NOTES ON NEOTROPICAL DICTYOPHARIDAE AND 

 SYNONYMY IN TWO OTHER GROUPS 



By R. G. FENNAH 



The identification of the larger neotropical Dictyopharidae is at 

 present difficult for workers who do not have access to holotype 

 material. The main difficulty arises from the fact that early descrip- 

 tions failed to give an adequate account of the specific characters. 



The notes that follow are principally concerned with holotype 

 material of neotropical Dictyopharidae in the collection of the British 

 Museum of Natural History. It is hoped that they will facilitate iden- 

 tification and enable the reader to recognize and correct errors in ex- 

 isting literature. The writer regrets that it has not proved pos- 

 sible to give a series of figures of genitalia; the holotypes are of 

 different sexes and such a study must await the assembly of material 

 of each species belonging to the same sex. He is nevertheless con- 

 fident that the characters described below provide reliable criteria for 

 the separation of species. 



Family DICTYOPHARIDAE 



Tribe DICHOPTERINI 



Genus DIACIRA Walker 



Diacira Walker, 1858, Insecta Saundersiana, p. 34. (Haplotype, D. varia 

 Walker, ibid.) 



The type of D. varia agrees fairly well with the description and 

 figures given by Spinola (Ann. Soc. Ent. France, vol. 8, p. 318, pi. 13, 

 figs. la-b) of Cladodiptera macro phthalma Spinola, the genotype of 

 Cladodiptera, The profemora and protibiae of Walker's type, how- 

 ever, are prominently leaflike, while Spinola does not show or describe 

 any such structure in C. macro phthalma. If Diacira is to be retained 

 as separate from Cladodiptera, this may have to be taken as the 

 generic difference. The species of Diacira as so defined show varia- 

 tion in the width of the flanges on the forelegs, and it must be con- 

 sidered possible that further work will bring to light a complete series 

 of intergradations. 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS, VOL. 107, NO. 11 



