348 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XI, July, 1957 
from one another by the shape of the comb 
scales of the distal row. In both cases these 
scales are long, spatulate and apically and 
laterally fringed (previous authors have de- 
scribed those of A. samoanus as apically fringed 
only, although the Samoan and Tongan speci- 
mens before me exhibit an extremely fine 
lateral fringe best seen by phase contrast 
illumination), but the prominent baso-lateral 
teeth of A. samoanus (Fig. 10, B) are altogether 
lacking in the Fijian insect in which the lateral 
fringe continues to the base (Fig. 10 A). 
A final well-marked point of difference be- 
tween the larvae of the two species is to be 
seen in the mentum. That of A. samoanus has 
from 19 to 21 teeth (Bohart and Ingram, 
1946), all my Samoan and Tongan specimens 
being within this range and most of them 
exhibiting 10 teeth, the most basal one widely 
separated from the next, on each side of a 
larger, bullet-shaped medial tooth (Fig. 8). 
In every larva of A. freycinetiae n. sp. thus far 
examined, on the other hand, the mentum 
has only 17 teeth the medial one of which is 
relatively broader and squatter than is that 
of A. samoanus (Fig. 7). 
It is considered that the morphological dif- 
ferences between the Finlaya of Fijian Frey- 
cinetia axils, and its closest relatives, are such 
as to require its description as new, and this 
insect is accordingly designated Aedes (Fin- 
lay a) freycinetiae n. sp. 
RELATIONSHIPS 
The hairlike specialized seta of the coxite 
of the male of A. freycinetiae is quite distinct 
from that of A. kochi , A. bougainvillensis 
Marks, A. fjiensis , A. wallacei Edwards and 
A. solomonis Stone and Bohart, in all of which 
the apical portion is to some extent expanded. 
A. samoanus is the only other known member 
of the kochi group in which a specialized seta 
is present, and the form of the seta, together 
with other features of adult and larval mor- 
phology, indicates a close relationship be- 
tween this species and A. freycinetiae . It is 
worth noting that A . knighti Stone and Bohart 
(Solomon Is.) is the only South Pacific mem- 
ber of the kochi group lacking a specialized 
seta altogether. None of the Oriental mem- 
bers of the group have such a seta (Knight 
and Laffoon, 1946). A. knighti is only known 
from three males from the New Georgia 
group, and although differing from A. frey- 
cinetiae in that the style is slightly inflated 
medially it resembles the latter insect in the 
absence of subterminal setae from this struc- 
ture. From figure 7 of Stone and Bohart 
(1944) it would appear that the distal scales 
of the preapical tuft of the coxite ate narrower 
than the medial ones as in A. freycinetiae. 
Further comparisons of the latter insect with 
A. knighti would be of decided interest. 
The most striking single feature separating 
A. freycinetiae from A. samoanus is a larval one, 
the absence of baso-lateral spines from the 
lateral comb scales of the distal row. Marks 
(1947) and other authors have attached con- 
siderable significance to the shape of these 
scales in differentiating between species of the 
kochi group. In A. kochi itself and several other 
species of the group the distal comb teeth are 
pointed spines, not apically fringed scales, 
and Marks (1947) showed that, starting with 
the last-named insect "in New Guinea with 
the comb tooth having a stout, pointed medial 
spine and short lateral spines, as one passes 
eastwards the medial spine becomes longer 
and more slender, develops a flattened lateral 
flange, the thicker medial portion then be- 
comes reduced, and finally the apex becomes 
rounded and fringed; the lateral spines persist 
throughout. Coming south from New Guinea, 
the medial spine remains stout and unflat- 
tened but the lateral spines are lost . . .” 
The Fijian A. freycinetiae , a species having 
spatulate and fringed comb scales, lacks any 
baso-lateral spines, just as do the two Aus- 
tralian species characterised by pointed comb 
spines, A. alocasicola Marks and A. gahnicola 
Marks. 
One may question whether these baso- 
lateral spines have really been "lost" at all 
in the three species just referred to. From the 
