II. CRITICAL REVIEW OF "GENERA" IN CULICID AE. By E. Brunetti. Prefatory Remarks. The present paper is written primarily for the systematic dipterologist and is an endeavour to reduce the multitudin-ous genera proposed by culicidologists to their taxonomic level from the point of view of the systematist. The standard of validity adopted in the present paper is precisely that which would, so far as I can judge, be accorded by the average systematist in reviewing proposed genera in any family of diptera other than Culicidae. A word first to the new names proposed by me in the Supplement to my Annotated Catalogue of Oriental Culicidae} These were stated at the time to be purely nomina nova, the names they were intended to displace being preoccupied (the bulk of them, it may incidentally be mentioned, in the order diptera itself, which shows conclusively how little the culicidologists concern themselves with what has been already done in diptera) ; but I now regret having encumbered the literature of the family to any further extent. It must be borne in mind that all the considerations and conclusions herein offered rest on the validity of other authors' statements and descriptions, since on the great majority of points at issue there has been no opportunity of independent examination. For any false deductions of mine in the present treatise, due to incorrect or incomplete descriptions, I claim exoneration on these grounds, but for any due to misconceptions or erroneous judgments of my own I freely accept full responsibility. GeneraIv Considerations on Taxonomy in Diptera. There is no intention in the present paper of drawing an exhaustive comparison between the characters adopted of late years in distinguishing so-called genera in Culicidae, and those that have hitherto been employed in the diptera for the same purpose ; but all who have any practical acquaintance with this order are aware that, until the influx of students to the study of Culicidae caused by the comparatively recent discovery of their direct connection with malaria,* the known species of this family were ^ Rec. Ind. Miis. , iv, 403 et seq. ■^ The first announcement that yellow fever was carried by mosquitoes, and probably malaria also, was made as far back as 1848 by Nott. Nothing more
BioStor
