20 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. X^ 



Personally I am disposed to regard the relative length of the 

 palpi to the length of the whole body instead of to the proboscis 

 only (itself an organ of some variation in length), or better still to 

 the length of the head and thorax taken together, as of greater 

 value than the relative length between the sexes, and in any case 

 the number of joints, if quite definite, is of higher taxonomic value 

 than the relative lengths of any of them 



This uncertainty amongst authors renders it ver}^ difficult to 

 estimate satisfactorily the taxonomic value of palpal lengths and 

 joints, but in regarding both cases as of comparativel}^ secondary 

 importance except when well marked or in the broad sense as 

 understood by the oldest authors, my views will be but in keeping 

 with those of the most recent writers on this family. 



A brief review of palpal variation in Culicidae is now attempted. 



In Anopheles (s. sir.) the palpus is long in both sexes; in the 

 cf 3-jointed, the ist long, the 2nd and 3rd generally subequal, 

 considerably shorter than the ist and often thicker or forming an 

 elongate club: in the 9 4-jointed, approximately elongated, the 

 joints slightly variable in their relative lengths, the last 2 joints 

 f^enerally less thickened than in the cf . 



Taxonomically therefore the palpi in Anopheles botli in regard 

 to their relative and actual length are tolerably uniform. 



Me^arhinus has palpi of 4 or 5 joints, long and Cylindrical, 

 about as long as the proboscis; in the & rather longer than in 

 the $ the last joint in both sexes tapering, the ist very short. 

 In M . purpureus 9 there are onh" 3 long joints, in addition to the 

 usual very short basal one. 



Ankylorhynch'us differs from Megarhinus only in the last pal- 

 pal joint in the 9 being rounded, not pointed, and this may be a 

 good genus though founded on a female character only. 



Toxorhynchites differs from both Megarhinus and Ankylorhyn- 

 chus by the palpi in the 9 being not more than one-third as long 

 as the proboscis, and of 3 joints only, thicker than in Megarhinus,. 

 the 3rd with rounded tip. 



The Culicini must include both the genera of the Culex group 

 and those around Aedes, but the two groups appear more or less 

 natural divisions although connected by Mimomyia, Gualteria and 

 Cacomyia and probably others. Theobald (Monog. iv, 520) re- 

 garded Finlaya and Orthopodomyia as intermediate between Culex 

 and Aedes ^ apparentl}^ mainly on the length of the palpi, but he 

 afterwards {I.e. v) replaced them in the Culicini without comment. 



The palpi in the Culex group may be thus described: — 



In the cf> with 3 distinct joints (occasionally, owing to 

 annulalions 6 a/) /)«rg«/ joints being visible) ; one genus (or group 

 of genera according to one's views, Ludlow la, having only 2 joints,, 

 though even this point seems to be open to question. 



In the 2 there are 3 or 4 joints, or with constrictions or 

 annulations, 5. 



In the & the ist joint is elongate, generally as long as or 

 longer than the 2nd and 3rd together, and is often constricted at 



