Phaonia boleticola species-group

Zhou, Zhongyan & Wei, Lianmeng, 2023, Two new species of the Phaonia boleticola - group (Diptera, Muscidae, Phaoniinae) from China, ZooKeys 1168, pp. 219-229 : 219

Phaonia boleticola species-group

Phaonia boleticola species-group Ma et al., 2002: 243-246; Xue et al. 2008: 42 (1): 155-171.

Diagnosis.

Members of the P. boleticola species-group have the following combination of characters: frons narrow, arista plumose, presutural acr 0, pra undeveloped, prosternum bare, scutellum and abdomen dark, mid tibia with a row of p or pv only, hind tibia without apical pv.

Except as noted above, the authors find the male terminalia of the P. boleticola species-group to have the following characters: viewed posteriorly, cerci usually vest-like, fused proximally on upper 1/2 to 3/5, or even nearly completely fused.

Remarks.

Both P. xuei Wang & Xu, 1998 and P. fani Ma & Wang, 1992 (only females known) are different from other members of the P. boleticola species-group in the following features: abdomen not entirely black, tg 1+2 and most of tg 3 pale yellow; tg 4 and 5 each with hind marginal band yellow; male cercus of P. xuei rounded, which is very different from that of other species of the P. boleticola species-group. Therefore, these two species probably do not belong to the P. boleticola species-group or the definition of the P. boleticola species-group needs to be studied further and modified.

Included species.

Nine species including the two new species described herein: P. agitata sp. nov., P. cyclosternita Xue, 1996, P. fani Ma & Wang, 1992, P. hainanensis Xue, 2008, P. nigripennis Ma & Cui, 1992, P. nujiangensis sp. nov., P. suscepta Xue, 1996, P. suspiciosa (Stein, 1907) and P. xuei Wang & Xu, 1998.

Affinities.

The P. boleticola -group is close to the P. nymphaearum -group but can be differentiated from the latter by the plumose arista.

Distribution.

China (Palearctic and Oriental regions). Phaonia boleticola (Rondani, 1866) is distributed through Central Europe to Middle Asia.