H. C. EFFLATOUN. 



and as a result the inhabitants, both Egyptian and non-Egyptian, 

 have very little knowledge of the native fauna and in consequence 

 practically no interest in it. In this respect it is well to recall that 

 when the Egyptian School of Medicine was formed at Abou Zabel 

 in the reign of Mohamed Ali, special attention was paid to the 

 formation of a Natural History Museum, as the importance of 

 this branch of education was fully recognised by its illustrious 

 founder (1). It is sad to have to record the failure of this pioneer 

 effort to build up a museum, as the very fine collections that were 

 got together by a number of enthusiastic naturalists have either 

 been dispersed or disappeared. 



The majority of the collections made in Egypt, however, have 

 been taken back to Europe and are scattered throughout the various 

 public and private museums of England, France, Denmark, Ger- 

 many, etc., and with the exception of entomology, the only represen- 

 tative private collection in this country is that of Dr. Walter Innes 

 Bey. Moreover the literature on the subject is equally scattered 

 and it is extremely difficult to obtain information about most groups 

 of Egyptian animals. 



With the idea of placing the Zoology of the Nile Valley on 

 a more satisfactory basis the late Dr. J. Anderson commenced his 

 great work on the Zoology of Egypt and through his efforts the 

 four well known volumes were published by the Egyptian Govern- 

 ment, dealing respectively, with the mammals, reptiles and batra- 

 chians, and fishes. It is to be regretted that his death interrupted 

 the continuation of this work, which might have formed the basis 

 of a comprehensive work on the Zoology of Egypt comparable with 

 the "Fauna of British India." 



In order to help in the development of a fuller knowlpdge of 

 the fauna of this country it is hoped to publish a series of mono- 

 graphs each dealing with some particular group of animals. In 

 this way all information concerning the native fauna will gradually 

 be collected in a form easily accessible to scientific workers and 

 others interested in the Egyptian Fauna. 



The present volume by Ff. C. Efflatoun, represents the first 

 part of a monograph on Egyptian Diptera which it is intended to 

 issue by installments, each dealing with one or more families. 

 When complete the work will contain descriptions and plates 

 illustrating all known Egyptian species. The advantages possessed 

 by a resident naturalist are well exemplified in the present volume, 

 for in one family, Efflatoun is able to record the presence of ten 



(ip. Vide CLOT Bey, (1840), Apercu Generate sur l'Egypte. Paris. Fortin Masson & Cie. 



