Pygophora Schiner, 1868

Couri, Marcia S., Pont, Adrian C. & Daugeron, Christophe, 2010, The Muscidae (Diptera) of New Caledonia 2503, Zootaxa 2503 (1), pp. 1-61 : 48

Genus Pygophora Schiner

Pygophora Schiner, 1868: 295 . Type-species: Pygophora apicalis Schiner, 1868 , orig. des.

Diagnosis. Frons wide, wider at anterior margin than at vertex; two pairs of reclinate orbital setae; frontal triangle short; arista with long hairs only on basal half, apical half bare; prestomal teeth developed; dorsocentrals 1+3, the presutural seta sometimes preceded by a short seta; fore tibia with one long median seta on posterior surface; hind tibia with 1 anteroventral, 2 anterodorsal and 2 posterodorsal setae, without a posteroventral apical seta.

Comments. Pont (1989) listed 41 species for the Australasian/Oceanian Regions, three of them recorded from New Caledonia: P. caledonica (Bigot) , P. maculigera (Stein) and P. minuta Malloch. Paramonov (1961) gave a review of the Australian species, and included P. minuta and P. caledonica in his key. Crosskey (1962) revised the entire genus, and these three species were keyed and redescribed.

Curran (1929) recorded two females of Pygophora macularis ( Wiedemann, 1830) (as Coenosia ), an Oriental species, from Mueo. This record was not repeated by Crosskey (1962), who redescribed this species, and Curran’s record was certainly based on a misidentification.