Exoprosopa fuscescens Bezzi, 1924

Greathead, David J. & Evenhuis, Neal L., 2004, New species of Bombylioidea in Mario Bezzi’s Unpublished Hungarian Museum Manuscript, Zootaxa 773, pp. 1-56 : 32-33

Exoprosopa fuscescens Bezzi, 1924

( Figs. 19–20)

80. Exoprosopa fuscescens ΨΨ Tanzania: Mto­ya­Kifaru, 15–17.xii.1904 (Katona). MS page [81].

Bezzi, 1924: 278 – key only.

Evenhuis & Greathead, 1999: 361 – mentioned syntypes in MSNM. There are three: Tanzania: 1Ψ, Mto­ya­Kifaru, 5–10.xii.1904 (Katona); 2Ψ, same except, 15–19.xii.1904.

Types: The syntypes in HNHM were destroyed in 1956. Otherwise the only known syntypes are the three females in MSNM. None of these is perfect and the antennal flagellum is only present on one antenna of one of the two collected on 15–19.xii.1904 but this specimen is denuded and has tattered wings; the other of the same dates has tattered wing tips but the abdominal scaling is best preserved. This second of three specimens is here chosen as lectotype ( Fig. 19), since, although the third specimen has perfect wings, the abdominal vestiture is somewhat denuded.

Remarks: All known specimens are females. In addition to the three syntypes from Tanzania a single specimen from Kenya was also examined.

Description. Head black, infused with brown in middle of lower half of frons and face, paler yellow on genae and underside. Hair short black on black part of frons and shining yellow with scattered golden scales on brown areas of frons and face. Fine silvery scales on occiput behind eyes and with short yellow hairs at margin of cavity. Frons three times width of ocellar triangle at vertex. Eye indentation and bisecting line scarcely indicated. Antenna ratio 2:1:4:2 with short black hairs on scape and pedicel, first flagellomere elongate conical, second narrow linear. Proboscis no longer than oral cavity, blackish brown with broad fleshy labellae. Palpi half length of proboscis, brown with brown hairs.

Thorax black with post­alar calli and scutellum red­brown. Hair yellow­brown on fore margin and anepisternum, brown on metatergites, also a few black hairs intermixed, especially on propleura. Narrow scales on scutum shining brown, paler yellow­brown above wing bases. Bristles black, dense on hind margin of scutellum. Plumula yellow­brown.

Legs including coxae dark brown with black bristles. Fore tibiae smooth, for tarsus as long as tibia, claws greatly reduced. Hind femora with a complete row of short robust bristles on underside. Claws black, gently curved.

Wing ( Fig. 20) broad with anal lobe twice width of anal cell. Costal hook and comb black. Veins brown, membrane infuscated brown, paler at centres of cells. Apex from end of subcostal and posterior halves of cells m1, m2 and cua1 clear. Crossvein r­m just beyond middle of discal cell, r5 narrowed towards wing margin, crossvein m­m straight and oblique to wing margin, cell m2 very long originating less than the length of r­m from apex of bm. Squama and fringe blackish brown. Haltere dark brown with apex of knob yellow­brown.

Abdomen black with second and third terga obscurely brown at sides. Hair short black, scales black except for a pair of white scale spots at sides of second tergum and a few white scales at the sides of third tergum. Acanthophorite spines gleaming brown.

Length of body, 12–19 mm; of wing, 13–19 mm.

Additional material examined. KENYA: 1Ψ, Machakos, nr Sultan Hamud, 1.xii.1987 (M.J.W. Cock) (DJG).