Platypygus pumilio Loew

Gharali, Babak, Evenhuis, Neal L. & Almeida, Jorge, 2013, World synopsis of described species of the genus Platypygus Loew (Diptera: Mythicomyiidae: Platypyginae), Zootaxa 3745 (2), pp. 199-242 : 222

Platypygus pumilio Loew

( Figs. 14 , 15 )

Platypygus pumilio Loew, 1873: 204 . Becker et al., 1903: 192. Kertész, 1909: 97. Verrall, 1909: 14. Becker & Stein, 1913: 507. Bezzi, 1926: 260. Paramonov, 1926: 86. Engel, 1933: 126. Hennig, 1969: 59. Hull, 1973: 262. Evenhuis, 1983: 486; 2002: 26. Zaitzev, 1989: 45.

Platypygus pumilia: Charykuliev, 1972: 149 . Incorrect subsequent spelling of pumilio .

Material examined. Types: UZBEKISTAN: 1 lectotype male/ Platypygus pumilio / Coll. H. Loew/ Type / Zool. Mus. Berlin (ZMHB); 2 paralectotype females/ Чардара/ Syntypus / Zool. Mus. Berlin. (ZMHB). Non - types: GREECE: 1 female, Fokis, Giona Oros, 2 km N. Sikea, 8 June 1982, R. Danielsson; 1 female, Fthiotis [Phthiotis], Iti Oros, Pavliani, 9 Jun 1982, R. Danielsson; 1 female, Rhodes, 2 km SW Lindos, 23 May 1983, R. Danielsson (all in MZLU); 1 male, 1 female, Ioanina, Kalpaki, 800 m, 21 June 2006, J. Dils, J. Faes; 1 male, 2 females, same data except, 900 m, 30 June 1999 (all in J. Dils). TURKMENISTAN: 1 female, Dzhebel, 3 June 1934, L. Zimina (ZMHB).

Notes on types. Platypygus pumilio was described by Loew (1873) based on an unknown number of male and female specimens from “Kisilkum”[= Kyzyl-Kum] and “Tchardara” [= Chardara near Kattakurgan], both in Uzbekistan. Six specimens (from only “Kisilkum”) are logged into the ZMHB accession register from 1858–1884. During his visit to ZMHB in 1998, Evenhuis (2002) located six syntypic specimens (but were labeled from both original type localities) and 23 non-types under the name P. pumilio . Apparently the person logging the specimens into the accession register omitted the “Tchardara” locality when registering the accession of these specimens. Paramonov (1926) was the first person to treat P. pumilio after its original description, but unfortunately made no mention concerning the status of the original type series. Engel’s (1933: 126) statement “ Type Loews, Kisilkum, Ende IV. (Fedtschenko) Mus. Berlin”, is enough to fix the single Kisilkum specimen in ZMHB that is labeled as “ Typus ” (see Fig. 14 ) as the lectotype male. We examined the lectotype male and 2 paralectotypes during this study.

Diagnostic features. Face yellow; frons completely yellow without contrasting mark; postgena without posterior extension; occiput black; ocellar triangle black ( Fig. 14 d); antennae completely black; mesonotum ( Fig. 14 c) minutely hairy, with a large black pattern dorsally, pattern extending anteriorly as black stripe to anterior margin of mesonotum and posterolaterally as two short, acute stripes; postpronotal lobes yellow; postalar calli yellow; black spot next to transverse suture absent; lateral margin of mesonotum completely yellow; scutellum narrowly black basally; halter yellow; r-m before middle of cell dm ( Fig. 14 b); legs yellow except two last tarsal segments brownish.

Male genitalia. In dorsal view epandrium semicircular, cerci rounded, in lateral view epandrium subtriangular, acutely narrowed apically, cerci ellipsoid, not well sclerotized ( Fig. 15 c), gonocoxites subtriangular, fused; gonostyli fused to gonocoxites, sclerotized at extreme apex ( Fig. 15 b); epiphallus subconical, tapering to thin straight tip, aedeagal bulb large, ovate; gonocoxal apodemes long, narrow, flared apically, length about two times that of basal aedeagal apodeme ( Fig. 15 a, d); lateral apodemes small, foliate.

Distribution. Greece (new record), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan (new record), Uzbekistan.

Remarks. The specimens from Greece and from Dzhebel, Turkmenistan examined during this study represent the first records of P. pumilio from those countries. This is one of the smaller sized species in the genus Platypygus . Engel (1933) stated that this species closely related to P. turkmenorum and separated them in a special key to just those two species based on the different shape of the black mark on the posterior portion of the mesonotum and on the color of the legs.

Examination in this study of the types showed that P. pumilio and P. turkmenorum are easily distinguished from each other at first glance, by the much smaller size of the body of P. pumilio (half the size of P. turkmenorum ); but additionally by the presence of a V-shaped black mark on the frons of P. turkmenorum (the frons without such a mark in P. pumilio ), the location of crossvein r-m at about the middle of the cell dm (this crossvein before the middle in P. pumilio ), and having a sinuate crossvein m-cua1 (this crossvein straight in P. pumilio ).

Neither Efflatoun (1945) nor Steyskal & El Bialy (1967) treated P. pumilio in their work on Egyptian bombyliids and El Hawagry (2011) did not include it in his checklist of Egyptian species. We have thus deleted Egypt from the current known range.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Platypygus pumilio male lectotype: a — lateral view, b — wing, c — mesonotum (dorsal view), d — head (anterior view).

FIGURE 15. Male genitalia of Platypygus pumilio: a — phallic complex (dorsal view), b — gonocoxites (dorsal view), cepandrium (lateral view), d—phallic complex (lateral view).