Cydistomyia doddi (Taylor)

Mackerras, I. M., Spratt, D. M. & Yeates, D. K., 2008, Revision of the horse fly genera Lissimas and Cydistomyia (Diptera: Tabanidae: Diachlorini) of Australia, Zootaxa 1886 (1), pp. 1-80 : 49-50

Cydistomyia doddi (Taylor)

( Figs. 4 , 36 )

Tabanus abstersus ; Taylor, 1913: 60, nec Walker, 1850: 58 (= Dasybasis circumdatus (Walk.)) Austen, 1914: 264 (notes misidentification).

* Tabanus doddi Taylor, 1917a: 758 (proposed as replacement name for abstersus Tayl. nec Walk.); Ferguson 1921 a: 373; Surcouf 1921: 66; Hardy 1944: 83; Chainey, 1990: 262. Syntypes, 1 female (ANIC), 1 female (BMNH), from Kuranda, north Qld..

Cydistomyia doddi ; Mackerras 1959: 167; Daniels, 1989: 287; Bickel & Elliot, 1998 -2005: 3.

Note. This species is quite distinct from the type of the genus, Cydistomyia doddi Taylor, 1919: 47 , which was described as from Kuranda, north Qld., but was shown by Oldroyd (1947: 343) to be a synonym of Cydistomyia albithorax ( Ricardo, 1913) , which is restricted to New Guinea.

Other material examined. 224 ♀, 2 ♂.

Diagnosis. A medium to large blackish species with light grey pleura, distinctly darkened wings in apical half, ashy grey median spots and lateral triangles on abdominal tergites, and distinctive strongly hooked dorsal angle on basal plate of antennal flagellum. Length 14–17 mm.

This species, C. magnetica , C. alternata , and C. wentworthi form a north to south array of closely related, dark-winged, dark-bodied species with frons increasing in width (frons index decreasing) from north to south and leading into the large southern C. victoriensis , with C. pruina forming a natural link between C. wentworthi and C. victoriensis . The new species, C. fenestra , distributed from Cape York Penninsula to mid-New South Wales has previously been confused with both C. alternata and C. wentworthi , particularly when geographic distribution was given more weight than morphological features of either the wings or the antennae. Of this cluster of species, only C. fenestra has green eyes (relaxed) and all black hairs on palpal segments 1 and 2.

Female. Head. Eyes (relaxed) blackish, bare (short sparse hairs easily visible at 35X magnification). Frons narrow, parallel or slightly divergent, index 5.8–7.3, with dull fawn-brown tomentum and short black hairs; vertex not hollow; vertical triangle greyish, slightly shiny; ocellar tubercle well-defined, raised, brown, ocelli not visible; callus raised, elongate, tapering, shiny, black, slightly less than width of frons at base and with extension reaching upper fourth of frons. Subcallus smooth, with ashy tomentum, without hairs; parafacials with ashy tomentum and short black and greyish white hairs; face with pale grey tomentum, a little darker than parafacials, with rather sparse fine black hairs above; beard white. Antennal scape with greyish tomentum, short black hairs, moderately developed dorsal prolongation; pedicel blackish brown, with welldeveloped dorsal prolongation, short black hairs; basal plate brownish black, with dorsal angle produced into strong forwardly directed tooth reaching about one half to two-thirds of the way to base of style; style black slender, slightly longer than basal section. Palpi with ashy tomentum and white hairs on basal half of segment 2, grey speckled tomentum and short black hairs on distal half, mixed greyish white and black hairs on palpal segment 1. Labella with inconspicuous lateral chitinised bar.

Thorax. Scutum and scutellum dark brown with olive hue, with traces of darker median and dorsocentral lines, greyish on lateral margins, with short black and scanty appressed yellowish hairs; marginal hairs black in front of wing root, mixed black and white to yellowish behind it. Pleura pale grey, with white hairs, contrasting with dark scutum.

Legs. Black, slender; hairs black, except for ventral and basal fringe on femora.

Wings. Distinctly suffused with light greyish brown, costal cell entirely brown; irregular dark brown suffusion along radial and median veins from tip of R 2+3, fork of R 4+5, apex of discal cell, and along Cu 1.

Abdomen. Blackish brown, first segment dark brown in middle basally, grey along hind margins, ashy grey laterally; subsequent segments brownish black in middle third, dark brown laterally, with barely indicated paler apical margins; conspicuous white-haired small median apical spots on tergites 1–5, larger lateral apical white-haired triangles on tergites 2–5; those on tergite 5 extend medially to make pale apical margin more definite than on other segments; elsewhere hairs black. Venter black, greyish in centre of first and second sternites, with grey to ashy white haired apical margins on sternites 2–5; elsewhere hairs black.

Male. Similar to female but more brownish, scutum with dense appressed dull yellow hairs. Eyes bare (scattered short hairs easily visible at 35X magnification), (relaxed) green or greenish red, meeting in mid line, upper facets not appreciably enlarged nor differentiated from lower. Ocellar tubercle well developed, oval, brown, without hairs, projecting slightly above level of eyes; basal plate of antennal flagellum more slender and tooth not projecting forward as far as in female. Palpi elongate-conical, tapering to rounded point, with long white hairs basally, shorter black ones apically. Pale apical margins of abdominal tergites more clearly defined than in female.

Distribution. Cape York to Mackay N QLD. QLD: 8 km N of Bloomfield R., May, S.R. Curtis; Bloomfield, Dec., T.M. Moulds; Cape Tribulation, Dec., Jan., G.B. Monteith, Apr., I. Beveridge; Noah Ck, 8 km S of Cape Tribulation, Sept., G.B. Monteith;; 16 km S of Daintree, Apr., K.R. Norris; Bamboo Ck, nr Miallo, N of Mossman, Colless; Mossman Gorge, Dec., D. Gibson, Apr., D.H. Colless; Mossman, F.H. Taylor; 5 km W of Mossman, Mar., I.F.B. Common and M.S. Upton; Simpson Point, 32 km N of Cairns, Mar., T.G. Campbell; Myola; nr Julatten, Dec., E. Britton; Kuranda, F.P. Dodd; 7.5 km NW of Kuranda, Feb., Storey and Halfpapp; Mt Lewis, 914 m, rainforest, Oct., E. Britton; Barron R., 2 km N of Redlynch, Mar., T.G. Campbell; Cairns, Dodd, Lea, Taylor; Crystal Cascades, Cairns, Mar., I.F.B. Common and M.S. Upton; Glen Boughton, 32 km from Cairns, Mar., T.G. Campbell; Whitfield Ra. Forest Reserve, Cairns, Apr., D.H. Colless; Hill Ck via Yarrabah, Apr., C.R. Pavey; Dejinghe Ck, 5 km SW of Yarrabah, Oct., E. Britton and R. Trumble; Kairi Ck, Tinaroo, Feb., D. Gibson; Kauri Ck, Danbulla SF, Jan., D. Gibson; Cathedral Fig, Severin Ck, Danbulla SF, Jan., D. Gibson; Russell Road at Bellenden Ker Landing, Oct.; Upper Mulgrave R., via Gordonvale, Apr., S.R. Curtis; Mulgrave R.; Meerawa, Jun., A.N. Burns; Quingilli, Apr., T.G. Campbell; Deeral, Apr., T.G. Campbell; Bramston Beach, nr Babinda, biting, Aug.–Oct., I.M. and M.J. Mackerras, Elliott; Mt Bartle Frere, Apr., K.R. Norris; Herberton, 914 m, Dec., Dodd; Henrietta Ck, Palmerston Nat. Pk, Apr., S.R. Curtis; Crawford's Lookout, Palmerston Nat. Pk, Jan., P. Ferrar; 32 km S of Ravenshoe, 670 m, Mar., I.F.B. Common and M.S. Upton; Erchee Res. Stn., via Innisfail, Feb., D. Gibson; Innisfail, Fahey, F.H. Taylor, Feb., biting, I.M. Mackerras, Apr., R. Domrow; Dinner Ck, nr Innisfail, at light, Nov., E. Britton, Feb., H.A. Standfast and B. Kay, Mar., H.A. Standfast, Apr., M.J. Mackerras, T.G. Campbell; Nind's Ck, nr Innisfail, Feb., H.A. Standfast and B. Kay; Gooligan Ck, nr Innisfail, Apr., K.Y. Harrison; Mourilyan, Oct., A.L. Dyce; Miskin Ck, nr Mena Creek, May, T.G. Campbell; Upper Mulgrave Road, Kearneys Falls, Dec., G.B. Monteith and Thompson; Stone Ck via Garradunga, G.B. Monteith and C.J. Burwell; Flying Fish Point, Jan., E.C. Dahms; Cardwell Ra., Dec., G.B. Monteith and Hanlet; Tully Falls, Feb., D. Gibson; Cardstone, Jan., P. Carne and E. Britton, Apr., Palmerston Hwy. Tully, Feb., D. Gibson; I. Beveridge; 6 km E. of El Arish, May, T.G. Campbell; Dunk Is., Jan., P. McIndoe; Lacey's Ck, Mission Beach, Apr., S.R. Curtis; 3 km W of Mission Beach, Apr., I.F.B. Common and M.S. Upton; 8 km NE of Tully, Apr., K.R. Norris; Cardstone via Tully Falls, May, G.B. Monteith and D.K. Yeates; Bingil Bay, E of Tully, May, T.G. Campbell; Tully, May, T.G. Campbell, F.H. Taylor; 8 km W of Tully, Apr., K.R. Norris; Hinchinbrook Is., May, S.G. Wright; Upper Broadwater Ck; 20 km N of Townsville, Jan., S.J. Johnston; Townsville, Dodd; Ching Do, F.H. Taylor, J.L. Humphrey; Bowen, Mar., T.G. Campbell; Mackay, Apr., A.N. Burns; Eungella Nat. Pk, 731 m, Mar., I.F.B. Common and M.S. Upton.

Figures

FIGURES 1–8. Habitus images 1. Cydistomyia casuarinae (English, Mackerras & Dyce) wing length 11 mm. 2. Cydistomyia cyanea (Wiedemann) wing 12 mm. 3. Cydistomyia nigropicta (Macquart) wing: 18 mm. 4. Cydistomyia doddi (Taylor) wing 13.5 mm. 5. Cydistomyia magnetica (Ferguson & Hill) wing: 14 mm. 6. Cydistomyia alternata (Ferguson & Hill). 7. Cydistomyia victoriensis (Ricardo) wing: 16mm. 8. Cydistomyia rivularis (Ferguson & Hill) wing: 9mm.

FIGURES 34–36. 34. Cydistomyia improcerus Mackerras & Spratt, sp. nov. frons, palp, antenna, female terminalia, sternite 8, spermathecal bulb. 35. Cydistomyia laticallosa (Ricardo) frons, palp, antenna, female terminalia, sternite 8, spermathecal bulb. 36. Cydistomyia doddi (Taylor) frons, palp, antenna, female terminalia, sternite 8, spermathecal bulb.