Exoprosopa restricta 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Greathead, David J. & Evenhuis, Neal L., 2004, New species of Bombylioidea in Mario Bezzi’s Unpublished Hungarian Museum Manuscript, Zootaxa 773, pp. 1-56 : 34-35

Exoprosopa restricta Bezzi, 1924

86. Exoprosopa (Exoprosopa) restricta 1ɗ Tanzania: Shirati, v.1909 (Katona). MS page [86].

Bezzi, 1924: 280 – key only.

Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999: 376 – location of type material unknown. Types: The holotype in HNHM was destroyed in 1956 and no others are known.

Remarks: No specimens of this species have been found. Bezzi’s manuscript diagnosis merely describes it as ‘exceedingly similar to E. contorta and from the same locality but the wing pattern much narrower’ as is indicated in his key (Bezzi, 1924).

Description. The description in Bezzi’s manuscript is extremely brief:

“Length of body, 11.5 mm; of wing 13 mm.

Head, thorax, scutellum and abdomen all as in the preceding; sides of abdomen with a fringe of pale yellow hair; sides of mouth yellowish; proboscis distinctly shorter. Legs as preceding. Dark marking of wings much reduced, infuscation in first submarginal [r2+3] and first posterior [r5] cells restricted to the base; in discal cell restricted to the base, inner angle very sparingly infuscated; base of fourth posterior [cua1] cell completely hyaline, anal at base very little and axillary lobe also. Position of veins as in the preceding, but anterior transverse vein [r­m] before the middle and opposite the angle at the base of the discal cell on the posterior side, discal cell much constricted there.”

The description hardly distinguishes E. restricta from a large number of similar African species and must therefore be considered a nomen dubium for the time being.