BY ARTHUR WHITE. 13 



Tabanus hobartiensis, Sp. nov. 



A small, robust, dark brown species, resembling T. ante- 

 '(■edens and T. edentulus, but having the hind femora orange 

 above, with black knees, the wings short and broad, and 

 the anal cell closed actually on the wing margin. Antennae 

 with first and second joints dark red, third black ; frontal 

 -stripe black, short and broad ; thorax black with four 

 indistinct grey stripes ; abdomen short, dark brown, with 

 white centre spots. 



Length. Female, 10.5 mm. 



Hab. Hobart. 



Female. Face light grey ; beard yellowish-white. Frontal 

 stripe black, broad, of almost equal breadth throughout, 

 the upper two-thirds more or less dusted with brown, and 

 bearing short black pubescence; frontal triangle pale red- 

 brown, dusted with grey. Palpi pale brown. Antennae 

 with the first and second joints dark red, sometimes partly 

 suffused with black, third black ; the first joint bears 

 long black hairs; under side of antennae brown; the third 

 joint has the base considerably broadened, but only slightly 

 humped. Eyes hairy. Thorax black, with four indistinct 

 grey stripes, the whole covered with dense short black 

 pubescence, and a little short depressed white pubescence ; 

 sides of thorax with abundant long black hairs, posterior 

 margin and scutellum fringed with long white hairs. 

 Abdomen short and broad, dark brown, with hindmargins 

 of second and subsequent segments light grey-brown ; 

 there is a. row of ill-defined white centre-spots, and the 

 sides are fringed with tufts of white and black hairs. 

 Legs with hind femora orange above, with knees broadly 

 black, the black sloping backwards to the lower side of 

 the femora, so that the black of the knees is twice as 

 broad below as above ; femora below, and all tibiae, light 

 red-brown; tarsi black, with the base of first joint red- 

 dish; femora with long, dense black and white hairs; 

 hind tibiae with long black hairs. Wings clear, the veins 

 dark brown ; anal cell broad, and closed on the actual 

 wing-margin ; stigma dark brown and distinct. 



The distinguishing character of this species is the colour- 

 ing of the hind femora, in conjunction with the small 

 size, dark brown colouration, short broad abdomen, broad 

 anal cell closed on the wing margin, and the prominent 

 dark brown stigma. These characters distinguish it from 

 ' T. anteredens, T . edentulus, and T. imperfect us, to all of 

 which it bears some resemblance. It is the only known 

 Tasmanian species that has the anal cell closed on the 

 wing margin, all the other species having it closed some 



