458 TIPULID^E. 



Types in the Indian Museum. 



A male in the above collection, also taken by me at Darjiling, 

 1.x. 08, has the dorsum of the thorax darker, with the margin 

 rather paler yellow. There is a black spot on the frons and the 

 abdomen is dark brown; nevertheless, it would be unwise, at 

 present, to regard it as distinct. 



Genus MESOCYPHONA, Og. Sac. 



Mesocyphona, Osten Sacken, Monog. Dipt. N. Amer. iv, p. 152 

 (1869). 



GENOTYPE, Erioptera caloptera, Say, by present designation, 

 being the first of the two species placed by Usteu Sacken in the 

 genus at its installation. 



The author separates this genus (which he always regarded as 

 a subgenus only) f rom Erioptera as follows : " The anterior branch 

 of the 4th longitudinal vein is forked ; in other words, when the 

 discal cell is open it coalesces with the 3rd posterior cell ; when 

 the discal cell is closed, the inner ends of the 2nd and 3rd 

 posterior cells are nearly in a line." 



The 7th longitudinal vein is straight, and not approximate to 

 the 6th towards the base, nor more or less parallel with the hind 

 margin of the wing in its apical section, as is the case in the 

 typical Oriental species of Erioptera. In commenting upon the 

 two North American species on which he founds the genus,* 

 Osten Sacken notes their further resemblance in the position of 

 the two brown stripes on the thorax and in the dark bands on 

 the whitish femora. These characters, however, do not occur in 

 the new species, M. nigripes, here added to the genus. (See 

 footnote, p. 448.) 



332. Mesocyphona nigripes, sp. nov. (PI. IX, fig. 1.) 



c? . Head moderately dark grey ; frons forming one-third the 

 width of the head at a little above the antennae, but rapidly 

 widening towards the vertex, where it forms half the width of 

 the head ; colour grey, with rather long stiff black hairs ; back of 

 head dark grey, with moderately long black hairs. .Proboscis 

 brownish yellow ; palpi blackish, comparatively large. Antennae 

 with the 1st scapal joint long, cylindrical, the 2nd subcylindrical, 

 both blackish ; the flagellar joints oval towards the base, the middle 

 and apical ones considerably elongated, each with a verticel of verv 

 long hairs in addition to the short ordinary pubescence. Thorax 

 very arched, making the height, seen in profile, much greater than 

 usual. Dorsum black, narrowly edged with yellow, this colour 



* M. caloptera, Say, and M. parva, Os. Sac. 



