Exoprosopa contorta Bezzi, 1924

Greathead, David J. & Evenhuis, Neal L., 2004, New species of Bombylioidea in Mario Bezzi’s Unpublished Hungarian Museum Manuscript, Zootaxa 773, pp. 1-56 : 33-34

Exoprosopa contorta Bezzi, 1924

( Figs. 21–22)

85. Exoprosopa (Exoprosopa) contorta 1ɗ Tanzania: Shirati, v.1909 (Katona). MS page [84].

Bezzi, 1924: 301 diagnosis; 1ɗ Kenya: Serengeti Plains, Mbuyuni, 24.v.1916 (T.J. Anderson) in BMNH.

Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999: 355 – listed 1 syntype in BMNH.

Types: A total of 2 male syntypes constitute the type series of this species. The HNHM male was destroyed in 1956; thus, the BMNH specimen is the only surviving syntype and is here designated lectotype ( Fig. 21).

Remarks: This species is only known from the denuded and damaged lectotype specimen, which has only one fore leg one middle leg and one hind femur remaining. Bezzi (1924) merely remarked that it is ‘very near E. seniculus Wied. , but without any trace of a dark band on the middle of the wing’ but compares it with E. dimidiata in his manuscript, which is a more apt comparison of the wing pattern. He keyed it along with the following species, E. restricta , as having the face conically prominent; body and legs black; dark fore border in marginal cell ending much before the marginal crossvein (i.e., interradial vein). In the key it differs from E. restricta in having a more extensive wing infuscation and crossvein r­m nearer the middle of the discal cell.

Description. Lectotype male. Head black above, underside light brown. Hair black on black areas of frons and face, golden below, also with narrow yellow­brown scales on frons and face; white scales behind eyes and very pale yellowish hairs fringing the excavated occiput. Face blunt conical. Frons three times width of ocellar triangle at vertex. Antenna black and with black hairs. Ratio 2:1:3:3, first flagellomere conical, second narrow linear. Proboscis black projecting by length of flagellum. Palpi dark brown with gleaming brown hairs.

Thorax black but apex of scutellum obscure reddish. Dorsal surface denuded. All hair yellow, white scale­like hairs along notopleural line, bristles black. Plumula white.

Legs black with black bristles and brown scales. Hind femur with five bristles on underside. Fore tarsi slender, little reduced.

Wing ( Fig. 22). Costal hook and comb black, veins brown and with a brown infuscation extending from the end of the subcostal more or less straight to the middle of the anal cell and thence across basal quarter of anal lobe. Clear areas in cell r1 at base before origin of R2+3 and middle of cell bm. Crossvein r­m at middle of discal cell, m­m long and sinuous parallel with margin of wing, cell r5 little narrowed towards wing margin. Squama brown, fringe white. Haltere brown, knob paler yellow­brown.

Abdomen black. Hair at sides to first tergum straw yellow, remaining terga with black hair at sides. Traces of white scales present on terga possibly forming bands, otherwise dorsal surface denuded. Sterna with very pale yellow hair and scales.

Lengths: body 12.5 mm; wing 14 mm.

Bezzi’s manuscript description is short and lacks much detail but enables further details of the vestiture to be added to the above description as follows: sternopleuron (katepisternum) with yellow tomentum; dorsal surface of abdomen covered in black and white scales.