97 THE DIPTERA OF THE TERRITORY OF NEW GUINEA. VII. FAMILY OTITIDAE (ORTALIDAE). By John R. Malloch, Arlington, Va. {Communicated 'by Frank H. Taylor, F.R.E.S., F.Z.S.) (Plates iv-v.) [Read 26th April, 1939.] This family is in many respects similar to the Trypetidae, the only almost invariably dependable character for its separation therefrom consisting of the lack of incurved anterior orbital bristles on the frons. The course of the subcostal vein at its apex is also usually distinctive, the vein in the Otitidae normally gradually approaching the costa and connecting with it at an acute angle, while in the Trypetidae the vein makes an abrupt angular bend forward close to its apex and is usually faint beyond the angle. All the New Guinea Otitidae lack the presutural bristle. There have been many species recorded from New Guinea and adjacent islands, as the peculiar forms and distinctive colour markings of most of them readily attract collectors. In the Australian region the family is represented almost exclusively by the subfamily Platystominae, though some species of almost cosmopolitan occurrence have been brought in, probably by commerce. The late Dr. F. Hendel published many papers on the family, the most interesting of them, from an Australian point of view, being that on the Platystominae. This is the predominant subfamily in the Indo-Australian region, more than half of the approximately 500 species occurring in the region, and in 1914 only 45 in North and South America. I present herein a key to the New Guinea and Australian genera of Platystominae based upon materials available to me and to some extent upon data obtained from Hendel's paper when the genus or species is not available. In 1924 Enderlein published a paper in which he erected several new genera and described some new species from this region. I have incorporated his work herein. Material collected in Papua and Dutch New Guinea by Miss L. E. Cheesman has been included in this paper for geographical reasons, thus rendering the paper more valuable. I have to thank the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) authorities for photographs of the wings of the type-specimens of the species in their material, and Mr. Frank H. Taylor for the other photographs of wings when the types belong to the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Sydney. Subfamily Ulidiinae. In this collection there is but one species of this subfamily. This is an almost cosmopolitan species which occurs in adjoining islands and Australia. J
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