Japanagromyza meridiana Spencer

Lonsdale, Owen, 2013, Japanagromyza Sasakawa (Diptera: Agromyzidae) of Africa, Zootaxa 3709 (5), pp. 445-460 : 452-453

Japanagromyza meridiana Spencer

Japanagromyza meridiana Spencer 1961c: 324 .

Description. Female holotype as described for J. crinicolis except as follows: wing length 2.1mm; eye height divided by gena height approximately 11.0–12.0; condition of cephalic setae difficult to assess due to poor condition of specimen; condition of intra post-alar and fore tibial setae could not be determined; halter light brown with apical margin matching body colour.

Host. Unknown.

Distribution. Republic of South Africa.

Holotype. RSA. Eshowe, Zululand, Dhlinza Forest, 5–6.iv.1960, B.R. & P. Stuckenberg (1♀, NMSA).

Comments. The South African species Japanagromyza meridiana was described on the basis of the single female holotype, which is unfortunate considering that it now appears as though this species likely belongs to a clade that requires male dissection for accurate identification. This clade, for which hosts are unknown, includes J. crinicolis and J. dolobrata , which occur further north in Uganda and the D.R. Congo. Because J. meridiana cannot be reliably associated with either of these two species until a male is discovered, it seems best to treat all three as distinct until it can be determined whether one of the two central African species are synonymous with the senior J. meridiana .

The holotype of Japanagromyza meridiana was examined on the author’s behalf by B. Muller.