African Species of Erotylide. 139 
1879, p. 219), unable to discover any feature of generic 
value by which it is possible to distinguish Crotch’s genera 
Megalodacne and Episcaphula, and I therefore regard the 
latter, which is of later date, as a synonym of the former. 
All the African species retained in Kpiscapha in Kuhnt’s 
Catalogue have an elongate third joint to tiie antenna, and 
must therefore be referred to Megalodacne. 
The sexes of many species of this genus are strongly 
differentiated by the curvature of the tibize and the dilatation 
of the tarsi in the male. Hpiscaphula dubia, Crotch, is the 
female of E. aulacochiloides, Crotch, the punctured pro- 
sternum noticed in the latter by Crotch being also a male 
character. 
Episcapha schweitzeri, Dohrn, is synonymous with Megalo- 
dacne obliquata, Lacord.; E. rectesignata, Crotch, isa barely 
distinguishable form of it ; and E.neutra, Dohrn, is evidently 
very closely related. Megalodacne scenica, Gerst., has also 
been redescribed as Lpiscaphula picturata, Gorh. The 
species described by Lacordaire as Episcapha repanda is 
probably not the true M. repanda, but the one later named 
£. piciventris by Gorham. Lpiscaphula subcostata, Schenk., 
appears to belong to the genus Plagiopisthen, which is best 
retained for the present as a separate genus, on account of 
its distinctive shape. Platydacne is a synonym of it. 
The paper by Gorham describing Erotylid from South 
and West Africa (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (7) v. 1900) is so 
astonishing an example of confused nomenclature, and has 
resulted in complicating the synonymy of the genera con- 
cerhed to such a degree, that the mind rather recoils from 
the Augean task of clearing the ground. Gorham’s genera 
are usually exceedingly unsatisfactory, and his own con- 
ception of them is often geographical rather than morpho- 
Jogical, as shown by such remarks as “‘ Had this species been 
an African insect, I should have referred it to my genus 
Amblyscelis”’ (1. c. p. 90) and “Ihave taken an African 
insect for the type of Ambdlyscelis, otherwise I should have 
regarded this species and A. nigrinus as belonging to my 
genus Peéaloscelis’’ (1. c. p. 89). It is evident from these 
passages that the genus Amblyscelis was a shadowy one, even 
in the mind of its author. Gorham has not, as a matter of 
fact, cited its type at all, but states that it is formed for the 
African species placed in Amblyopus by Lacordaire and 
Crotch. Of these he mentions only A. senegalensis, Lacord., 
which may therefore be considered the type of Amblyscelis. 
This species I do not know, but it possesses the very large 
aud coarsely-facetted eyes and the narrow, loosely-jointed 
