1919] Brues — Notes on South African Phoridoe (Diptera) 41 



front edge (i. e., next the femur extending from just before the 

 middle to the apical fourth; in addition with two spurs and an 

 apical spine opposite these. All the tibial spines stout, but not 

 very long. Wings large, but rather narrow; costal vein extending 

 to the middle, with extremely minute, hair-like bristles; first sec- 

 tion nearly four times as long as the second and third together; 

 third vein with a single bristle at the base; fork of third vein 

 scarcely perceptible as the second lies very close to it; fourth vein 

 close to the costal margin, slightly curved on basal half and re- 

 curved equally toward apex; following veins straight, the seventh 

 long. Halteres pale yellow. 



Type from Durban, Cape Colony (Marley), April, 1915. Type 

 in the South African Museum. 



In the armature of the tibiae this species differs from any other 

 hitherto described from any part of the world and will be readily 

 recognized by these characters alone. 



Conoprosopa Becker. 



1909 Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, p. 113. 



1910 Brues, Psyche, Vol. 17, p. 34 {Corijptilomyia). 



1911 Becker Ann. Soc. Ent. France, Vol. 29, p. 30. 



1912 Enderlein, Stettiner Ent. Zeit. p. 51 (Metopotropis). 

 1912 Brues, Psyche, Vol. 19, p. 135. 



As indicated in the last reference above Conoprosopa, Cori/pti- 

 lomyia and Metopotropis are synonymous and the three type species 

 are probably also identical. These three were all described from 

 the male which is of very peculiar structure, particularly in the 

 form of the head. The female has remained unknown,^ but 

 was presumably to be found not markedly different from the male. 

 A pair taken in copula shows the female to be an almost wingless, 

 highly modified, cockroach-like form similar to the females of 

 several genera known from various parts of the world. Of none 

 of the latter is the male definitely knowai although Platyphora of 

 Europe and America is probably the male of ^Enigmatias kno^Ti 

 also from these continents. Of yEnigmatistes, .Enigmatopteus 

 Thaumatoxena, etc., from Africa only the apterous females are 

 known. 



1 The sex of the types was mistaken by Enderlein and myself. 



