bristles. 

 Anterior prolongation of mesopleuron, its middle 

 dorsal margin with a patch of stiff, finely pointed pile 

 and some similar pile scattered posteriorly on meso- 

 pleuron, upper sternopleuron, and posterior hypo- 



