Sobarocephala plumicornis ( Lamb, 1914 )

Lonsdale, Owen, 2014, Revision of the Old World Sobarocephala (Diptera: Clusiidae), Zootaxa 3760 (2), pp. 211-240 : 229-230

Sobarocephala plumicornis ( Lamb, 1914)

Figs 5, 6

Heteromeringia plumicornis Lamb, 1914: 308 .

Sobarocephala plumicornis, Cogan, 1980: 636 . Lonsdale & Marshall, 2011: 12 [lectotype designation].

Description (Figs 5, 6). Male. Body length 2.9mm. Arista densely plumose with hairs sparser apically. Setae brown. Ocellar seta absent. Presutural intra-alar seta absent. Two dorsocentral setae with slightly more developed setula in front of anterior dorsocentral. Acrostichal seta absent. One lateral scutellar seta. Head yellow with ocellar tubercle and stripe on first flagellomere brown, frons sometimes with orange tint; gena shining. Scutum yellow with one pair of faded brown postsutural stripes not reaching base of scutum. Scutellum brownish laterally and basally. Pleuron yellow with anepisternum and anepimeron brown. Metanotum brownish medially below scutellum and on katatergite. Legs yellow with fore tarsi and fore and hind tibiae brown. Halter entirely white. Wing dusky on distal 1/3 along R2+3 and R4+5. M 1+2 ratio 4.5. Abdomen brown with surstylus (excluding faded central spot) yellow.

Female. Paralectotype similar to male except notal stripes darker and more well-defined, scutellum entirely brown dorsally, metanotum brown and terminalia yellow. Female from Nigeria (Fig. 7) differs as follows: scutum with light brown postsutural mottling; scutellum brown and metanotum entirely light brown; anepisternum and anepimeron light brown; coxae white; mid tibia light brown; first flagellomere with spot at base of arista; gena and parafacial paler.

Male terminalia. Not dissected. Surstylus approximately 3/5 height of epandrium, broad basally, tapering to rounded point apically and with posterior margin straight.

Lectotype: SEYCHELLES. Professor J.S. Gardiner, 1914 (1♂, BMNH).

Paralectotype: SEYCHELLES. Same collection as lectotype (1♀, BMNH) .

Additional material examined: NIGERIA. Ibadan, 6.ix.1962, D.C. Eidt, Malaise trap (1♀, CNC).

Comments. The Nigerian female (the western-most record of Sobarocephala in the Old World) is significantly darker than the Seychelles types and may represent a separate species. This female superficially resembles S. laticrinis (Fig. 10), but the Nigerian female has stronger notal strips, a darker scutellum, entirely brown tibiae with the mid tibia paler, an entirely light brown anepisternum and anepimeron, and no presutural intra-alar seta.