526 PROCEEDiyaS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.44. 



brown, front witli a median brown \atta; thorax reddish, tinged 

 witli dull b^o^vn; halteres wliitish; abdomen testaceous, incisures 

 hifuscated; feet testaceous; wings almost hyaline, in the middle 

 sliglitly tinged %\-ith wjiitish; stigma small, black; transverse veins 

 and tlie tliird longitudinal vem at the base margined with brown. 



Translated from Bigot's original description. His figure shows an 

 insect witli a moderate^ long Sc,; Sc2 not far from the tip of Sc,; 

 R2+3 long fused, much longer than either R, or R3, whicli are sub- 

 equal; Mj+2 fused to the wing margin; the outer deflection of ilj 

 about equal to tlie cross-vein m; basal deflection of Cui at the fork of 

 M. The anal angle of the wing is prominent. 



Genus POLYMERA Wiedemann. 



PoZymcra Wiedemann, Dipt. Exot., vol. 1, 1821, p. 40. — Osten Sacken, Mono- 

 graphs, vol. 4, 1869, p. 335; Studies, etc., pt. 2, 1887, p. 215. 



The genus Polymera is a very characteristic one in the Neotropical 

 regions. Ahnost every collection brought from South or Central 

 Anaerica includes specimens of this interesting group, and it is very 

 probable tJiat it will ultimately prove to be one of the largest genera 

 of the tropical crane-fly fauna. One species, Polymera magnifica 

 Meunier,' has been described as fossil. 



The recent species hitherto described, five in number, range from 

 Brazil to the southeastern United States. I have ]iad for study 

 about 2.5 specimens whicli included all of the known species, excepting 

 fusca Wiedemann and alhitarsis Williston, as well as seven new forms. 

 Tlie males, as now known, are all characterized by extremely elongated 

 antennaj, at least as long as the body, and usually clothed with long 

 deUcate, outstretched hairs. The antennal segments may be 

 elongate-cylindrical and not constricted (jiiveiiarsis and possibly 

 fusca), or they maybe constricted once, producing a bi-nodose effect 

 (most of the species), or constricted twice, producing a tri-nodose 

 appearance (pleuralis). Speciahzation m ^ving venation is also 

 evident, ranging from a generalized form like nireitarsis with deep 

 forks, through pleuralis which has lost one of the forlis (M1+2 fused 

 to the margin) but still has a deep medio-cubital fork, to conjuncta, 

 which shows a decided tendency for Cu, and M3 to fuse to the wing- 

 margin. 



Wiedemann does not say that the antennae of the female /t/.scffl are 

 elongated like Uiose of the male (as described by Williston, Dipt. St. 

 Vincent, p. 297). The sex of tlie specimen that he figures is not 

 given, but it is undoubtedly a male. The venation and antennae are 

 so similar to nivciiarsis that it would not be surprising if the second 

 specimen that Wiedemann possessed - from tlie Frankfort ^Museum 

 proved to belong to that species. 



