Panops aurum, Winterton, Shaun L., 2012

Winterton, Shaun L., 2012, Review of Australasian spider flies (Diptera, Acroceridae) with a revision of Panops Lamarck, ZooKeys 172, pp. 7-75 : 22-23

Panops aurum sp. n. Figs 18-20

Type material.

Holotype male, AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: Darlington, 450 ft., E.S. Ross, D.Q. Cavagnaro, 5.ix.1962 [-31.901, 116.081] (CAS).

Diagnosis.

Eye apilose; proboscis longer than head height; body non-metallic; antennae red-brown; parafacial with yellow marginal pile; postpronotal lobe concolourous with rest of thorax; legs dark yellow, femora brown-black.

Description.

Body length: 11.0 mm (male). Headwitheye apilose; ocellar tubercle raised laterally; medial ocellus absent; occiput brown-black, occipital pile yellow, postocular ridge and gena overlain with grey pubescence; clypeus length equal to oral cavity, brown-black; palpus yellow; margin of oral cavity (parafacial) densely pilose (yellow); proboscis longer than head height; flagellum apex of uniform width, truncated apically, flagellum red-brown; scape and pedicel brown. Thorax with postpronotal lobe brown-black; scutum black, scutal vestiture dense yellow-gold pile; scutellum black; pleuron black; coxae black; femora brown-black, apices dark yellow; tibiae dark yellow; tarsi dark yellow; lower calypter white with dark yellow margin; wing hyaline, venation dark; vein R4 without spur vein. Abdomen shape rounded globose, much larger than thorax, colour orange-red to yellow, dark markings anteriorly and medially, vestiture dense elongate pile, yellow anteriorly, brown posteriorly on tergites 2-5.

Etymology.

The specific epithet is derived from the Latin, aurum - gold; referring to the distinctive golden setal pile on the head and thorax.

Comments.

Panops aurum sp. n. is known only from a single male specimen from Western Australia. The fringing yellow setae around the oral cavity and yellow pile on the thorax are distinctive for the species.