Dasyrhicnoessa ferruginea (Lamb, 1914)

Munari, Lorenzo, 2016, The Canacidae of the Arabian Peninsula (Diptera: Brachycera: Carnoidea), Zootaxa 4092 (4), pp. 489-517 : 496-497

Dasyrhicnoessa ferruginea (Lamb, 1914)

Rhicnoessa ferruginea Lamb, 1914: 367 [ Seychelles. Mahé; LT ♂ (designated by Munari, 1988: 48), BMNH].

Distribution. Afrotropical: Kenya, Madagascar, Oman, Seychelles (Aldabra, Anonyme, Astove, Long, Mahé,?Praslin), Tanzania, United Arab Emirates. Australasian/Oceanian: Australia (Queensland), Caroline Islands (Yap), Mariana Islands ( Guam, Saipan), Palau, Papua New Guinea. Oriental: China (Hong Kong—Lantau), Malaysia (Sabah, Singapore), Philippines (Balabac, Busuanga, Calicoan, Culion, Leyte, Mindanao, Negros Oriental, Palawan). Palaearctic: Qatar (new), Saudi Arabia (new). South Indian Ocean Islands: Amsterdam Island.

Additional material examined. Saudi Arabia: Jazan, water treatment works, 7.ix.2014, H.A. Dawah, 1♂ 2♀♀, [NMWC]. Qatar: Al Shamal, Al Zubarah, exclusion zone, 25°58.628’N – 51°01.451’E, upper beach above high tide mark near sabka and old city, pitfall traps, 7‒11.iii.2012, K.P. Puliafico & A.M. Jensen, 3 ♂♂ 1 ♀, [LMC, ZMUC]; Al Shamal, Old Lisha town ruins, 25°56.949’N – 51°03.639’E, UV light trap dusk to dawn, trap placed near a line of trees bordering the town ruins, 22‒23.iii.2012, KPP-QA2012-LT1, K.P. Puliafico & A.M. Jensen, 1 ♀ [ZMUC]. United Arab Emirates: Al Rafah, 25°43.7’N – 55°52.5’E, mangrove, 13.iii.2010, W.N. Mathis, 1 ♂ [USNM].

Remarks. The males from Al Zubarah show, in lateral view, a strongly tapered, pointed anterior surstylar lobe, rather than the usual paddle-shaped outline, which is distinctive in many specimens of this species. On the other hand, the posteroventral armature of the male midfemur exhibits the distal part characteristically crest-shaped, formed by strong, close, black spinulae abruptly decreasing in length distally, this character state being typical of this species only. In all probability, the peculiar outline of the anterior surstylar lobe of the males examined here falls within the genitalic variation range of this species. D. ferruginea is not easily recognizable by the colour of the thorax, which exhibits considerable variation, ranging from evenly yellowish to dark brown.