LArHEIINAE 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



335 



eighth considerably narrowed ; the seventh is one-fourth 

 as long as the sixth or shorter, the eighth, however, is 

 approximately three- fourths as long as the sixth. The 

 male terminalia are quite large, conspicuous, elongate 

 and rotate. The ventrally placed epandrium is bulbous 

 and swollen basally. Female terminalia are minute, 

 divided below, undivided above. 



Distribution: Oriental: Anisosis auripes Bromley 

 (1930) ; phalaris Osten Sacken (1882) ; producta Wal- 

 ker (1857). 



Genus Dassylina Bromley 



Figures 252, 615, 1220, 1229, 1581, 1608, 2136, 2166 



Dassylina Bromley, Rev. Zool. Bot. Africaines, vol. 26, p. 412, 

 1935. Type of genus : Dassylina fulvithorax Bromley, 1935, 

 by original designation. 



Large, broad, robust flies, which suggest Laphria 

 Meigen or Hyperechia Schiner in appearance. Third 

 antennal segment about three times the combined length 

 of the first two segments and broadly and gently 

 rounded below. They appear to be related to Storthyn- 

 gomerus Hermann or Rhopalogaster Macquart; from 

 the former they are separated by the much shorter third 

 antennal segment and only slightly concave face. 

 From Rhopalogaster they differ in the rather short first 

 antennal segment. Length 30 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect : The head is of moderate length, 

 the face is moderately produced forward and convex 

 but this gibbosity of the face begins a short distance 

 below the antenna, at approximately the upper third 

 of the face at which point there is a transverse depres- 

 sion from eye to eye. The occiput is thick and promi- 

 nent below due to the anterior recession of the eyes ; it 

 bears dense, long pile throughout but is without well 

 developed bristles. Proboscis directed straight for- 

 ward, of moderate length, distinctly flattened or com- 

 pressed laterally with a subtruncate, pilose apex, 

 unswollen base but with long, abundant, ventral, basal, 

 black bristles. Palpus of two segments, distinctly cy- 

 lindrical, with numerous, long, black, bristly hairs. 

 Antenna elongate, the first segment 2% times as long 

 as the minute second segment and with abundant, 

 dorsal pile and several, longer hairs ventrally; the 

 dorsal pile is black, the ventral pile yellow. Second 

 antennal segment with 3 minute, black hairs dorsally 

 and 1 long and 2 short, black hairs below. The third 

 antennal segment is about three times as long as the 

 first two segments combined; it is flattened laterally 

 with nearly straight or plane dorsal margin but with 

 gently rounded, ventral margin which is widest near 

 the middle leaving the segment more narrow basally 

 and attenuate and gently pointed towards the apex. 

 Apex with a minute, lateral pore which seems to con- 

 tain no spine. 



Head, anterior aspect : The head is rather wide ; the 

 face below antenna is barely more than one-fourth the 



width of the head and is slightly wider below. It is 

 pollinose above, bare and shining below with dense pile 

 below the antenna and abundant, but more sparse pile 

 below. There are 7 or 8 moderately long, bristly hairs 

 on either side of the upper part of the facial gibbosity 

 and on the lower portion more numerous and stiil 

 longer bristles so that the pile and bristles below pre- 

 sent a rather matted appearance. Ocellar tubercle low 

 and inconspicuous with a pair of rather long, stout, 

 bristly hairs together with 6 or 8 shorter hairs. 



Thorax: The mesonotum shallowly convex and 

 densely short, appressed pilose over the entire surface : 

 the pile becomes much longer but also appressed around 

 the posterior and lateral margins. Notopleuron with 

 3 bristly hairs, supraalar region with 9 or 10 such bris- 

 tles and among the numerous postalar hairs perhaps 8 

 to 10 are thickened and bristlelike. Scutellum with 

 considerable, suberect, discal pile and the margin with a 

 long, dense, copious fringe; bristles absent. All this 

 pile is pale brownish cream color. The humerus is 

 covered with dense, rather long, bushy, black pile. Pro- 

 sternum and propleuron fused; the pronotum bears 

 numerous, long, black hairs. Metapleuron strongly 

 convex with a wide, oval tuft of long, stiff, yellow hairs. 

 Sides of metanotum without pile. 



Legs: The hind femur moderately thickened, stout, 

 with abundant, long pile above and below and shorter 

 pile laterally ; near the outer fourth is a single, moder- 

 ately stout, pale yellow bristle laterally. Hind tibia 

 rather stout and strongly thickened ; it is slightly arcu- 

 ate with abundant, long pile from all sides, which is 

 bright fox-red dorsally and laterally and black below 

 and medially. Anterior and middle femora with sim- 

 ilar, long, bushy pile. Middle tibia with, in addition 

 to the long pile, a row of 7 or 8 quite long, stiff, black 

 bristles placed anteriorly and slightly curved inward. 

 Anterior tibia apparently with only long, abundant 

 pile, chiefly black with some yellow hairs posteriorly 

 on the basal half. 



Wings: The marginal cell closed with a moderately 

 long stalk. First posterior cell open in full width but 

 the cell is more narrow than the second posterior cell. 

 Fourth posterior cell closed with a short stalk. End of 

 discal cell remote from the end of fourth posterior cell. 



Abdomen: The abdomen is broad and rather flat- 

 tened, especially toward the base with rather short, flat 

 appressed pile which becomes a little longer and more 

 abundant on the last three tergites. In the female six 

 segments are visible from above; the seventh is quite 

 short and entirely covered by the sixth except for a 

 small, lateral corner below. Female terminalia unusu- 

 ally elongate, quite slender and strongly compressed 

 from the dorsal aspect but high, or with considerable 

 depth from a lateral view ; ventrally it bears a fringe 

 of quite stout, long bristles; lateral surface of dorsal 

 element with fine, scattered hairs and this element un- 

 divided dorsally. No males seen. 



Distribution: Ethiopian: Dassylina fulvithorax 

 Bromley (1935). 



