Some Afrotropical species of Atherigona Rondani (Diptera: Muscidae) revisited and a new species described
Author
Deeming, John C.
B8B9E727-C28B-458A-B48C-40D14A95999C
Honorary Research Fellow, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, CF 10 3 NP, United Kingdom.
john.deeming@honorary.museumwalesac.uk
text
European Journal of Taxonomy
2022
2022-11-30
847
1
121
144
http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2022.847.1987
journal article
199614
10.5852/ejt.2022.847.1987
959db0c5-f3f6-4c1b-93df-c60fb832d192
2118-9773
7387430
880CEE9A-25B5-4620-90D2-D109E949059E
Atherigona
(s. str.)
humeralis
(
Wiedemann, 1830
)
Coenosia humeralis
Wiedemann, 1830: 441
.
Atherigona ferruginea
van
Emden, 1940: 116
.
Sudan
.
Remarks
Described (
Wiedemann 1830: 441
) from
the Sudan
as a species of
Coenosia
, much confusion has arisen in nomenclature between this and related species. The junior synonym
Atherigona
(s. str.)
ferruginea
was also described from
the Sudan
(van
Emden 1940: 116
).
At present the synonymy of the two species that have appeared under this name is thus:
1)
humeralis
(Wiedemann)
(
Pont 1986
,
1997
) (
Skidmore 1985
, non
Hennig 1964
, nec auctt.), syn.
ferruginea
van Emden (
Pont 1986
)
.
2)
bedfordi
van Emden, syn.
humeralis
(Wiedemann) sensu
Hennig 1964
, et auctt., non
Skidmore, 1985
, nec
Pont, 1986
.
Amongst the material discovered in the Smithsonian Institution is a specimen labelled as being the
type
of
Coenosia humeralis
. This specimen is an
Atherigona
and it is in quite good condition, but teneral, lacking both middle legs and having the one remaining hind leg heavily damaged. It is pinned onto a card mount on a ‘continental’ pin and bears the following labels:
1) blue rectangular “
Tete
Peters” in copperplate of an unknown hand.
2) white rectangular “6618” [or possibly 8199] machine-printed.
3) red rectangular “
Type
” machine-printed.
4) blue rectangular “
humeralis
Wied. Loew
*” in copperplate as 1 above.
5) grey rectangular “
Atherigona varia
Meig.
♂
” in Stein’s handwriting [this is a simple misidentification, fortunately not introduced into the literature].
6) white rectangular “Mus. Berol.” [this refers to Museo Regio Berolinensi, the Royal Museum of
Berlin
, of which Museo academico Berolinensi and Royal Prussian Museum are alternative names for the Museum für Naturkunde
Berlin
, formerly the Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität zu
Berlin
].
Wiedemann only described a single species of
Muscidae
under the specific name of
humeralis
, which is this species, and the
types
of it from Senckenberg Museum (Frankfurt am Main) have been clearly identified by
Pont (1997: 98)
. Pont (1995) further gives much information on the collectors with whom Wiedemann cooperated and the nature of the collections upon which he worked and was able to identify the
type
with certainty. Clearly, this specimen is falsely labelled as being the
type
. Upon dissection it was found on the structure, colouration and chaetotaxy of the trifoliate process to be undoubtedly
A
.
hyalinipennis
van Emden, 1959
. A further label has been added to the specimen to that effect and the abdomen pinned beneath the specimen in a van Doesburg vial of glycerine.
Distribution
The species is further known from the Canary Islands,
Cape Verde
Islands,
Chad
,
Egypt
,
Ethiopia
,
the Gambia
,
Jordan
,
Libya
,
Madagascar
,
Nigeria
,
Oman
,
Rwanda
,
Palestine
,
Saudi Arabia
,
South Africa
,
Uganda
and
United Arab Emirates
.