BOBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



531 



is extremely short, the hypandrium still shorter and 

 linear. 



Distribution : Ethiopian : Dysclytus firmatus Walker 

 (1857) [=s;>Mrcw5Loew (1858)]. 



Genus Neolophonotus Engel 

 FiQUBEa 301, 753, 1473, 1482 



Lophonotus Macquart, Dipt&res exotiques, vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 125, 

 1838. Type of genus : Asilus chalcogaster Wiedemann, 1819, 

 as Lophonotus aiiriharlis Macquart, 1838. Designated by 

 Coquillett, 1910, as the first of 12 species. Preoccupied 

 Lepidoptera, 1829. 



Neolophonotus Engel, Bull. Soc. Ent. Egypte, vol. 8, p. 347, 1925. 

 Change of name. 



Neolophonotus has two subgenera, Lophopeltis Engel 

 and Lophyhus Engel. 



Small to medium size flies, characterized by the api- 

 lose metanotum, the gently convex face with its nu- 

 merous, long, slender, medial bristles, the medial mane, 

 besides the dense bristles and tufted discal pile of the 

 scutellum. Abdomen without bristles beyond the first 

 tergite. More than any other thing, it is the general 

 character of the facial gibbosity which begins imme- 

 diately below the antenna, leaving the face barely and 

 gradually convex over its whole height and tmiformly 

 covered with bristles or pile, which separates this genus 

 and its close allies from the other members of the 

 Asilinae. Length 12 to 20 mm. 



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

 the face is prominent, but only gently convex ; the con- 

 vexity extends to the base of the antenna. It is high, 

 with the subepistomal area rather small, nearly hori- 

 zontal and concave; cheeks moderate in depth. The 

 occiput is prominent throughout, especially below ; the 

 eye becomes ventrally recessive near the middle, in- 

 creasing near the bottom of the head. Pile of occiput 

 comparatively dense and fine and long in the middle and 

 below; bristles begin above the middle of the head; 

 the upper elements become exceptionally long and 

 strongly proclinate. The proboscis is longer than the 

 face and held obliquely downward ; it is comparatively 

 slender apically and gradually swollen towards the base. 

 Palpus slender and long, with numerous, terminal bris- 

 tles. The antemia is attached a little below the upper 

 third of the head and is not longer than the head and 

 may be even shorter. All segments are rather slender ; 

 the first segment is twice as long as the second. The 

 third segment is no longer than the first; it bears a 

 conspicuous microsegment and a stout, fleshy, short, 

 bristle-tipped style, itself no longer than the third seg- 

 ment, or even shorter. The first segment ventrally and 

 especially the second segment each bear long, stout 

 bristles ventrally and comparatively long, bristly hairs 

 dorsally. 



Head, anterior aspect : The head is very little wider 

 than high, especially if the cheeks are considered. The 

 face below the antenna is nearly a fourth the head 

 width and slightly divergent below ; it is wholly micro- 



pubescent and bears along the middle half of face nu- 

 merous, somewhat curved, long, slender bristles or 

 bristly hairs. Front slightly divergent, flat, pollinose, 

 with a rather wide, oval, lateral, tmdifferentiated patch 

 of quite long, slender, bristly hairs. The vertex is 

 slightly convergent with slanting sides slightly exca- 

 vated anteriorly but deeply excavated posteriorly; the 

 ocellarium is large, anteriorly located, domelike, with 

 12 or more pairs of very long, slender bristles or bristly 

 hairs. 



Thorax : The mesonotum is high and evenly convex 

 and anteromedially compressed; the surface is polli- 

 nose; there is a medial carina of stout, acrostical bristles 

 and pile. The dorsocentral and lateral pile is undif- 

 ferentiated anteriorly, but there are long dorsocentral 

 elements beginning behind the humerus and there may 

 be as many as 10 pairs posteriorly. Hmnerus bristly 

 pilose. The lateral complement of stout bristles con- 

 sists of 2 notopleui-al, 1 supraalar, 3 suprapostalar, 3 

 postalar, and the scutellar margin has 3 or 4 pairs of 

 stout, long bristles, besides others which are borne on 

 the posterior half of the disc; the whole disc bears 

 abimdant, long, coarse pile. Propleuron copiously, 

 coarsely pilose; upper mesopleuron with bristly pile, 

 the tegula is bare, the whole pleuron pollinose; the 

 upper sternopleuron and pteropleuron each have 

 bristly pile; the posterior hypopleuron and meta- 

 pleuron each with a row of quite long, slender bristles. 

 Metanotal callosity pubescent only and bullose. Post- 

 metacoxal area membranous. Prosternum dissociated. 



Legs: All the femora are quite stout, the fli'st 4 

 swollen ; the pile is rather shaggy, coarse and flat ap- 

 pressed, except ventrally on both tibiae and femora 

 where it tends to be rather longer, erect and fringelike. 

 Bristles are prominent and numerous. The hind femur 

 has 6 dorsolateral bristles, including the one at apex, 

 2 subapical dorsal, 6 dorsomedial bristles, 5 ventral 

 bristles on the basal half, and 5 or 6 ventrolateral ele- 

 ments on the distal half. Hind tibia with 4 dorso- 

 lateral, 4 or 5 dorsomedial, 4 ventrolateral and 2 or 3 

 ventromedial bristles; apex with 7 bristles. Middle 

 femur with 3 or 4 anterior bristles and on the outer 

 half 4 posterior bristles or sometimes more; its tibia 

 has fewer bristles, 2 anterodorsal distally, 4 postero- 

 dorsal on the outer half, 3 postero ventral, and 1 distal 

 ventral bristle. Anterior femur with at least 1 anterior 

 bristle, 1 at apex, 3 distal posterior bristles and 2 basal 

 ventral bristles; its tibia has 2 basal anterodorsal 

 bristles and 6 distal posterodorsal bristles, besides 3 

 remarkably long, posteroventral bristles. Basitarsus 

 short, as long as the next two segments; tarsal bristles 

 long, claws sharp, slender, bent at apex; pulvilli and 

 empodivun well developed. 



Wings: The third vein forks well beyond the pos- 

 terior crossvein and the second submarginal cell is 

 widened only above its base. The lower end vein of 

 the discal cell is twice as long as the upper vein and 

 strongly dra^vn toward the base. Fourth posterior cell 



