Taxonomic notes on the genera Scatella and Scatophila (Diptera: Ephydridae) with a remark on Trixoscelis chilensis (Trixoscelididae)
Author
Zatwarnicki, Tadeusz
Author
Irwin, Anthony G.
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-01-31
4377
1
91
109
journal article
30877
10.11646/zootaxa.4377.1.6
bf31986f-33c6-4a7b-8b58-736c352e54e4
1175-5326
1163298
CD3ED409-1877-4141-9AE3-ADAC1BE329BE
Scatella
(
Scatella
)
septemfenestrata
Lamb
(
Fig. 10–11
)
Scatella septemfenestrata
Lamb, 1912
: 328
.
Scatella septempunctata
Malloch, 1933a
: 8
,
new synonym
.
Scatella gratiellae
Canzoneri & Raffone, 1987
: 58
,
new synonym
.
Type material examined or photographed:
The female lectotype of the senior synonym (
Fig. 10
), designated by
Mathis and Zatwarnicki (2003)
, is labelled: "Type H.T. [round label with a red border]/Seychelles Is. Prof. J. S. Gardiner. 1914-537/TYPE [blue label glued to the larger determination label]
Scatella septemfenestrata
. Lamb det CGL [except for the "TYPE" label, handwritten]." The lectotype is glued to a rectangular card by its left side (card also has the number "108" handwritten on top; on the underside of the card, a label with "Mahe, '08-9. Seychelles Exp." is glued), is in fair condition (left side obscured by card and glue), and is in the NHMUK. In addition, there is a second female, its head is missing, with the same locality label. The holotype of
S. septempunctata
Malloch
is labelled: “Vaituha Eiao”, “
X-3-29
200 ft
”, “Marquesas Islands”, “A. M. Adamson collector”, “Pacific Entomological Survey”, “
Scatella septempunctata
Type det JRMALLOCH 1180” (with black submarginal line; det JRMALLOCH printed), and 22 paratypes: ten specimens labelled: “Vaituha Eiao”, “
X-3-29
200 ft
”, “Marquesas Islands”, “A. M. Adamson collector”, “Pacific Entomo- logical Survey”, “Paratype” (yellow) (
Fig. 11
); five specimens labelled: “Hanamenino Valley Sea level, VII.17.1930”, “Tahuata Marquesas Is.”, “LeBronnec & H. Tauraa, Coll.”, “Pacific Entomo- logical Survey”; six specimens labelled: “Oomoa [= Omoa] Valley Near sea-level VIII.21.1930”, “Fatuhiva Marquesas Is.”, “LeBronnec Collector”, “Pacific Entomo- logical Survey”, and one specimen labelled: “Tahauku
VII - 10-1929
”, “Marquesas Is. Hivaoa”, “Mumford & Adamson”, “Pacific Entomological Survey” preserved in BPBM. The holotype of
S. gratiellae
is labelled: "KENYA L. NAIVASHA
14. VII. 79
W. ROSSI" (handwritten), "HOLOTYPUS ♀
scatella gratiellae
nov. det. Canzoneri S. & G. Raffone" (red, name and ♀ handwritten), and one paratype bearing the same locality label, preserved in MSNVE.
FIGURES 10–11.
Type specimens,
lateral view.
10. Lectotype male of
Scatella septemfenestrata
Lamb, 1912
. 11. Paratype male of
Scatella septempunctata
Malloch, 1933
(Eiao, Vaituha, Marquesas, 3.X.1929, Adamson; BPBM, photographed by Neal Evenhuis).
Material examined:
AUSTRALIA:
Norfolk
Island
, shade house in plant nursery,
2. XII. 2014
, R
.
A
.
Broadley
,
1 ♂
(AGI)
;
Queensland
,
Hermit Park
,
malaise trap
,
1. VII. 2015
,
G. Cocks
,
1 ♂
(AGI).
KENYA
:
Tsavo National Park
(
West
),
4 –7. IV. 1968
,
B. Cogan
&
A
.
Hutson
,
1 ♂
(
NHMUK
).
MALAYSIA
:
Malay Peninsula
,
Pahang
,
F.M.S. Gunong Jahan Padang
5550',
H. M. Pendlebury
,
11. XII. 1922
,
1 ♀
;
5. I. 1923
,
1 ♂
(
NHMUK
).
MAURITIUS
:
La Re'duit
,
26. V. 2000
,
J. W. Ismay
,
3 ♂
and
50 in
plastic container;
Plaine Lievre
,
28. V. 2000
, J. W. Ismay, 2 ♀ (NMWC);
Rodrigues
I.
,
VIII–XI.1918
,
H. J. Snell
& H. P.
Thomasset
,
1 ♂
(
NHMUK
).
NAMIBIA
:
Ameib Farm
(W. 30), on vegetation around pools,
31. I.–2. II. 1972
, South
Western
Africa Expedition,
1 ♂
(
NHMUK
)
;
Namib Desert Park
, Kuiseb
River
at
Gobabeb
,
400 m
,
Riverine forest
and sand,
12. II. 1974
, ME &
BJ Irwin
,
2 ♂
,
6 ♀
(
NMSA
)
;
L.
Lyneborg
,
1 ♂
(
NHMUK
).
NIGERIA
:
Lake
Chad
. Mallam Fatori
,
13. IV. 1967
,
J. C. Deeming
,
1 ♀
(
NHMUK
).
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
:
Kwa Zulu Natal
:
Kosi Bay Nature Res.
(
82 m
),
Malaise trap
, woodland, savanna,
26°57.17'S
,
32°49.27'E
,
13.–17. XII. 2010
,
A
.
H. Kirk-Spriggs
,
1 ♀
;
Ndumo Game Reserve
,
Malaise trap
, grassy foodplain,
26°54.288"S
,
32°17.974"E
,
9.–10. XII. 2009
,
A
.
H. Kirk-Spriggs
,
1 ♀
;
Ndumo Game Reserve
,
Skokwe area
,
Ficus forest
,
26°52.125'S
,
32°13.731'E
,
37 m
,
30. XI.–4. XII. 2009
,
A
.
H. Kirk-Spriggs
,
1 ♂
,
1 ♀
;
Umlazai Nat. R.
,
10 m
, sweeping, dune forest,
28°57'40"S
,
31°46'04"E
,
17. XII. 2010
,
A
.
H. Kirk-Spriggs
,
1 ♀
;
Orange
Free State
:
Harrismith Dist.
,
Scotland
Farm
,
Malaise trap
, dense
Leucosedeadominated
scrub,
27°58'59.5"S
,
29°37'09.8"E
, 10–12.
III. 2
0 12,
A
.H. Kirk-Spriggs
,
1 ♀
(
BMSA
)
.
SAINT HELENA
.
Sud
:
Sandy Bay
, sur pierres pres d'un ruisseau,
1. III. 1967
,
J. Decelle
,
N. & J. Lelup
, 96 ex;
Est
:
Basse Fisher's Valley
, irrigations,
1000 ft
,
14–19. XII. 1965
,
P. Basilewsky
,
P.L.G. Benoit
, N.
Lelup
, 176 ex;
Est
:
Basse Fisher's Valley
,
Bradley Ruins
,
1000 ft
,
25. XI. 1965
,
P. Basilewsky
,
P.L.G. Benoit
, N.
Lelup
, 12 ex;
Basse Fisher's Valley
,
26. I. 1967
,
J. Decelle
,
N. & J. Lelup
, 3 ex; (
RMCA
);
Basse Fisher's Valley
,
6. V. 1967
, J.
Decelle
,
N. & J. Lelup
, 24 ex (
RMCA
,
NHMUK
).
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
:
Al-Ain, Mubazzarah, hot spring,
16. III. 2010
,
T. Zatwarnicki
,
1 ♀
;
Kalba
, beach, 3
.
III. 2
0 10, T. Zatwarnicki, 1 ♂ (TZPC);
NARC
, near Sweihan,
light trap
,
14–28. III. 2005
,
A
.
van Harten
,
1 ♂
(
NMWC
);
Wadi Asimah
,
435 m
,
8. III. 2010
,
T. Zatwarnicki
,
7 ♂
,
11 ♀
(
TZPC
);
Wadi Maidaq
,
390 m
,
3. II. 2010
,
T. Zatwarnicki
,
2 ♂
,
1 ♀
(
TZPC
);
Wadi Shawkah
, reservoir
300 m
,
27. II. 2010
, T. Zatwarnicki, 3 ♂, 15 ♀ (TZPC).
Type
localities:
Lamb (1912)
reported
S. septemfenestrata
from
Mahé
(
Seychelles
): from a marsh just behind the beach at
Port Glaud
(coordinates:
4°39′S
55°24′E
).
Type
locality of
S. septempunctata
is Vaituha, which is a valley on island Eiao (coordinates: 8°S
140.7°W
;
Marquesas
,
French Polynesia
).
Type
locality of
S. gratiellae
is Lake Naivasha in
Kenya
(coordinates:
0°46′6.70″S
36°21′2.32″E
).
Diagnosis.
This species is closely related to
S. ciliata
Collin
but is distinguished from other species by the wing having six to seven hyaline spots within a dark coloured background (sometimes the apical spot in cell R3 is indistinct), and legs greyish to mostly brownish black; tarsi mostly black.
Distribution.
Afrotropical:
Ascension
Island,
Ghana
,
Kenya
,
Mauritius
,
Namibia
,
Nigeria
, Rodriguez,
Saint Helena
,
Seychelles
,
Sudan
,
Republic of South Africa
(
Free State
; Kwa Zulu Natal). Australasian/Oceanian:
Australia
(
Queensland
),
French Polynesia
(
Marquesas
),
Norfolk
Island
. Oriental:
Japan
(Ryukyu Islands),
Malaysia
. Palaearctic:
United Arab Emirates
.
Remarks.
Canzoneri & Raffone (1987)
compared their new species with the Palaearctic
S. stagnalis
(Fallén)
and
S. subguttata
(Meigen)
, but not with
S. septemfenestrata
,
which was recorded in the same paper. Marginal spots of specimens selected as the new species are less distinct (“slightly lightened” in original description), than typical specimens of
S. septemfenestrata
.
In his description of
Scatella septempunctata
, Malloch
compared his species with
S. stagnalis
but did not consider
S. septemfenestrata
, which had been described from the Seychelles (over
16,000 km
away). Thanks to the kindness of Neal Evenhuis, we were able to compare high quality stacked images of one of the paratypes of
Scatella septempunctata
Malloch
(collected from Vaituha, Eiao, French Polynesia by Adamson on
3.X.1929
). This demonstrated that
S. septempunctata
shows no discernable differences from, and falls within the range of variation of S.
septemfenestrata
from Australia, the Indian Ocean, Africa and the Atlantic Ocean.