Procanace sp. grisescens, Hendel, 1913

Munari, Lorenzo, Kirk-Spriggs, Ashley H. & Mcgregor, Gillian K., 2021, The surf flies of the Mascarene Islands (Diptera: Canacidae: Canacinae), with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 4990 (3), pp. 563-570 : 569

Procanace sp. grisescens group

Fig. 11

Material examined. Mauritius: 1♀, Black River, Petite Case Noyale , 20°24′23″S, 57°22′10″E, 1–3 m, 28.i.2018, sweeping intertidal zone and coastal vegetation, A.H. Kirk-Spriggs & B.S. Muller .

Comments. Based on females alone, a reliable identification of this species is impossible. It is worth noting here the discovery of this species belonging to the P. grisescens -group, which has not been previously recorded from the Mascarenes. This genus is very widely distributed, mainly in the Pacific Ocean, with numerous species described from the Hawaiian Islands and Japan. Only three species of the P. grisescens -group are recorded from the Afrotropical Region, of which P. cogani Mathis, 1988 has been described from Seychelles (Mahé Is.) and P. pauliani Mathis & Wirth, 1979 only from Madagascar (Toliara). The third species, P. grisescens Hendel, 1913 , is widely distributed in the Afrotropical, Australasian/Oceanian, and eastern Palaearctic Regions, but not yet reported from either the Mascarenes or Seychelles.

Figures

FIGURES 7‒11. Mapped coastal sampling stations of surf flies in the Mascarene islands and distributions of species. 7. Map of sampling stations on La Réunion (2015). 8. Same, Mauritius (2018). 9. Distribution of Nocticanace mahensis (Lamb) on La Réunion. 10. Same, Isocanace mauritiana Munari sp. nov. on Mauritius. 11. Same, Nocticanace mahensis (Lamb), Procanace pninae Mathis & Freidberg and Procanace sp. grisescens-group on Mauritius.