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II. Revision of the Mexican and Central American 

 Telephorinae {Fam. Telephoridae), with descriptions 

 of new species. Bv George Charles Champion, 

 F.Z.S. 



[Read November 18th, 1914.] 



Plates III— IX. 



This paper concludes the revision of the Mexican and 

 Central American Telephoridae. The Chauliognathinae 

 were dealt with in Part I of the Transactions of our Society 

 for the present year. The abundant additional material 

 received from Mexico since 1885 has of course greatly 

 increased our knowledge of these insects, and the dis- 

 section of the males of Discodon, Photinomorpha, Polemius, 

 etc., has revealed an extraordinary genital armature. 

 These structures, however, are much more difficult to 

 describe from dried specimens than those of the Chau- 

 liognathinae, the rigid median and lateral lobes in the 

 latter being easily seen. In Discodon and its allies there 

 are no corresponding lobes present, and the complex 

 armature of spines and hooks is usually in part or wholly 

 withdrawn into the internal sac, and is only visible when 

 the insects have died with the armature evaginated. 

 Fortunately, amongst the specimens dissected some have 

 been found in this condition (Plate V, figs. 16, 22, 23a), so 

 that we are able to give figures of several of them. In the 

 males of all the Silini the polished glabrous ventral segment 

 covered by the divided exposed terminal one (seventh) 

 is assumed to be the eighth and the smaller following one 

 the ninth. Both are really flattened tubes, usually with 

 a longer ventral and a shorter dorsal surface, the latter 

 often divided at the apex into two short, broad lobes or 

 claspers. In a few cases a very long, slender, chitinous 

 flagellum has been detected, this piece doubtless remaining 

 in most cases in the body after the aedeagus has been 

 extracted. It is impossible, therefore, to compare the 

 various structures satisfactorily from the dried insects ; 

 but sufficient differences have been found to show the 

 important characters (such as are well known to occur in 

 TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1915. — PART I. (MAY) 



