Revision of Ommatius Wiedemann (Diptera: Asilidae). IV. Pygommatius subgen. nov. with twenty-five Afrotropical species
Author
Scarbrough, Aubrey G.
Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Baltimore, MD 21252, USA;
Author
Marascia, Claudio G.
text
Zootaxa
2003
2003-07-04
228
1
1
94
http://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.228.1.1
journal article
5623
10.11646/zootaxa.228.1.1
081ba61b-c79c-401c-a265-060a46979cd2
11755334
5019043
AC9F77DE-F702-4620-B756-D753E77FBC73
Ommatius (Pygommatius) brevicornis
Curran
Figs. 4
,
23
,
30
,
7885
Ommatius brevicornis
Curran 1927: 12
.
Ommatius brevicornis
:
Hull 1962: 435
.
Oldroyd 1980: 347
(Afrotropical catalogue).
Male. Dark brown. Length, body
12.513.7 mm
; wing
8.28.8 mm
.
Head
: Light yellowishgray to yellow tomentose, mostly yellow setose. Face sparse setose, long setae ventrally; 6 thin, brown bristles, and 6 yellow pencillike bristles present; FHWR 1.0:6.91.0:9.0. Proboscis ventrally with narrow base yellow. Antenna brown setose; frons mixed brown and yellow or entirely yellow setose. Occiput with 35 brown postocular bristles, short, apex of longest just beyond margin of eye.
Thorax
: Mesonotum mostly yellow to yellowishgray tomentose, light paramedial stripes and 2 lateral spots, brown; setae sparse, short, mostly or entirely yellow, scattered brown setae present anteriorly and between dorsocentral rows; 2 dorsocentral, 4 lateral, and 2 marginal scutellar bristles present, all brown; scutellar setae about twothirds as long as marginal bristles. Pleuron yellow to yellowishgray tomentose, yellowish setose; katatergal bristles yellow or brown. Halter usually yellow, knob often brownyellow.
Wing
(
Fig. 4
): Dense microtrichia present apically and posteriorly. Cell r
4
with vein R
4
concave apically, R
5
slightly convex medially. Cell m
1
with vein M
1
strongly angled basally. Apex of cell m
3
perpendicular to wing axis, well beyond rm crossvein.
Leg
: Fore coxa mostly and apical third or more of middle coxa yellow to reddishyellow, base usually brown; fore and middle trochanter mostly yellow; hind coxa and hind trochanter brown; coxae gray tomentose, yellowish setose. Femora mostly or entirely yellow; fore femur sometimes and middle femur usually light brownyellow to brown on apical third as a diagonal stripe anteriorly, apex dorsally and posteriorly narrowly brown; hind femur brown diagonally from apex ventrally to basal fifth dorsally; middle and hind tibiae with narrow apex and apical third brown, respectively. Fore femur ventrally with 67 unusually long, thick, yellow bristles (
Fig. 23
). Middle femur ventrally slightly concave; 2 long, yellow, ventrobasal bristles present, apex slightly hooked; abundant, erect, posteroventral setae present, short and of equal lengths, those on basal half thickest. Hind femur (
Fig. 30
) with 3 long, yellow, anteroventral bristles on basal half, bristles absent apically; posteroventral bristles mostly brown and short, those apically longest; HFWLR 1.0:6.1 1.0:6.5. Fore tibia and basal tarsomere of fore tarsus laterally fringed with numerous, long setae and several, thin, yellow bristles. Hind tibia normal, sides parallel beyond basal fifth. Fore and middle tarsi with basal tarsomere yellow, hind tarsomere yellowred to brown; fore and middle tarsi with 45 and 12 yellow bristles, respectively.
Abdomen
: Mostly brown, apical margins of most segments lighter; mostly yellowishgray tomentose with yellow setae; tergites dorsally yellowishbrown tomentose with black setae; apical margin of sternites 78 with numerous, long, black setae. Apical half to twothirds of tergite 5, sometimes 6, laterally with closespaced, ‘fringe’ of short, golden setae. Sternite 35 with few to several, erect bristles; sternite 4 with 2022 bristles aligned in 3 moreorless transverse rows.
Terminalia
(
Figs. 7882
): Epandrium 3 branched; dorsal branch long, slender; median branch styliform, slightly sigmoid, apex pointed; ventral branch clavate apically. Hypandrium with transverse cluster of bristles, fused basally; bristles apically flat and wide.
Female. Differs from male as follows. Length, body
12.513.7 mm
; wing 10.0
10.9 mm
.
Head
: Face with 35 stout yellow bristles; occiput with 610 brown postocular bristles, longest about half distance toward ocellar tubercle; 1.0:6.71.0:7.5.
Thorax
: Mostly yellow tomentose, yellowishbrown dorsally; 12 dorsocentral bristles.
Wing
: Cell m
1
much wider beyond base, vein M
1
more strongly arched forward than in male; cell m
3
with apex at or just beyond rm crossvein.
Leg
: Fore and middle femora with only thin, ventral setae, latter with ventral without ventral concavity. Hind femur with 2 ventral rows of 4 thin, widespaced, bristles, basal 2 per row yellow, apical 2 brown; 1.0:5.91.0:6.0. Fore and hind tibiae normal without fringe or tubercle, respectively. Fore tarsus sometimes with 1 yellow bristle. A
bdomen
: Most segments with apical margin yellow; fringe of short yellow setae on tergite 5 and erect yellow bristles on sternites 35 absent. Tergite 9 dorsomedially extremely thin often appears as a narrow line. Sternite 6 apically and sternite 7 entirely with black vestiture.
Terminalia
(
Figs. 8385
). Two spermathecae present, apex narrow, rounded, duct prebasal and lateral. Sternite 8 evenly rounded apically, yellowishbrown medioapically, slightly concave, with a short horizontal fissure.
SPECIMENS EXAMINED.
CONGO
:
1 ♂
,
1 ♀
, Congo Français,
Env. de Brazzaville
, E
. Rouband and
A. Weiss
~ 1907 (
MNHN
);
1 ♀
, same data except 1908 (
MNHN
);
1 ♀
, Museum Paris, Rep. Pop. Congo, l. Matile ~ Forét séche, Km 20 route de, Kinkala á Mindouli,
12.x.1975
(
MNHN
);
1 ♀
, Museum Paris,
Rep. Pop. Congo, L
. Matile, Forét séche, Km 20 route de, Kinkala á, Mindouli
12.x.1975
(
MNHN
).
CÔTE D'IVORIE
:
2 ♂
, Foro Foro, Barrage, 23.i.74,
G. Couturier
~ O.
R
.S.
T
.O.M. (
MNHN
);
1 ♂
, Adiopodoume', 20.x.73,
G. Couturier
~ O.
R
.S.
T
.O.M. (
MNHN
);
1 ♀
, Lamto, 15.ix.65, Bio
53.10 m
1, 19.ix.65 ~
Y. Gillon
(
MNHN
);
1 ♂
, Dana, gono (Maraqué),
vi.1977
,
P. M. Elsen
(
MRAC
).
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
:
Holotype
♀
,
Lisala Congo
/
21°30’E
2°10’N
/ v.16.1915 ~
Long
and
Chaplin
(
AMNH
);
1 ♂
,
Bambesa
,
5.vi.1937
,
J. Vrydagh
(
MRAC
);
2 ♂
,
Bambesa
,
11.vi.1938
(
MRAC
);
1 ♀
,
Bambesa
,
25.v.1938
,
P. Henrard
(
MRAC
);
2 ♀
,
Bambesa
,
20.ix.1933
~
30.x.1933
,
H. J. Bredo
(
MRAC
);
1 ♂
,
Uelé Bambesa
,
10.x.1933
,
J. Leroy
(
MRAC
);
1 ♂
,
Ubangi
:
Yahoma
,
17.ii.1932
,
H. J. Bredo
(
MRAC
);
1 ♂
,
3 ♀
,
Lomami
:
Kaniama
, 1931,
R
.
Massart
(
MRAC
);
1 ♂
,
LomamiLuputo
,
vii1935
,
Dr. Bouvier
(
MRAC
);
1 ♀
, same data except 1933 (
MRAC
);
1 ♂
,
Bas.
Congo
:
Cattier
, 1946,49,
Delafaille
(
MRAC
);
1 ♀
,
Bas. Congo
:
Kalina
,
vii.1945
,
Mme. Delsant
(
MRAC
);
2 ♀
,
Congo du Lemba
,
iv.1913
,
R
.
Mayné
(
MRAC
);
1 ♂
,
HautLopari
, vvi.1927,
J. Ghesquière
(
MRAC
);
1 ♀
,
Rutshuru
,
xi.1937
,
J. Ghesquière
(
MRAC
);
1 ♂
,
Hte Tshuapa
:
Yolo
,
vi.1937
,
Buckinckx
(
MRAC
);
1 ♂
,
Luebo
,
7.x.1921
,
Dr. H. Schouteden
(
MRAC
);
1 ♂
,
Lulua
:
Kapanga
,
x.1932
,
G. F. Overlaet
(
MRAC
);
1 ♀
,
Yangambi
(Stanleyville),
v.1959
,
P. Dessart
(
MRAC
);
1 ♀
,
Tolo
,
xii.1913
,
Dr. Maes
(
MARC
).
GHANA
:
2 ♂
, 191165 ~
W. P. Lowe
(
BMNH
).
GUINEA
:
2 ♀
,
Guinée Franç
,
Friguiagbé
,
Pres Kindia, P
. Prins 1908 (
MNHN
).
MALAWI
:
4 ♀
,
Mt. Mlanje
,
Nyasaland
~ 1112,
25.ix.1912
~
S. A. Reave
(
BMNH
).
NIGERIA
:
1 ♂
,
S. Nigeria
,
Ibadan
, 1925,
O. B. Lean
(
BMNH
);
1 ♂
, 672 ~ OBL ~
S. Nigeria
,
Ibadan
, 1925,
O. B. Lean
(
USNM
);
1 ♂
,
Lagos
~ 192358 ~
Dr. L. H. Booth
(
BMNH
);
1 ♂
, same data (
USNM
);
1 ♂
,
N. Nigeria
~
Baro
~
ix.1910
~
Dr. J. W. S. Macfie
(
BMNH
).
SIERRA LEONE
:
1 ♂
,
Blende
,
23.v.1910
,
J. J. Simpson
(
BMNH
).
Distribution. Captured throughout the year in riverine forests of Central and West Africa.
Remarks. Three stout anteroventral bristles on the basal half of the hind femur (
Fig. 30
) and the combined characters of the terminalia (
Figs. 7885
) readily characterize
O. brevicornis
.
The thin fringe of long setae on the fore tibia and fore tarsus; the row of stout bristles below the fore femur; and the short, golden, fringe of setae on the lateral margin of tergite 5 further distinguish the male. Although the apical third to onehalf of the middle coxa is usually red to yellow, it is sometimes entirely dark and unreliable for recognizing some females. However, the presence of only two spermathecae, the wholly dark ground color of the abdominal tergites, and the exceptionally narrow, linelike middle of tergite 9 further distinguish the female.
The
holotype
is in good condition except for the left eye being partially collapsed and the middle legs beyond the trochanters are missing.