Stylogaster amplicercus Stuke, 2012

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2015, New Conopid records from the Afrotropical Region (Diptera). Part 1: Paramyopa Kröber, Pseudoconops Camras, Stylogaster Macquart, Thecophora Rondani, and Zodion Latreille, Zootaxa 3963 (2), pp. 101-159 : 129

Stylogaster amplicercus Stuke, 2012

Material. MADAGASCAR: 1♂, 26.–31.iii.2002, Fianarantsoa Province, 1.2 km km s Ranomafana National Park entrance, 1095 m [2115.99′S 4725.21′E], leg. R. Harin’Hala, M. E. Irwin, coll. CAS; 1♂, 19.–26.ii.2002, ditto; 1♂, 29.vi.–6.vii.2003, Fianarantsoa Province, 12 km w Ranomafana National Park entrance, 1215 m, montane tropical forest [2115.05′S 4724.43′E], leg. R. Harin’Hala, M. E. Irwin, coll. CAS.

Discussion. Having now seen more specimens of Stylogaster amplicercus it seems apparent that the characteristic lateral lappets of the cercus referred to in the species description may in fact be unique to the holotype and possibly just an artefact of preservation. As a result it is probable that Stylogaster amplicercus is conspecific with the illustration of the male postabdomen of Stylogaster nilssoni Smith, 1984 . The situation is complicated, however, by the fact that Smith (1984) chose a female holotype and it is not absolutely certain that the male paratype is necessarily conspecific, although given that the male paratype of Stylogaster nilssoni was collected together with the female holotype, and was caught at the same flower species, it is quite probable that the two specimens are conspecific, and that Stylogaster amplicercus Stuke, 2012 is therefore a junior synonym of Stylogaster nilssoni Smith, 1984 . The description of Stylogaster nilssoni does not refer to certain important characters, however, and it is therefore necessary to inspect the paratype male before a formal synonymy can be established.