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UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETLN 224 



apex. There is 1 ventromedial bristle at the outer 

 fourth; the apex has 3 lateral, 1 dorsal, and 1 ventro- 

 medial bristle at the outer fourth. Hind basitarsus 

 as long as the next three segments. Anterior tibia 

 with 7 stout, posteroventral bristles and 1 at the apex ; 

 anterior and posterior bristles of the tarsi long, stout 

 and spikelike. Claws long, nearly straight, or curved 

 a little near the tip, the hind pair flattened, the empo- 

 dium about half as long as the claws. 



Wings: The wings are exceptionally long and slen- 

 der; all the distal portions of the second and third 

 veins and the branches of the fourth vein are nearly 

 parallel. The anterior branch of the third vein ends 

 at the apex, the posterior branch ends well behind. 

 Marginal cell comparatively narrow at margin. Fork 

 of the fourth vein near the middle of the discal cell. 

 The anterior crossvein is opposite the end of the second 

 basal cell. Anal cell with a long stalk. Alula absent; 

 ambient vein complete. Marginal fringe long, wings 

 tinged, with the apex smoky from the presence of dark 

 villi. Costal cell dark, the anal cell of the anal lobe 

 is quite straight and long with a tendency to fold, as 

 in wasps. 



Abdomen : The abdomen is very long and slender, the 

 second segment is nearly as long as the next two ; these 

 three slender, cylindrical segments are of nearly uni- 

 form width and comprise nearly two-thirds the length 

 of the abdomen. Abdomen gradually widened beyond 

 the fourth segment. 



Frey (1937) described two species from the Orient, 

 which he assigned to Ammo phil 'omima and also as- 

 signed Leptogaster vitiosa Wulp here; Hsia (1949) 

 placed one species here. As Frey only based his dis- 

 tinctions from Lagynogaster Hermann on the presence 

 of bristles on the hind tibia and took no note of the 

 differences in venation or condition of the prosternum, 

 I cannot comment on the proper allocation of these 

 species and, therefore, leave them tentatively assigned to 

 Ammophilomima. I suspect the genus will prove re- 

 stricted to Ethiopia. 



Distribution: Ethiopian: Ammophilomima imita- 

 trix Enderlein (1914). 



Oriental: Ammophilomima nuhilipennis Frey 

 (1937); trifida Hsia (1949); rufescens Frey (1937); 

 triungulata Enderlein (1914) ; vitiosa Wulp (1872). 



Genus Euscelidia Westwood 



Figubes 191, 595, 1177, 1185, 2071 



Euscelidia Westwood, Trans. Ent. Soc. London, vol. 5, p. 232, 

 1849. Type of genus: Euscelidia rapax Westwood, 1849, 

 by monotypy. 



Flies of medium size which resemble Leptogaster 

 Meigen in general appearance. Anal cell open; upper 

 part of intercalary vein usually 1 or 2 times as long as 

 crossvein. The hind femur is comparatively swollen 

 except on the basal third which is narrow. The long, 

 swollen part of the femur is of nearly uniform thick- 

 ness; this part may be entirely covered on all sides by 



fine, dense, nearly erect pile, or such pile may be re- 

 stricted to the medial surface with the remainder of 

 the swollen part appressed setate; a partially isolated 

 hair flock of long, erect hairs may stand out medially 

 at or before the middle, suggesting a relationship to 

 Ammophilomima Enderlein. The hind tibia is simple, 

 long and slender with reduced bristles, few in numbers, 

 and the pile even more scanty. Postmetacoxal area of 

 metasternum fully chitinized. The distinctive charac- 

 ter of the genus is the presence of a peglike, medial bifid 

 projection, arising from the pronotum, and visible be- 

 tween the paired anterior protuberances of the mesono- 

 tum. Empodium very short or wanting. Length 15 to 

 25 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect : The face is barely visible on the 

 upper half, more prominent below but never long. The 

 occiput is quite thick and prominent widely over the 

 middle portion. The upper occiput has a dense band 

 of fine, yellowish pile, without bristles, which becomes 

 longer and more abundant below. The proboscis is 

 cylindrical with a narrow ridge only at the base. The 

 palpus is of one short, robust segment with a trace 

 of the basal segment. The antenna is slender, as long 

 or longer than the head. The first two segments are 

 short and beadlike; the third is elongate, slender, 

 tapered from the middle, and with a thick style at least 

 half as long as the segment. 



Head, anterior aspect: The face below antenna is 

 one-ninth of the head width and strongly divergent. 

 Face micropubescent throughout. The lower, gently 

 protuberant part of the face usually bears a dense, wide 

 tuft or band of many, long bristles in many irregular 

 rows. Front short and pubescent only, the ocellar 

 protuberance moderately large, low, without pile or 

 bristles. Vertex scarcely excavated. Anterior eye 

 facets rather strongly enlarged centrally over a small 

 area. 



Thorax : The mesonotum is abrupt in front, strongly 

 convex, not higher than is characteristic for species of 

 Leptogaster Meigen. The mesonotum is bare and shin- 

 ing, strongly striate transversely with a double row of 

 acrostical bristles or setae which are nearly flat ap- 

 pressed and directed poster olater ally. Some scattered 

 dorsocentral elements are present. Humerus without 

 pile. Upper anterior pronotum below the humerus 

 with a strong band of rather long, fine, yellowish pile, 

 dense and abundant. The submedial lobes of the prono- 

 tum are prominent and characteristically there is a 

 single, rather conspicuous, somewhat oblique, medial, 

 stout, apically blunt, cylindrical lobe or process jutting 

 forth from the dorsal pronotum between the anterior 

 ends of the lateral lobes. Anterior pronotum with 

 micropubescence only. Lateral pile of mesonotum 

 nearly erect but fine. The sides of the mesonotum, 

 especially posteriorly, and almost the whole of the pleu- 

 ron are densely brownish yellow pubescent. Bristles 

 are present as follows: 1 short, stout, notopleural 

 bristle; 1 somewhat longer, stout, flat appressed 



