Abstract

About 230 species of Tabanidae are now known to occur in Australia, Tasmania, and the Torres Strait islands. Nearly 90 per cent. belong to four ancient tribes, which are widely distributed and successful in the southern hemisphere, namely: Pangoniini (18 Australian species), Scionini (63), Bouvieromyiini (38), and Diachlorini (92). The more recent Oriental element comprises 20 Tabanini and one Chrysops. A small, retrograde, Papuan migration is included in the figures for Bouvieromyiini and Diachlorini. About 190 specific names are accepted as valid, there are more than 120 synonyms, 28 described species remain unrecognized, and about 40 species are undescribed. Many of the species can be identified at present only by reference to the Ferguson Collection in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Sydney, and the information about them is scattered in many papers. The primary purpose of this series, therefore, is to arrange the species in accordance with modern classification, present keys and adequate descriptions to facilitate their identification, and record what is known of their biology. In the present Part, an attempt is made to provide the basic historical and practical information that will assist the new student of the family, together with a key to the subfamilies and tribes, and the references for the whole series. The tribes will be reviewed individually in subsequent Parts of this series.