Apolysis minuscula ( Efflatoun, 1945 ) Gibbs, 2023

Gibbs, David, 2023, A world review of the bee fly tribe Usiini (Diptera, Bombyliidae) - Part 3: Parageron Paramonov s. lat., European Journal of Taxonomy 863 (1), pp. 1-162 : 153

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5852/ejt.2023.863.2081
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:10981377-CCE7-4487-A415-4E409E55A507
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8291125
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/EE3F8791-FF20-4C83-FE1D-3C6FD129E6F0
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Apolysis minuscula ( Efflatoun, 1945 )
status	comb. nov.

Treatment

Apolysis minuscula ( Efflatoun, 1945) View in CoL comb. nov.

Usia minuscula Efflatoun, 1945: 224 View in CoL .

Type material (not examined)

Syntypes

EGYPT • “ Gebel Elba ( Wadi Edeib and Wadi Kanssissrob), south Eastern Desert. Mid-March to endApril 1928 ( Efflatoun 1945)”; ESEC .

Syntypes in ESEC and EFC not seen but low-resolution photograph of the draw containing them obtained.

Remarks

Efflatoun (1945) described this species from four males and 25 females collected in 1928. Of these 29, 12 remain in ESEC (several mounts still apparently with intact specimens) and 14 in EFC (most still more or less intact) making 26, the whereabouts of the remaining three is unknown. It is a very small species that Efflatoun (1945) compares to A. elbae , differing largely in the extent of yellow, colour of mesonotal dusting and in the male only the dark spot on haltere knob missing in A. minuscula , all characters that can be variable in Usiinae . Eight specimens from Israel key to this species in Efflatoun (1945) and closely agree with his description and these certainly belong in Apolysis . Additionally, Efflatoun (1945: pl 21 fig. 341) illustrates the hypopygium in lateral view which is of the Apolysis type and not of Parageron s. lat. type.

Small discrepancies with the type description and illustrations suggest that the Israeli specimens are in fact an undescribed species closely allied to A. minuscula rather than A. minuscula itself. Additionally, the considerable distance between the type locality of A. minuscula at Gabel Elba in the South-eastern Desert of Egypt and the collecting locality of the Israeli specimens in the Negev Desert, makes it likely they are different species.

Removing this species to Apolysis causes the preoccupation of Apolysis minuscula Hess, 1975 so this species is given a new replacement name below.

Distribution

Egypt (Gebel Elba (Wadi Edeib and Wadi Kanssissrob, South-eastern Desert).