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PAIiT IL— SYSTEMATIC. 



CHAPTEK X. 



On the Classification of the Family. 



The genus Culex was founded by Linnaeus, in 1790, and 

 in 1818, Meigen adopted in addition, those of Anopheles, 

 jEdes, and Corethra ; which four genera have been univer- 

 sally accepted ever since. To these in 1827, Hob. Desvoidy 

 added Megarhina, Psorophora, and Sabethes, the distinct- 

 ness of which can no longer be doubted ; and Mochlonyx, 

 separated in 1844 by Loew, has always been regarded as 

 a good genus. 



Such has, however, not been the case with a number of 

 genera proposed b}' Ljaich Arribalzaga, in 1891, as though 

 some have been found to be worthy of retention, as re- 

 presenting more or less distinct types, their limits and 

 definitions have required modification. 



These eleven or twelve genera served well enough as 

 long as the number of species known was but small, but 

 as more and more forms were described, the genus Culex 

 in particular came to include so unmanageable a number of 

 species, that further subdivision became urgently necessary, 

 the only difficulty being to discover some class of character 

 which might serve as the basis of a more minute classifi- 

 cation. Unfortunately, the family is extremely uniform in 

 character, and it was only after the examination of an 

 enormous mass of material that Mr. Theobald found, in 

 the character and arrangement of the scales that clothe the 

 body and wings, a working basis on which to found new 

 generic distinctions. Speaking generallj^ I entirely agree 

 with the classification he now proposes, and though its 

 adoption makes it necessary to resort to the compound 



