Cosmina fuscipennis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830

Thomas-Cabianca, Arianna, Villet, Martin H., Martinez-Sanchez, Anabel & Rojo, Santos, 2023, South African nose flies (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Rhiniinae): taxonomy, diversity, distribution and biology, Biodiversity Data Journal 11, pp. 72764-72764 : 72764

Cosmina fuscipennis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830

= Cosmina fuscipennis Robineau-Desvoide, 1830: 423. Type locality: Cap de le bonne-Espérance [Western Cape, South Africa]. Remarks: type-series in MNHN, destroyed, not in remnants of Robineau-Desvoidy's collection.

= Musca punctulata Wiedemann, 1819: 21. Type locality: Cape of Good Hope [Western Cape, South Africa]. Remarks: type-series in ZMUC.

= Cosmina cuprina Bigot, 1860: 539. Type locality: Madagascar.

= Cosmina aethiopissa Séguy, 1958: 176. Type locality: Kenya.

Distribution

Afrotropical: Botswana,?Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Oman, Seychelles, South Africa (Fig. 29 ), Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Palaearctic: Saudi Arabia.

Notes

Preferred environment: Indigenous dune forest; bushveld and dune vegetation forest; open woodland areas, sandy woodland savannah areas; Karoo and valley Acacia woodland, succulent Karoo garden on hot N slope, Acacia and Ziziphus Mill. veld; Worcester Macchia, coastal Macchia and sandy area; Fynbos, mesic mountain Fynbos on sandstone; rocky slopes at road cutting, stream edge or bushes; rocky hillside areas with vegetation or sandy areas below; rocky outcrops; open mixed grassland, riverine bush and grass, plains; mountain slope overlooking sea on vegetated cliff; and Caravan Park and surrounding area, dry stream bed near staff houses, orchards and grasslands. This species also was reported for Arid-Savannah and Succulent Karoo Biomes in Namibia ( Kurahashi and Kirk-Spriggs 2006). Recorded elevations: 10-1350 m a.s.l. Seasonality: common species with highest abundance in September and October, low numbers the rest of the year and absent in April and June. In Namibia, most abundant in September ( Kurahashi and Kirk-Spriggs 2006). Behaviour and ecology: many specimens were collected on yellow flowers of Leucodendron Brown sp. and Ferraria crispa Burm. A group of specimens were collected in a mango orchard, with their bodies and proboscises covered with pollen (Western Cape). A female was collected on pink flowers of Mesembryanthemaceae (Northern Cape). Additionally, the species was associated with vegetation and flowers near a riverbed and a rocky gentle N slope scrub with wild flowers. A male was collected as prey of Oxybelus lingula ( Hymenoptera ). Life cycle and developmental stages: unknown. Collection methods: general sweeping and with Malaise, yellow pan and white pan traps. Hilltopping also with hand net. Eight females were collected with banana traps. In Namibia, it was collected with hand net and Malaise traps ( Kurahashi and Kirk-Spriggs 2006) and in Madagascar with Malaise traps. Illustrations and photographs: male habitus as in Fig. 30 . Male terminalia as in fig. 24 in Zumpt (1958).

Type material examined: M. punctulata : 1? // HT Cape Good Hope (South Africa) / June 1817 // Mus. Westerm // [ZMUC 00025139]; 1? // Type // Mus. Westerm // [ZMUC 00025140].

Material examined: Suppl. materials 1, 2.

Figures

Figure 29. Cosmina fuscipennis occurrence map in South Africa, including eSwatini (eSw) and Lesotho (Le); horizontal axis longitude east and vertical axis latitude south.

Figure 30. Habitus, left lateral view of Cosmina fuscipennis male BMSA DIP 05023 from South Africa; scale bar = 2 mm.