Cydistomyia curvabilis Mackerras & Spratt, 2008

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 : 42

Cydistomyia curvabilis Mackerras & Spratt , sp. nov.

( Fig. 30 )

Type material. Holotype female, NT, Koongarra , 15 km E of Mt Cahill, 27.xi.1974, T. Weir & T. Angeles ( ANIC) . Paratype male, same data as for holotype ( ANIC) .

Diagnosis. A medium-sized species with grey scutum, dark brown to blackish banded abdomen, narrow frons with pyriform callus tapering uniformly to fine point at two-thirds length of frons, broad brown basal plate on antennal flagellum with recurved dorsal angle bearing short forwardly directed tooth. To be distinguished from C. duplonotata and C. improcerus by these antennal features, dark banded abdomen, absence of abdominal vitta, shape of callus which is almost full width of frons at base and generally smaller size. Length 12–13 mm.

Female. Head. Eyes (relaxed) dark brown, bare. Frons parallel, index 4.8, with dull fawn tomentum and short dark brown hairs; ocellar tubercle brown, bare; callus brown, moderately shiny, almost full width of frons at base, with uniformly tapering extension which reaches two-thirds length of frons. Subcallus fawn, without hairs; parafacials yellowish fawn, face more greyish, both with creamy white hairs mixed with a few darker ones; beard creamy white. Antennal scape and pedicel dark fawn with black hairs, pedicel with dorsal prolongation, antennal flagellum brown, robust, with recurved dorsal angle produced into short forwardly directed tooth similar but not as long as that in alternata , style darker brown. Palpi fawn, with a few short white and numerous short black hairs.

Thorax. Scutum and scutellum grey, paler and with olive tint anteriorly, with erect black and appressed yellowish brown hers, marginal hairs black. Pleura grey, with dull whitish grey hairs.

Legs. Femora black, with short black hairs; tibiae brown with black hairs; tarsi dark brown, with short black hairs.

Wings. Lightly greyish brown; veins brown; stigma brown.

Abdomen. Blackish brown, with narrow pale apical band on all tergites, widening laterally, hairs short, black, with longer creamy white ones over pale apical areas. Venter similar, with short black hairs and longer creamy white ones over pale apical bands on each sternite.

Male. Similar to female but more hairy, with brown rather than blackish abdomen. Eyes bare (few short hairs just visible at 35X magnification), meeting over most of length of frons, upper facets reddish brown, enlarged, marked off by fairly definite line from small slightly darker lower and posterior ones. Ocellar tubercle sunken below level of eyes, ocelli not observed. Palpi subcylindrical, tapering, bluntly rounded distally, yellowish cream, hairs mixed black and greyish white.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the recurved dorsal angle on the basal plate of the antennal flagellum.

Distribution. Known only from type locality S of Jabiru, in Kakadu National Park, NT.

Figures

FIGURES 28–30. 28. Cydistomyia hyperythrea (Bigot) frons, palp, antenna, female terminalia, sternite 8, spermathecal bulb. 29. Cydistomyia avida (Bigot) frons, palp, antenna, female terminalia, sternite 8, spermathecal bulb. 30. Cydistomyia curvabilis Mackerras & Spratt, sp. nov. frons, palp, antenna.