Bengalia robertsi Kurahashi, 1987

Rognes, Knut, 2018, Revision of the Bengalia torosa Wiedemann, 1819 species-group (Diptera: Calliphoridae), with notes on the systematic position of B. robertsi Kurahashi, 1987 and B. subnitida James, 1964, Zootaxa 4391 (1), pp. 1-71 : 64

Bengalia robertsi Kurahashi, 1987

( Figs 257–262 )

Bengalia robertsi Kurahashi, 1987: 70 . HoloType ♂ (BPBM; examined), by original designaTion. Type localiTy: Papua New Guinea (Morobe Province, Kulolo Creek, Bulolo).

Temaseka robertsi: Lehrer (2005: 150) . [Lehrer copied the original description, including the figures, and remarked “[n]ous ne connaissons pas cette espèce, …”.]

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE ♂ (BPBM), labelled as shown in Fig. 257 . The dried out terminalia (not examined) are situated in a glass microvial, with a cork stopper, pinned together with the specimen ( Fig. 257 ).

Discussion. This species lacks discal setae on T5 and was included in the Bengalia torosa species-group (Gangelomyiinae) by Lehrer (2005). Lehrer (2005), copying Kurahashi’s description in toto, placed B. robertsi in his newly created nominal genus Temaseka together with B. concava Malloch and T. mallochi Lehrer , on the basis of alleged similarities in the distiphallus. By his own admission, he had not seen any material himself (“[n]ous ne connaissons pas cette espèce”). The greater ampulla is gourd-shaped (i.e., pointed at its lower end) ( Figs 259, 262 ), which places it in the Bengalia labiata Robineau-Desvoidy species-group. Note also the position of a particular seta (the Hough seta) inside of the row of two sa setae ( Fig. 262 ). This seta is mentioned by Kurahashi under another name (… “first postsutural ia is located laterad of longitudinal intraalar line, …”). This seta is also present in Bengalia labiata Robineau-Desvoidy (KR) but it is usually absent in the genus Bengalia . Rognes (2011b: 19) discussed the occurrence of the Hough seta in the Bengaliinae . The fore tibia has a single strong v seta ( Figs 260– 261 ). I cannot locate the single p seta mentioned by Kurahashi. I have not examined the terminalia, but I find no evidence of semidomes or a distal lip process on the distiphallus in the figures published by Kurahashi (1987). I leave a more detailed description of the distiphallus to revisers of the Bengalia labiata species-group.

Figures

FIGURES 257–262. Bengalia robertsi Kurahashi (holotype, BPBM). 257. Labels and genitalia vial. 258. Detail of body, dorsal view. 259. Left greater ampulla, lateral view. 260. Detail of fore legs, left lateral view. 261. Detail of fore legs, right lateral view. 262. Most of thorax, left dorsolateral view; upper arrow showing Hough seta, lower arrow showing greater ampulla.