272 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. XV, 



ing three in Tipiilinae and as long as the preceding two in Limnobiinae. 

 This being so I think Tipidodina magnicornis, End. would be better 

 placed in the present group of the genus Tipula as an abnormal species, 

 and abnormal in the matter of the palpi only. 



Moreover, the nasus in this group of Tipulae is very pronounced and 

 this character is considered one of primary importance in the Tipulinae. 



The fault of the Comstock-Needham system of venation is that it 

 endeavours to enforce a similar interpretation of the veins in both Tipu- 

 linae and Limnobiinae. There is nothing illogical in a certain vein nor- 

 mally turning upwards at the tip in the one subfamily and normally 

 downwards in the other, and il the courses of the auxiliary vein and 1 st 

 vein be studied in genera where the subcostal cross vein, costal cross 

 vein and marginal cross vein are absent, it will be found they both turn 

 downwards at the tip in the Tipulinae and upwards in the Limnobiinae, 

 exactly as stated by Osten Sacken, in spite of Needham's effort to prove 

 to the contrary and his statement that the great dipterologist's termino- 

 logy has " served its day and generation." Osten Sacken also parti- 

 cularly warned students against forcing the same reading into different 

 groups and skilfully pointed out the close analogy of the venation of 

 both subfamilies ; but what is the end of a certain vein in one subfamily 

 is a cross vein in the other, and vice versa. 



The species in this group may be tabulated thus ^ : — 



A. A brownish spot over both basal cells (not conspicuous 



but quite obvious and apjDarently constant). 



B. Femora without jDale rings. (Anteiior tibiae brownish 



basally, remainder black, with broad white ring 



•. owards tips ; all tarsi wholly white except basal 



third of metatarsus, but tarsi tips a little brownish 



and extreme tips black) ..... jxitricia, Erun. 

 BB. Anterior femora with broad, subapical yellowish ring. 



(Ring yellowish, broader, less well defined ; ring on 



anterior tibiae broad, subapical ; tarsi wholly 



white except about basal half of anterior metatarsi 



and basal third of hind metatarsi) . . . venusta, Walk. 



AA. No brownish spot over basal cells. 



C. Femora unringed, (Anterior tibiae more uniformly 



concolorous dark brown (fore pair) or black (middle 

 pair), with narrow white ring just beyond middle ; 

 ant( rior tarsi wholly 1 rownish-yellow (fore pair) or 



dark brown (middle pair) ) . . . . contigua, sp. nov, 



CC. Femora ringed ; at least front pair. 



D. Front femora alone ringed. (The ring moderately 



broad, yellowish, apical ; tarsi wholly white except 

 basal half of anterior and basal third of hind meta- 

 tarsi black ; extreme tips of tarsi may be brown 

 or black). Costal cell wholly deep black . . . ;;er/rt/rt, W.^ 



DD. Anterior femora very distinctly ringed (indistinctly 

 also on hind pair, the ring subapical). Costal cell 

 wholly clear. 



1 As the legs were broken off in magnicornis, Hcnd. it is impossible to include it in 

 the above table. 



2 My identification of this species still requires absolnte confirmation. Meijere re- 

 cognises it from Java on several occasions and says the front femora are not white ringed, 

 but Osten Sacken says they have a subapical yellowish-white ring, Wiedemann noting 

 only the tibial rings. The femoral ring is not conspicuous, but is obvious enough if looked 

 for. Osten Sacken's note of the very close approximation of the auxiliary vein to the 

 1st longitudinal will also apply to other species in this group and to some Tipulae of other 

 grpups? also. 



