358 



UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 224 



fifth but medially from at least the middle. Hind basi- 

 tarsus as long as or longer than the next 4 segments. 

 Middle femur with 1 stout bristle posteriorly beyond 

 the middle, 1 anteriorly near the apex, which may be 

 doubled; this tibia has 6 anterodorsal, 4 posterodorsal 

 or it may be the bristles are reduced to 4 dorsal bristles 

 only ; there are no posterior bristles and basally several 

 long, fine, bristly hairs. Anterior femur without 

 bristles, but with long, bristly hairs ventrally ; this tibia 

 has 8 to 10 fine, short, anterodorsal bristles, a like num- 

 ber of posterodorsal and with 2 or 3 long, stout, postero- 

 ventral bristles. The apex bears stout bristles but no 

 spine; basitarsus stout, as long as the next two seg- 

 ments. All tarsi end in sharp claws, strongly bent at 

 the apex, long, spatulate, thin pulvilli and stout, blade- 

 like, basally swollen empodium. 



Wings: The wings are rather slender and distinctly 

 longer than the abdomen. The marginal cell is closed ; 

 the anterior branch of the third vein ends well above the 

 wing apex; the posterior branch ends far behind t he- 

 apex. First posterior cell narrowed throughout its 

 length but widely open ; the anterior crossvein is at or 

 near the basal third of the discal cell. The fourth pos- 

 terior cell is closed with a long stalk; lower end vein 

 of the discal cell drawn sharply back to the base of the 

 wing; anal cell always closed and stalked. 



Abdomen: The abdomen is elongate and as wide as 

 the mesonotum, or sometimes wider, with nearly par- 

 allel sides; it is rather strongly tapered from the end of 

 the fourth tergite in the female. In the male there are 

 seven tergites, the seventh is a third as long as the sixth 

 and divided in the middle. In some cases the seventh 

 tergite may be wholly concealed. Seven tergites pres- 

 ent in the female, the seventh half as long as the sixth. 

 Pile of abdomen quite short, dense, flat appressed and 

 setate, thick and longer laterally. Sides of the first ter- 

 gite with 2 or 3 stout bristles; sides of the second tergite 

 with two of the remaining tergites with a single stout 

 bristle, sometimes reduced and difficult to detect among 

 the pile ; but always conspicuous and accentuated on the 

 first two segments, they are sometimes absent on the 

 remainder and the numbers may be reduced to a single 

 bristle on the first and second segments. Male termina- 

 lia comparatively large, and conspicuous, rotate one- 

 fourth to the right or left. The epandrium is short, 

 undivided, or with short sulcus forming a shallow, 

 bowl-shaped structure. Gonopod long and prominent 

 with apical lobes. Female terminalia unusually long 

 and slender and somewhat compressed laterally, the 

 ventral plate of the eighth segment bears a posterior, 

 bristle-bearing, slender lobe. 



Distribution : Ethiopian : Proagonistes apicalis Cur- 

 ran (1927) ; athletes Speiser (1907) ; austenl Bromley 

 (1930) ; gigantipes Bromley (1930) ; leoninus Bromley 

 (1930) ; mystaceus Bromley (1930) ; neavei Bromley 

 (1930); pliomelas Speiser (1907); praedo Austen 

 (1909) ; redimiculum Speiser (1914) ; saloides Brom- 

 ley (1930) ; seyrigi Timon-David (1951) ; validus Loew 

 (1858) ; vulpinus Bromley (1930). 



Genus Dasyilis Loew 



Figures 26G, 768, 1261, 1270, 2080, 2082, 2129, 2175 



Dasyilis Loew, Bemerkungen fiber die Familie Asiliden, p. 20, 

 1851. Type of genus: Laphria haemorrhoa Wiedemann, 

 1830, by original destination. 



Very large, robust flies of considerable breadth. 

 The thoracic pile is rather short except marginally; 

 the abdominal tergites have copious posterior fringes 

 of appressed pile. The wings are often banded and 

 strongly colored. The legs are densely, brushy pilose 

 with few bristles. Further characterized by the 

 greatly protuberant, lower face with its extremely 

 dense, long, matted mystax hiding the pointed, shovel- 

 like, dorsoventrally compressed proboscis. These char- 

 acters immediately distinguish it from the Nearctic 

 flies of similar appearance belonging to Bonibomima 

 Enderlein. Some of the species mimic the large trop- 

 ical bees very closely. Length 30 to 37 mm.; wing 

 spread is 60 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect : The face is exceptionally prom- 

 inent and especially produced on the lower half. Be- 

 ginning at the antenna it gradually increases in length, 

 the profile nearly plane. The eye is rather short and 

 strongly flattened anteromedially and equally devel- 

 oped above and below. The occiput is moderately 

 developed, more prominent below. The pile of occi- 

 put is dense, rather long and fine, with extremely weak 

 bristles near the vertex. The proboscis is of moderate 

 length, not greatly produced beyond the face; it is 

 oblique, pointed apically, very strongly compressed 

 dorsoventrally and shovellike, with medial ventral 

 groove; the apex dorsally and ventrally bears some 

 short, stiff pile, the immediate base is rather strongly 

 swollen and bears below tufts of long, curled hairs. 

 Palpus of two segments; the first is excavated and 

 rather short and flattened; the second is moderately 

 long and also excavated and thinned, and bears fine 

 bristles laterally, apically, and dorsally. Antenna at- 

 tached at the upper fourth of the head. First anten- 

 na! segment twice as long as the second. The third 

 segment is as long or a little longer than the first two 

 combined and bears a minute, apical, dorsal, concealed 

 spine. The first segment bears a few, oblique, stiff 

 hairs dorsally and 2 or 3 fine hairs ventrally. Second 

 segment with fewer but similar hairs and 2 longer, 

 bristly ha ire dorsally at apex. 



Head, anterior aspect : The head is quite wide. Face 

 below antenna fully two-fifths the head width. The 

 face has nearly parallel sides and the subepistomal 

 area is nearly horizontal, completely concealed by the 

 mystax. The face is without pubescence, is shining 

 and largely apilose in the middle but with laterally 

 and especially ventrally, a very copious mystax of 

 dense, stiff pile which is shorter along the upper por- 

 tion of the face, becoming progressively longer below 

 and more dense, especially in the female. It may ex- 

 tend well below the apex of the proboscis. Males have 

 a less abundant mystax in which the long hair is re- 



