58 



[March, 



gebogen ;" but his description is far too vague, as he does not even 

 state if the seutellum is denticulate. Rondani's Sph. curvina must 

 also be very closely allied, or it may even have been a dwarfed and 

 immature specimen of S. eximia. Neither of these species has been 

 recognised since the descriptions were published, and as I considered 

 it necessary to have this very distinct species in the British List for 

 the benefit of future collectors, I describe it as new, and point out the 

 possible synonymy. 



Limosina Halidayi, n. sp., $ ? . 

 Like L. lutosa, but of a lighter colour ; the face, pleura? and legs 

 being of a light soft, almost silvery, grey. Male with the first three 

 joints of the hind tarsi gradually decreasing in length and size, the 

 third joint being very small, fourth slender and nearly as long as the 

 first three together, and the fifth about half the length of the fourth. 

 Genitalia very distinct from that of L. lutosa. Female with the hind 

 tarsi simple, and with only soft hairs on the hind trochanters. 



Head of the same shape as that of L. lutosa ; 

 face, cheeks and jowls light grey, the face with a 

 yellowish tinge. 



Thorax light greyish-brown, with bristles as in 

 L. lutosa; acrostichal bristles very inconspicuous : 

 seutellum eight bristled. Abdomen with a decided 

 glaucous tinge, bristly at. the sides and round the 

 remarkable genitalia of the male. 



Legs with the posterior coxa) and trochanters 

 (more or less), the knees and the tarsi (particularly 

 the whole of the middle and the basal joint of the 

 front tarsi), pale ; bristles as in L. lutosa ; the rela- 

 tive lengths of the joints of the hind tarsi in the male 

 are, however, very different (fig. 3), and there are 

 also more of the stubby bristles (and these are 

 longer behind) on the hind trochanters of the male. 



Wings (fig. 4) as in L. lutosa. Halteres pale 

 yellow. 



This species is very distinct in the 

 male by its remarkable hind tarsi; it is 

 difficult to separate the female from that 

 of L. Intosa, but the lighter colour and the 

 absence of any stubby bristles on the hind 

 trochanters in my species suffice to iden- 

 tify it. 



Length, 2£ — 2| mm. 



This is a mud loving species, of which I have taken about twenty 



Fig. 3. L. Halidayi, 

 6 ■ Left hind leg. 



Fig. 4. L. Halidayi. <J . Wing. 



