Anypodetus phalaros Londt, 2000

Dikow, Torsten & Dubus, Meliah, 2023, A review of the assassin-fly genus Anypodetus Hermann, 1907 with the description of a new species (Insecta, Diptera, Asilidae), African Invertebrates 64 (2), pp. 165-206 : 165

Anypodetus phalaros Londt, 2000

Figs 46-48 , 52

Taxon depository.

ZooBank: https://zoobank.org/C3B681A5-8D4C-4B27-8F74-6948971007E7;

GBIF: https://www.gbif.org/species/1664907;

Plazi TreatmentBank: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03B39D2F-F047-9D42-FF58-FDC4D9C946C7;

iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/650537-Anypodetus-phalaros.

Diagnosis.

The species is distinguished from congeners by the unique mystax with regular brown setae medially and white, dorso-ventrally flattened setae laterally in both males and females.

Type locality.

South Africa: Limpopo: Louis Trichardt, 37 km N, Limpopo Valley (22°35'31"S, 029°54'24"E, -22.59194, 29.90667).

Material examined.

Namibia - Karas • 1♀ Brucharos (= Brukkaros); 25°52'00"S, 017°48'00"E; 06 Mar. 1972; Brown, H., Koster, E., Wessels, D. leg.; Paratype, SANC .

South Africa - Limpopo • 1♂ Louis Trichardt, 37 km N , Limpopo Valley ; 22°35'31"S, 029°54'24"E; Jan. 1975; Stuckenberg, Brian leg.; arid bushveld; NAMS-DIP-073587, Holotype, NMSA • 1♀ same data; NMSA-DIP-009034, Paratype, NMSA .

Distribution, biodiversity hotspots, seasonal imago flight activity, and biology.

Known only from north-eastern South Africa, southern Botswana, and south-central Namibia (Fig. 52 ). A rarely observed and collected species known from three specimens from three collecting events between 1972-1975 and a single observation at iNaturalist in 2015 (Table 2 ). The species is not known to occur in any currently recognized biodiversity hotspot. Adult flies are active in summer (January and March) (Table 3 ). The iNaturalist observation (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/11107350) indicates that this species perches on the ground. Other than that, nothing is known of the biology.

Figures

Figure 52. Map of southern Africa with elevational relief and biodiversity hotspots (sensu Conservation International in gray) and distribution of A. fasciatus, A. fascipennis, A. macroceros, A. nigrifacies, and A. phalaros (SimpleMappr https: // www. simplemappr. net / map / 20267). Distribution and occurrence data available in Google Earth KML file https: // www. simplemappr. net / map / 20267. kml.

Figures 46 - 48. A. phalaros 46 ♂ holotype (NMSA-DIP- 073587), lateral 47 same, dorsal 48 same, head anterior. Photographs by NMSA staff, copyright KwaZulu-Natal Museum.