Odonata in (he British Museum. 443 



I state that it no longer exists in Mus. Banks^ and has 

 probablj been long ago destroyed" (Ent. Mo. Mag. xxiv. 

 p. 77). It is unlikely now that the obscurity which surrounds 

 the identity o£ this species, as well as the history of the type, 

 will ever be cleared up. 



No fewer than five of the specimens under consideration 

 have obviously incorrect habitats assigned to them in Fa- 

 bricius's writings. These are Lihellula equeatris {= ISfewo- 

 themis tullia, Drury), L. ferruginata {■=. Crocoth'^mis servilia, 

 Drury), ^shna grandis (^=:/Eschna cyanea, Miill.), Agrion 

 ciliata (^= Sapho ciliata,Y.), and .1. linearis { = Mecistoga^ter 

 linearift^ F.). Of course, lapses of this description were not 

 at all infrequent at a time when little or no importance was 

 attached to the facts of geographical distribution. 



Below each insect stands a large oblong drawer-label, with 

 a double black border, bearing the name of the genus and 

 species, as well as a reference to tlie published description. 

 The labels applying to Libellula stigmatizans, L. oculata, and 

 L. Carolina have a portion of the reference printed in — ^. e., 

 " Fab. Entom. p." in the case of the two first-named, and 

 "Linn. S. N. p." in the case of the last-named. The only 

 pin-labels of any description are four tickets marked with tlie 

 British Museum registration number, and five modern-looking 

 tickets bearing the name of the reputed country of origin. 

 Three manuscript genus-labels, dividing the collection into 

 the genera Libellula, yEslina, and Agrion, may also be of 

 post-Fabrician date. 



In considering the specimens seriatim, Fabricius's original 

 diagnosis o£ each of the eight types may be usefully quoted, 

 but for our present purposes his more detailed descriptions 

 need not be consulted, and will therefore be omitted. 



(1) Lihellula stigmatizans, F. | . Type. 

 (^=^Neurothemis stigmatizans, F., $ .) 



Labels: — "Libellula stigmatizans Fab. Entom. p. 421, 

 n, 5"; square white ticket, "Australia," printed; round 

 blue ticket, "«f." 



Diagnosis: — " L, flavescens, alls macula apiceque fuscis ; 

 stigmate niveo. Habitat in nova Hollandia. Mus. Bank- 

 ianum."—¥., Syst. Ent. p. 421, no. 5 (1775). 



This specimen and the next were examined by De Selys, 

 and were identified by him as the ? and c? respectively of a 

 single species (Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova, xiv. pp. 292, 293 ; 

 1879). Although he adopted the name of the ^ {oculata) 

 as that of the species, the modern rule respecting page- 



29* 



