Taxonomic changes in African Stratiomyidae (Diptera)
Author
Hauser, Martin
Author
Woodley, Norman E.
Author
Fachin, Diego A.
text
Zootaxa
2017
4263
1
journal volume
33099
10.11646/zootaxa.4263.1.3
0ec981e7-8ef8-4b1a-b1a4-2380e6583cce
1175-5326
572548
4DD4B6E9-DBBF-46AD-9A55-4325C0AD9586
Genus
STERNOBRITHES Loew
Sternobrithes
Loew, 1857
: 264
.
Type
species,
Sternobrithes tumidus
Loew, 1857
, by monotypy. Stenobrithes:
Kertész, 1908
: 347
. Incorrect subsequent spelling. Attributed to Loew.
Sternobrites:
Séguy, 1953
: 152. Incorrect subsequent spelling.
Gobertina
Bigot, 1879a
: 87
.
Type
species,
Gobertina picticornis
Bigot, 1879b
, by designation of
Brauer (1882: 87)
.
Syn. nov.
Sternobrithes mercurialis
(Lindner)
.
Comb. nov.
Gobertina mercurialis
Lindner, 1938
: 28
. HT
♂
[
MRAC
]:
Zaire
: Bas-Uelé.
Sternobrithes picticornis
(Bigot)
.
Comb. nov.
Gobertina picticornis
Bigot, 1879a
: 87
.
Nomen nudum.
Gobertina argentata
Bigot, 1879a
: 87
.
Nomen nudum.
Gobertina picticornis
Bigot, 1879b
: 192
. ST
2 ♂
,
6 ♀
[
BMNH
]:
Sierra Leone
.
Gobertina argentea
Bigot, 1879b
: 193
. ST
3 ♂
,
1 ♀
[
BMNH
]:
Sierra Leone
.
There has been a lot of confusion about the identity of the widespread, closely related group of genera close to
Sternobrithes
(see under
Argyrobrithes
). Part of the confusion started with the description(s) of
Sternobrithes
Loew (1857
,
1860
), in which the color of the last antennal flagellomere was not described.
Gobertina picticornis
Bigot
was synonymized with
Sternobrithes tumidus
Loew
by
Kertész (1908: 347)
but then
Lindner (1935: 294)
indicated that these are good species, without having studied the Loew material. Three
syntypes
of
Sternobrithes tumidus
from
Guinea
(which are deposited in
ZMHU
, not
NHRS
, as stated in
Woodley 2001
: 142), were examined by Jenny Pohl [
ZMHU
] (and by N. Woodley in 2010) and have a white last antennal segment. The female
syntype
from
South
Africa
was neither in
ZMHU
(J. Pohl pers. com.) or in
NRS
(Y. Brodin & K. Holston, pers. com.). We agree with
Kertész (1908)
that
Sternobrithes
and
Gobertina
are congeneric, but do not follow Kertész in synonymizing the species
picticornis
with
tumidus
, before the genus is revised carefully.
Next to
Sternobrithes picticornis
(Bigot)
and
S. tumidus
Loew
is a third valid species,
S. mercurialis
(Lindner)
(
Fig. 12
), all of which have the last antennal segment white (with an orange base) and the last antennal segment is much shorter than the rest of the flagellomere. We have seen specimens of an undescribed species, which is very similar to
S. picticornis
/
tumidus
, but with the last antennal segment completely black. The generic limits of
Sternobrithes
and
Argyrobrithes
need to be reevaluated, including species from
Madagascar
and the
Oriental
Region, as well as other closely related genera and it could be that the two genera should be combined under
Sternobrithes
.