460 



TJNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 24 



2 bristles, 1 at the apex. There is a conspicuous, ven- 

 trolateral row of 5 bristles besides 2 or 3 long, slender, 

 pale, basal and ventral bristles ; hind tibia with 4 very 

 weak dorsomedial, 3 stout dorsolateral, 3 ventral con- 

 fined to the outer half; apex with 6 bristles. Middle 

 femur with 2 posterodorsal subapical bristles similar 

 to those of the hind femur and with 1 stout, anterior 

 bristle beyond the middle, 5 or 6 anteroventral, besides 

 4 or 5 slender ventral bristles. This tibia has the dorsal 

 bristles extremely weak; it has 2 or 3 similar, distal 

 ventral bristles. Anterior femur with 6 long, slender, 

 ventral bristles ; anterior tibia with 1 or 2 anterodorsal 

 bristles at the base, 3 or 4 short, posterodorsal, but with 

 4 conspicuous long, basal ly stout, posteroventral 

 bristles. Tarsi end in slender, quite blunt claws only 

 gently curved ; long, thin, spatulate pulvilli ; and long, 

 empodium slightly thickened towards the base. 



Wings : The marginal cell closed with a moderately 

 long stalk; subcostal cell a little narrowed, the anterior 

 branch of the third vein ends just above the wing apex ; 

 the posterior branch ends a greater distance behind. 

 There is an oblique vein running from the second vein 

 and connecting with the anterior branch of the third 

 vein near its base, so that the base of the anterior branch 

 of the third vein appears to be a rectangular crossvein 

 taking origin exactly opposite the end of the discal 

 cell. Fourth posterior cell closed with a long stalk, 

 convex on all sides. The second posterior cell has no 

 basal anterior swelling of any kind; second basal cell 

 ends in 2 veins with a long, fused vein beyond ; anal cell 

 closed with a short stalk; alula large, ambient vein 

 complete. 



Abdomen : The abdomen is not quite as wide as the 

 mesonotum, except on the firet tergite which has its sides 

 rather strongly produced. Wliole abdomen subcylin- 

 drical or a little flattened on the fii-st tergites and 

 strongly tapered. Males with 8 tergites, the sixth and 

 seventh a little shortened and the eighth quite short 

 and liplike dorsally, a little longer laterally. Females 

 with seven tergites, the eighth forms a rather long, 

 slender ovipositor, strongly compressed laterally. Pile 

 of abdomen short, scanty, bristly setate and appressed. 

 Sides of first tergite with 5 to 7 pairs of long, slender 

 bristles ; the lateral margins posteriorly, especially near 

 the corners, bear some weak, slender bristles or bristly 

 hairs. Sternites with similar, long, bristly pile but no 

 distinct bristles. First stemite apilose. Male termi- 

 nalia prominent and elongate and similar to Nerax, 

 new genus (see p. 478), in general form. Proctiger 

 cylindrical and extended obliquely upward. Gonopod 

 prominent ventrally meeting medially in front of the 

 hypandriimi. It bears a dense fringe of pile cvirled 

 forward. In the females the eighth, ninth, and tenth 

 segments are quite flat and compressed laterally begin- 

 ning at the base of the moderately long eighth segment. 



Distribution: Neotropical: Eichoichemus connexus 

 Wiedemann (1828) ; ■flaviandlis Macquart (1848) ; 

 melaleucvs Wiedemann (1828) ; fyrrhomystax Wiede- 

 mann (1828). 



Genus Promachus Loew 

 Figures 343, 718, 798, 1385, 1393, 2207, 2270, 2408, 2467 



Bactria Mergerle (Ms.) in Meigen, Systema Beschreibung . . . 

 der zweiflugligeu Insekten, vol. 2, p. 307, 1820. Name with- 

 out characterization. 



Trupanea Macquart, Diptferes exotiques, vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 91, 1838. 

 Tjrpe of genus : Asilus maculatus Fabrieius, 1775, the seven- 

 teenth species, by original designation. Preoccupied by 

 Schranlc, 1803, Diptera. 



Promachus Loew, Linnaea Entomologica, vol. 3, p. 390, 1848. 

 Type of genus : Asilus maculatus Fabrieius, 1775. Desig- 

 nated by Coquillett, 1910, the second of 5 species. 



Telejoneura Rondani, Arch. Zool. Anat. Fisiol., vol. 3, p. 48, 

 1864. Unnecessary change of name. 



Promachus has 5 subgenera: Amblyonychus Her- 

 mann; Enagaedium Engel; Paraprorrmchus, new sub- 

 genus ; Philoinachus Karsch ; and Trypanoides Becker. 



A widely distributed group of large flies containing 

 many species. Generally characterized by robust form 

 with the moderately elongate abdomen strongly tapered, 

 especially posteriorly. A few species are comparatively 

 slender. All of the species groups and subgenera share 

 a rather pecidiar and distinctive venation, as well as 

 bare metanotal callosities and all lack a microsegment 

 at the base of the antennal style. There are three sub- 

 marginal cells ; the third submarginal cell and the base 

 of the second submarginal cell are exceptionally narrow. 

 The sharp claws and prominent terminalia separate 

 them from Mallophora INIacquart; in Mallophora the 

 claws are very bltmt and the body form is even more 

 robust ; Promachina Bromley is annectant, having blimt 

 claws but large terminalia and a more slender, tapered 

 abdomen. Length 17 to 40 mm. 



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

 the occiput moderately developed and sometimes miusu- 

 ally prominent. The eye is posteroventrally recessive 

 on the lower fourth. The face is usually plane or has a 

 low gibbosity on the lower half with generally a straight 

 or plane margin ; occasionally there is a pronounced gib- 

 bosity on the lower half. Proboscis very stout and 

 strongly swollen towards the base, with a dense tuft of 

 stiff, bristly hairs at the apex. Palpus large, elongate, 

 of one segment, with numerous, stiff bristles or coarse, 

 long hairs. The antenna is attached at the upper third 

 of the head ; the first segment is twice as long as the sec- 

 ond. The third segment is approximately as long as the 

 first segment, widest on the basal tliird and tapered 

 beyond; it sometimes has a few, short setae dorsally; 

 the style is stout, not quite as long as the remainder of 

 the antenna, with a spine at tip, and with the apex either 

 simple, slightly thickened, or flared and dilated. The 

 pile of the occiput is dense, fine and long below ; in some 

 species the pile may be continued over the whole occiput, 

 with bristles lacking. Generally the bristles begin at 

 the middle of the head, or even continue down nearly to 

 the bottom and become stronger and spikelike near the 

 vertex, tending to form 2 rows near the upper eye 

 corners. 



Head, anterior aspect: The head is wide, with the 

 face below the antenna a fifth the head width and mod- 



