Platytropesa simulans Crosskey, 1965

Colless, D. H., 1998, Morphometrics in the genus Amenia and revisionary notes on the Australian Ameniinae (Diptera: Calliphoridae), with the description of eight new species, Records of the Australian Museum 50 (1), pp. 85-123 : 99

Platytropesa simulans Crosskey

Crosskey (1965) gives a detailed description of New Guinean specimens. I now have Australian specimens, which differ from PI. auriceps as follows:

Male. Inner eye margin smoothly curved. Parafrontals without proclinate fronto-orbital bristles, with more pale setulae anteriorly. Palp usually pale brown, at least apically. Sternopleuron with quite distinct pale pollinose spot, visible in most lights. M-bend index 0.8-0.9 (i.e., slightly, but distinctly less than in auriceps ). Calypter with dark colour almost completely confined to margin, scarcely if at all extending around posteroexternal angle. Abdominal S5 with hairs less profuse and rather straight, not conspicuously curved. Cerci more or less straight, slightly hooked at apices; surstyle as described for auriceps .

Female. Differs from auriceps in shape of inner eye margins, palp colour, pale spot on sternopleuron, and darkening of calypter-though differences not as pronounced as in male.

Distribution. The Australian form is known only from the Iron Range area of Cape York Peninsula.

Notes. There are some quite marked differences between the specimens described above and Crosskey's original description of PI. simulans . These are confirmed by my examination of a female paratype. New Guinean specimens have a much more extensively darkened lower calypter and much less pollinosity on the sternopleuron. The male surstyli ofAustralian specimens also differfrom Crosskey's description and his figures 38 and 41, in more resembling the condition shown for PI. auriceps in his figs 39 and 42. Crosskey does, though, use the term "usually", suggesting that he observed some variation from the shape described.

A case could be made for describing the Australian form as a distinct species; but since it is clearly the local representative of PI. simulans , I am content for the present to leave it under that name.