488 



UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEXJM BULLETIN 22 4 



Claws long, stout, sharp, the pulvilli long and the long 

 empodium blade like. 



Wings: The wings are long but shorter than the 

 abdomen, slender with the marginal cell closed and 

 bearing a moderately long stalk. The marginal cell is 

 slightly widened, but scarcely at the expense of the sub- 

 costal cell and ripples are only slight. The costa is 

 never thickened, or expanded. Both branches of the 

 third vein characteristically end above the wing apex 

 and the second submarginal cell widens only gradually 

 and moderately in the middle, in contrast to Satanas 

 Jacobson. Also, the second posterior cell is only grad- 

 ually and gently widened at the base. Fourth posterior 

 cell closed and petiolate. Alula large, the ambient vein 

 complete. 



Abdomen: The abdomen is robust at the base and 

 tapers rather strongly but gradually, especially in the 

 female, but again in males. The last two or three seg- 

 ments may have parallel sides and be cylindrical. Pile 

 is coarse, often setate, short and subappressed but gen- 

 erally longer on the sides of the first three tergites and 

 in a few species like Prod acanthus heros quite hairy 

 along these segments. Males with eight tergites; the 

 last is shortened until usually about only a sixth as long 

 as the preceding tergite. Females with seven tergites 

 not incorporated in the ovipositor and in some species 

 the seventh tergite is also incorporated in the ovipositor. 

 Male terminalia characteristically elongate, especially 

 on the superior forceps which, wloile completely di- 

 vided, overlap at base. Proctiger large but not ex- 

 tended dorsally; gonopod much shorter than the for- 

 ceps ; the hypandrium is large, rather long, with plane, 

 transverse, posterior margins. Aedeagus short, not 

 protrusive and sometimes with a fine, terminal filament. 

 Female ovipositor cylindrical, polished, slightly conical 

 or attenuate and elongate. Most of the length is con- 

 tributed by the eighth segment; both the ninth and 

 tenth segments are quite short and the tenth bears 

 laterally a conspicuous, double row which contains 7 to 

 10 spikelike spines, besides other stubby setae. 



This is one of the most characteristic genera of the 

 Nearctic region and extends into the Neotropical region 

 in Mexico, the West Indies, Colombia, southern Brazil, 

 and Argentina. Species from these last two countries 

 may possibly belong in other genera. They are flies 

 which frequent rank grassland and shrubs on the edges 

 of woodland in swampy country and some prefer sandy 

 river banks. 



Distribution: Nearctic: Proctacanthus arno Town- 

 send (1895) ; trevipennis Wiedemann (1828) ; coquil- 

 leitiJIme (1911) ; distinctus Wiedemann (1828) ; duryi 

 Hine (1911) ; fulviventris Macquart (1849) ; gracilis 

 Bromley (1928); heros Wiedemann (1828); hinei 

 Bromley (1928); longus Wiedemann (1821); micans 

 Schiner (1867) ; mil'bertii'MviC(\xmvt (1838) [= "iagrion 

 Jaennicke (1867), missouriensis Riley (1870)]; ni- 

 griventris Macquart (1838) ; occidentalis Hine (1911) ; 

 philadelphicus Macquart (1838) ; rodecki James 

 (1933); rufus Williston (1885); variabilis Schiner 

 (1867). 



Neotropical: Proctacanthus antidomus Walker 

 (1849); aurolineatus Macquart (1846); iasifascia 

 Walker (1855) ; hromhyi Curran (1931) ; camposi 

 Curran (1934) ; cavdatus Hine (1911) ; coprates Walker 

 (1849) ; craveri Bellardi (1861) ; cruentus Lynch Arri- 

 biilzaga (1880) ; danforthi Cui-ran (1951) ; daraps 

 Walker (1849); darlingtoni Curran (1951); dina 

 Curran (1934) ; dominicana Cun-an (1951) ; exquisitu^ 

 Osten Sacken (1887) ; fervidus Curran (1934) ; flavi- 

 pennis Macquart (1846) ; guianica Curran (1934) ; 

 hagno Walker (1849) ; lerneri Curran (1951) ; leuco- 

 pogon Wiedemann (1828) ; macrotelus Walker (1837) ; 

 mystaceus Macquart (1846); nigrimanus Curran 

 (1951) ; nigrofemoratus Hine (1911) ; ruhricomis Mac- 

 quart (1838); ntbnventris Macqirnvt (1849) [ = specio- 

 sus Philippi (1865), xanthopogon Burmeister (1861) ] ; 

 salti Curran (1934) ; tibialis Macquart (1849) ; ve- 

 tustus Walker (1837) ; vittatus Lynch Arribalzaga 

 (1880) ; vittatus Olivier (1789) [ = mfiventris Mac- 

 quart (1838)] ; xanthopterus Wiedemann (1828). 



Australian: Proctacanthus durviUei Macquait 

 (1838) ; spilogaster Thomson (1869). 



Country unknown: Proctacanthus icadius Walker 

 (1849); ogidimis Walker (1849); rohustus Schiner 

 (1867). 



Malloch (1917) discusses the larva of Proctacanthus 

 philadelphicus and milhertii Packard (1870) also 

 treats the pupa of Proctacanthus philadelfhicus. 



G«nus Eccritosia Schiner 



Figures 390, 728, 1370, 1379, 2285, 2334, 2479, 2482 



Eccritosia Schiner, Verb, zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, vol. 16, p. 674, 

 1866. Type of gemis : Asilus harhatiis Fabricius, 1787, by 

 original designation. 



Large, stout flies. The robust short abdomen is 

 shorter than the wings; this is the principal character 

 separating these flies from Proctacanthus IMacquart. 

 The hypopygium is short, with a long, extended, two- 

 prongecl aedeagus. Length 22 to 30 mm. 



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

 the face is short on the upper half and plane, with a 

 rather prominent but plane gibbosity on the lower half, 

 which usually shows a rather abrupt ledge on its dorsal 

 border. The occiput is prominent, especially in the mid- 

 dle and below and weak bristles extend almost to the 

 bottom of the occiput and become stout near the vertex. 

 The lower sixth of the eye is strongly recessive postero- 

 ventrally and the pile upon this area is dense, long and 

 fine, and on the remainder of the occiput coarse and 

 scattered. Proboscis unusually robust, swollen and 

 arched on the lower margin and nearly plane dorsally. 

 At least the distal third dorsally and laterally bears 

 numerous, stiff, bristly hairs, and they are continued 

 below at the apex, which is bluntly rounded. Palpus 

 prominent, long, cylindrical but rather slender, with a 

 trace of the basal segment. The antenna is attached 

 at the upper third of the head and is comparatively 

 short. The tliird segment is short, pyriform, and with- 



