Afrophylax aureiventris (Villeneuve, 1910) Villeneuve, 1910

O'Hara, James E. & Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2016, Annotated catalogue of the Tachinidae (Insecta, Diptera) of the Afrotropical Region, with the description of seven new genera, ZooKeys 575, pp. 1-344 : 256

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Tachinidae

Afrophylax aureiventris (Villeneuve, 1910) comb. n. Fig. 10

Type material examined.

Holotype ♂ of Sturmia aureiventris Villeneuve: " Sturmia / aureiventris / n. sp." [handwritten]; "Coll. J. Villeneuve:/ Sturmia / aureiventris Vill./ R.M.H.N. Belg. 15.392" [2nd and 3rd lines handprinted]; “Typus” [handwritten]; “TYPE” [red label] (MRAC).

Other material examined

[line breaks on labels not recorded]. 1♂: N.Kamerun [Cameroon], Johann-Albrechtshöhe [Kumba, 4°38′N 9°28′E] (ZMHB). 1 ♂: 54-57 Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria, 1 IX 71, M.A. Coines (CNC). 1♂: Nigeria, Ife, 13-14 Sept 1977, S. Shinonaga. 2♂: same data but date 29-31 Aug 1977 (all in MZUR, ex H. Shima collection). 1♂, 1♀: Uganda, Impenetrable Forest, S.W. Uganda, 27.1.72, A. Freidberg (TAU).

Redescription.

Body length: 7.5-8.5 mm.

Male. Colouration (Fig. 10a, c): Head black or brownish-black in ground colour, covered with thick silver reflecting microtomentum. Scape and pedicel brownish-black; postpedicel mostly black, yellowish-brown at junction with pedicel. Palpus basally brown, shading into yellow apically. Postpronotum and notopleuron yellowish-brown in ground colour. Scutum mid-dorsally black, shading into yellowish around postpronotum, in front of scutellum and around transverse suture. The usual 4 dark presutural vittae of scutum very narrow and barely visible in posterodorsal view. Scutellum black basally, shading into yellowish on apical 1/2-3/4. Tegula black; basicosta varying from light brown to dark brown. Legs dark brown except for the brownish tibiae (colour is more pale at junction between femora and tibiae). Abdominal colouration distinctive (Fig. 10c), with conspicuous, sharply defined dark hind margins on tergites 3-5, basal parts of these tergites yellow microtomentose over pale ground colour (thus appearing golden-orange).

Head (Fig. 10a): Frons at its narrowest point 0.4-0.5 times as wide as compound eye in dorsal view. Inner vertical seta well developed, reclinate. Outer vertical seta short but distinct. Upper 3 frontal setae proclinate. Frontal setae descending to slightly above lower margin of pedicel. Fronto-orbital plate with erect, short, hair-like setulae. Two upper reclinate orbital setae (anterior one distinctly longer than second and slightly longer than ocellar seta). Parafacial at its narrowest point about 0.5 times as wide as postpedicel. Face and lower facial margin not visible in lateral view. Genal dilation well developed, though very narrow and visible only in ventral view. Gena very narrow, 0.02-0.04 times as high as compound eye. Postpedicel 3.0-3.9 times as long as pedicel. First and second aristomeres not longer than wide. Prementum 2-3 times as long as wide. Palpus sub-cylindrical to slightly enlarged distally.

Thorax (Fig. 10b): Anepimeral seta short but distinct. Anatergite bare below lower calypter. Posterior lappet of metathoracic spiracle visibly larger than anterior lappet. Medial margin of lower calypter more or less abutting lateral margin of scutellum. Wing membrane hyaline. Second costal segment ventrally bare. Costal spine not differentiated from other costal setulae. Vein R1 bare. Base of R4+5 with 2-4 short setulae. Fourth costal section longer than sixth. Section of M1 between crossveins r-m and dm-m clearly longer than section between dm-m and bend of M1. Medial anterior surface of fore coxa bare. Preapical anterodorsal seta of fore tibia distinctly shorter than preapical dorsal seta. Hind tibia with 2 dorsal preapical setae. Preapical posteroventral seta of hind tibia shorter than preapical anteroventral seta. Hind tibia with regular, comb-like row of anterodorsal setae.

Abdomen (Fig. 10c): Tergite 5 about 0.8-0.9 times as long as tergite 4.

Male terminalia: Not examined.

Female (Fig. 10d) differs from male as follows.

Frons at its narrowest point 0.76 times as wide as compound eye in dorsal view. Postpedicel about 3 times as long as pedicel. Gena 0.06 times as high as compound eye. Palpus grossly clubbed; i.e., its maximum diameter about 1.5 times as wide as fore tibia at midlength. Abdomen mostly black in ground colour. Egg: macrotype, membranous ( Eryciini type).

Distribution.

Cameroon, D.R. Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda.

Remarks.

Mesnil (1950b: 19-20) assigned two of Villeneuve’s Afrotropical species, Sturmia aureiventris Villeneuve, 1910 and Carcelia nudioculata Villeneuve, 1938, to Argyrophylax Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1889. Crosskey (1980b) did not recognize Argyrophylax from the Afrotropical Region, returning Carcelia nudioculata to Carcelia and treating Sturmia aureiventris as an unplaced species of " Carceliini ". Crosskey (1984: 277) keyed out aureiventris (as " ' Argyrophylax ' aureiventris ") separately in his key to genera of Carceliini and Anacamptomyiini . Although Crosskey noted in his key that the species does not belong to Argyrophylax , he did not suggest an alternative placement.

The genus Argyrophylax is widespread in the Neotropical, Oriental and Australasian regions and a few species reach the southern Nearctic and eastern Palaearctic regions. The type species of Argyrophylax (the New World species Argyrophylax albincisus (Wiedemann, 1830)), as well as other congeners of which the reproductive system has been examined, is characterized by a long and convoluted common oviduct retaining hundreds of microtype, plano-convex, fully embryonated eggs. Females of Afrophylax aureiventris have a different reproductive strategy and lay macrotype membranous eggs and cannot be assigned to Argyrophylax . Moreover, we have determined that this species does not fit within the limits of an existing tachinid genus (see diagnosis) and propose for it the new genus Afrophylax .