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
(
Neoscatella
)
australis
(Walker)
,
new combination
.
(
Fig. 1
)
Ephydra australis
Walker, 1853
: 409
.
Scatella (Neoscatella) insularis
Mathis & Wirth, 1981
: 24
,
new synonym
.
Type material.
The lectotype female of
S. australis
(herein designated) is in poor condition, nearly completely (apart from abdomen and wings) covered by fungal mycelium (
Fig. 1
), labelled: "68 4", "
australis
", "V D L", "Tasmania. W. W. Saunders B. M. 1868 - 4.", "
Neoscatella australis Walker
det. B. H. Cogan 1975" preserved in NHMUK.
Type
locality of the senior synonym is "
Van
Dieman's Land" (=
Tasmania
); localities of junior synonym
type
series are two islands (Little Dog and Fisher) between the northeast coast of
Tasmania
and southeastern
Australia
.
FIGURE 1.
Lectotype male of
Scatella australis
(Walker, 1853)
, lateral view.
Diagnosis.
The species is closely related to
S. austrina
Mathis & Wirth
, but is distinguished from other species by the costal vein of male thickened; wing with two subapical spots in cell R5 apicad of posterior crossvein, if connected to form one white area, aligned almost perpendicularly to longitudinal veins.
Distribution.
Australasian/Oceanian:
Australia
(
Tasmania
, and two nearby islands: Little Dog and Fisher).
Remarks.
Mathis & Zatwarnicki (1995)
reported that the
type
of
Ephydra australis
Walker
was apparently lost (note that they inadvertently referred to it as
Notiphila australis
), but it has been rediscovered in NHMUK (
Fig. 1
). Detailed examination shows it is the same species as
S. insularis
Mathis and Wirth
: wing with a pale spot towards the base of cell R1, which features in some females of
S. insularis
, but not in other species of this group. Also other spots are identical as on the photograph in
Mathis & Wirth (1981, fig. 44)
, anterior acrostichal setae are short as on the illustration nr.
46 in
above paper. The
holotype
of the junior synonym is a male and is preserved in Australian National Insect Collection (Canberra,
Australia
).