Classification of the Culicidte. 241 



Recent writers, again, liaving exalted the Culicinaj to tlie 

 rank of a family, have been obliged to magnify the import- 

 ance of the often trivial characters that distinguish its com- 

 ponent species, and have finished by dividing this most 

 liomogeneous little group of insects into no less than ten 

 *' subfamilies/' It is unfortunate that one of the most 

 adventurous of these separatists is Mr. Theobald, who has 

 otherwise done such good service by demonstrating the taxo- 

 nomic value of the scales that clothe the several regions of 

 the body in this family. 



It seems pertinent to nature, and also convenient for 

 purposes of identification of species, to adhere to the old 

 grouping of the family Culicida3 into two subfamilies — 

 Corethrinse and Culicinse — and to divide the Culicinie into 

 four sections, as follows : — 



Section 1. Megalorhini = Megarhininge of Theobald. 



Section 2. EpiALURGI (777rtaA.o<? = ague fever, and epyov^ 



work), = Anophelinae of Theobald- 

 Section 3. CULICALES = Culicinse, Heptaphlebomyinre, 



Dinoceratinse, Aedinse, and Uranotseniinse of Theobald. 



Section 4. Metanototricha = Trichoprosoponinai, Den- 

 dromyinje, and Limatin* of Theobald ; this group being 

 entirely conventional. 



Section 1. Megalorhini. 



This section includes a small number of large mosquitoes 

 in which the proboscis is bent downwards like a pothook and 

 the body is clothed everywhere with flat strongly refracting 

 scales. The second marginal cell of the wings is particularly 

 small. The length of the palpi is variable in the female. 

 The larva is large and has a breathing-tube. The species 

 are found in the Neotropical, Ethiopian, Oriental, and 

 Australian Regions. 



Section 2. Epialurgi. 



This section includes the single genus Anopheles, with 

 about 100 species, distributed in all the great zoogeographical 

 regions. 



The genus Anopheles may be characterized as follows: — 



Head somewhat pyramidal, its predominant scales usually- 

 being loose-set and cuneiform or narrowly flabelliforni 

 (" upright forked scales " of Theobald). Palpi about as long 



A7in. & Mag, N, Hist. Ser. 8. Vol. viii. 16 



