Revision of the Afrotropical species of Dohrniphora DAHL (Diptera: Phoridae)
Author
Disney, R. Henry L.
text
Zootaxa
2003
196
1
24
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.156866
9b3da648-15c5-4f12-be3c-340a9cbee03a
11755326
156866
Dohrniphora confusa
sp. nov.
(
Fig. 7
)
Dohrniphora
sp.?
Collin, 1912
: 107
. Female,
Seychelles
,
Mahé
, forest above Mare aux Cochons,
2 September 1908
. [Not examined]
The name refers to the past confusion over the identity of this species (see below).
Of more than a hundred specimens of
Dohrniphora
from the
Seychelles
that have been examined only two species have been recognized. These were 2.5 specimens of this species to every one specimen of
D. cornuta
.
This larger series of males and females clearly belongs to the problem species for which Collin had only a single female. He rightly compared it with
D. papuana
(
Brues, 1905
)
, but dismissed this species from further consideration because his specimen had “a long proboscis” but the female of
D. papuana
had, according to Collin, a proboscis “of normal length”. This misleading assertion is discussed below (see
D. papuana
).
FIGURES 78.
Dohrniphora
males, posterior face of bases of hind femora: (7)
D. confusa
;
(8)
D. diminuens
.
Scale bars = 0.1 mm.
In Beyer’s (1959a) key to Afrotropical
Dohrniphora
this species runs to couplet 4 lead 2, to
D. schmitzi
Kohl
female. This species is synonymized with
D. papuana
below. It is immediately distinguished from
D. confusa
by the very pale veins 46. These veins are distinctly brown in
D. confusa
.
In addition all five foretarsal segments have a posterodorsal hair palisade in the
D. confusa
, but only segments 14 have such a palisade in
D. papuana
or else there is an incomplete palisade on segment 5, restricted to its basal third.
Male
Head with brown frons very similar to
D. angolensis
,
but with only four strong bristles at apex of palp. Thorax brown. Anterior scutellars about half as long as posterior pair of bristles, but weaker than hairs at rear of scutum between the dorsocentrals. Abdominal tergites brown with minute hairs, which are only a little longer on T6. Venter light brown, with small hairs below on segments 24 and longer ones on 5, including a pair of long setae at rear margin. Hypopygium brown with a straw yellow anal tube. Legs mainly straw yellow lightly tinged brown, but hind femur and tibiae yellowish brown with femur being progressively darker towards apex and brown along dorsal edge. Mid coxae brown. Front tibia with 45 dorsal or neardorsal spines. Mid tibia with dorsal hair palisade ending before level of tip of anterior bristle of basal pair and with a short preapical anterior bristle. Base of hind femur as
Fig. 7
.
Hind
coxal lobe similar to
Fig. 4
.
Hind
tibia with a short anterodorsal bristle at end of basal quarter. Wings
1.41.9 mm
long and similar to those of
D. papuana
except the veins, other than vein 7, are darker and the membrane is distinctly grey to naked eye. In particular veins 46 are clearly visible when viewed against a white background at low magnifications (e.g. with a
x4
lens). In
D. papuana
these veins are scarcely visible at
x60
magnification. Distal two thirds of haltere knob pale straw yellow.
Female
The female very closely resembles the male, and also the female of
D. papuana
; but with smoky wings with darker veins, and a posterodorsal hair palisade on all five foretarsal segments (see
D. papuana
below). Wings 1.52.0 mm long.
Material
HOLOTYPE
male,
Seychelles
, Silhouette Island, La Passe Reservoir,
714 July 2001
, J. Gerlach (
CUMZ
– 8130).
PARATYPES
5 males
,
6 females
, as
holotype
(8130, 8144);
3 males
, Curieuse Island,
20 March 2002
, J. Gerlach (
CUMZ
– 8144).