The family Tabanidae, often referred to as horse and deer flies, contains approximately 3800 species in 125 genera worldwide. The adults are large of size, strong flyers and often of striking appearance. The females of the majority of species are blood-feeders and are considered to be of considerable economic importance, due to their known and potential role as vectors of disease and to their nuisance value. Because of their importance, the adults are frequently collected and are relatively well known in many parts of the world. Chainey and Oldroyd (1980) recognized 727 species representing 31 genera from the Afrotropical Region. At the time of this publication, the most recent taxonomic treatment of the Afrotropical fauna was the three-volume series by Oldroyd (1952, 1954, 1957). This work serves as the basic reference for the identification of specimens from the region, but it must be supplemented by numerous shorter papers that have appeared in recent years which include descriptions of species not recognized at the time of Oldroyd's work, as well as numerous nomenclatural changes and other information of taxonomic significance

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