Musca albomaculata, Macquart, 1843

Pont, Adrian C., 2012, Muscoidea (Fanniidae, Anthomyiidae, Muscidae) described by P. J. M. Macquart (Insecta, Diptera), Zoosystema 34 (1), pp. 39-111 : 46-47

albomaculata Macquart, 1843 , Musca

Musca albomaculata Macquart, 1843: 151 ( 1844: 308) , pl. 21, fig. 1. Lectotype ♀, “De l’île de France. M. Desjardins. Muséum.” ( Mauritius), by designation of Pont & Matile (1976: 743), in MNHN.

MATERIAL. — There is 1 ♀ in MNHN, no. 983 of the Macquart collection, which was referred to as the holotype by Pont & Matile (1976: 743). This has to be interpreted as lectotype designation by inference, and it has been labelled accordingly. It was also seen by Villeneuve (1916: 513) and Patton (1923b: 333). It is in excellent condition, with the accession no. 879.37 ( Mauritius, collector Desjardins). It is labelled by Macquart “N°. 71. / Musca / albomaculata.”.

With the lectotype, there are another 3 ♀♀, which have been shown by Pont & Matile (1976: 744) not to be part of the type series: all are from Mauritius, one collected by Desjardins (accession no. 4185.33) and two by Guérin-Méneville, but they do not agree with Macquart’s description and are actually Musca domestica subsp. domestica Linnaeus, 1758 .

CURRENT IDENTITY. — Musca albomaculata Macquart is a junior synonym of Musca xanthomelaena Wiedemann, 1830 , as currently understood ( Emden 1965: 74; Zielke 1971: 128). It has abdominal syntergite 1 + 2 broadly yellow laterally, with about the central quarter darkened,

FIG. 1. — Sample labels to illustrate Macquart’s handwriting and methodology: A, a new genus and species (“ Orthostylum rufipes . ♂, n. g., n. sp. Macq.”); B, a later identification of Macquart’s own species, after publication of the 1851 supplement 4 (“ Limnophora rufipes ♀. Macq. 4e S.”); C, identification of a Fabricius species (“ Coenosia tigrina ♂.”); D, a new species (“ Coenosia punctipennis ♂. Macq. n. sp”). The labels come from specimens in OUMNH. Scale bar: 10 mm .

and anterior postsutural dorsocentral setae minute, not distinct from the ground-setulae.