Syritta oceanica Macquart, 1855

Ramage, Thibault, Charlat, Sylvain & Mengual, Ximo, 2018, Flower flies (Diptera, Syrphidae) of French Polynesia, with the description of two new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 448, pp. 1-37 : 25-26

Syritta oceanica Macquart, 1855

Fig. 5B, E

Syritta oceanica Macquart, 1855: 112 (155) (holotype: ♀, OUMNH; type locality: French Polynesia,

Society Islands, Tahiti; original type locality as “De l’Oceanie, Otaïti et Nouvelle Zealande”). Syritta occanica Macquart, 1855: 112 (misspelling).

Differential diagnosis

See above under S. aenigmatopatria .

Material examined

FRENCH POLYNESIA: Society Islands: 1 ♂, Bora Bora, 12 Jun. 1925, L.E. Cheesman leg. ( MNHN); 1 ♂, Huahine, Pohue Rahi, 16°46′51.2″ S, 150°58′34.7″ W, 470 m a.s.l., 4 Jul. 2007, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_08023); 7 ♂♂, Huahine, Pointe Tiva, 16°49′15.11″ S, 150°59′0.61″ W, 5 m a.s.l., 21 Sep. 2012, T. Ramage leg. (4 ♂♂: CTR; 3 ♂♂: ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-0019725, ZFMK-DIP-0019730, ZFMK-DIP-0019741); 1 ♀, Huahine, 16°49′17.31″ S, 150°59′4.42″ W, 5 m a.s.l., 22 Sep. 2012, T. Ramage leg. ( CTR); 1 ♂, Raiatea, Faaroa Bay, 16°49′00.5″ S, 151°23′58.5″ W, 300 m a.s.l., 26 Jun. 2007, S. Charlat leg. ( SCL: symbiocode_05171); 1 ♀, Raiatea, Opoa, Aratao, 11 Jul. 2013, F. Jacq leg. ( ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00019724); 1 ♂, Raiatea, Faaroa, 2015, F. Jacq leg. ( CTR). – Tuamotu Islands: 1 ♀, Vahanga, old village, 5 Jun. 2012, F. Jacq leg. ( ZFMK: ZFMK-DIP-00026780).

Geographical distribution

South-central and central parts of the Pacific: Austral Islands over the Cook Islands, Marquesas Islands and Society Islands to the Hawaiian Islands ( Lyneborg & Barkemeyer 2005).

Status in French Polynesia

Present; recorded from the Marquesas Islands, Society Islands, Austral Islands and Tuamotu Islands.

Flowers visited

Syritta oceanica has been seen visiting the flowers of three plant species in three families: Heliotropium foertherianum Diane & Hilger (Boraginaceae) , Pemphis acidula J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (Lythraceae) and Citharexylum spinosum L. ( Verbenaceae ).

Biology

See Terry (1910), although for Hawaiian specimens.

Genetics

The GenBank accession numbers for this species are: 28S gene ( MF446469 , specimen ZFMK- DIP-0019730), 18S gene ( MF446424 , specimen ZFMK-DIP-0019730), protein-coding COI gene ( MF446519 , specimen ZFMK-DIP-0019730). The BOLD Process IDs for the DNA barcodes (5′–COI) for this species are: SYC5088-14 (= KX054853 , specimen symbiocode_05171) and SYC7899-14 (= KX054854 , specimen symbiocode_08023). The Barcode Index Number (BIN) for these specimens is BOLD:ACN4472 (https://doi.org/10.5883/BOLD:ACN4472).

References

Macquart 1855: 112 (description); Bezzi 1928: 82 (cit.); Aubertin & Cheesman 1929: 173 (records); Hull 1937: 84 (catalogue, note); Thompson 1989: 16 (cit.); Thompson & Vockeroth 1989: 457 (catalogue); Lyneborg & Barkemeyer 2005: 168 (redescription, diagnosis, male genitalia, bionomics).

Remarks

We report here the first record of this species from the Tuamotu Islands. Lyneborg & Barkemeyer (2005) clarified the status of this species and the allopatric Syritta luteinervis de Meijere, 1908 , and they explained the error of the New Zealand record for S. oceanica .

Figures

Fig. 5. A. Palpada vinetorum (Fabricius, 1798), ♀ (ZFMK-DIP-00019738), lateral view. B, E. Syritta oceanica (Macquart, 1855), ♀ (ZFMK-DIP-00019724). B. Lateral view. E. Detail of wing and abdomen. C–D, H. Syritta aenigmatopatria Hardy, 1964, ♀ (ZFMK-DIP-00019739). C. Wing and metaleg. D. Lateral view. H. Dorsal view. F, I. Simosyrphus grandicornis (Macquart, 1842), ♂ (ZFMK- DIP-00019736). F. Lateral view. I. Dorsal view. G. Syritta aenigmatopatria Hardy, 1964, ♂ (ZFMK- DIP-00019746), dorsal view. Scale bars = 1 mm.