Periscelidinae Oldenberg, 1914

Mathis, Wayne N. & Freidberg, Amnon, 2012, Periscelis stuckenbergi sp. n., the first record of the genus from the Afrotropical Region (Diptera: Periscelididae: Periscelidinae), African Invertebrates 53 (1), pp. 231-231 : 233

Subfamily Periscelidinae Oldenberg, 1914

Periscelidinae: Oldenberg 1914: 41 .

Diagnosis: Adult. Head: Eye microsetulose (sometimes sparsely so); occiput with a silvery­white, microtomentose area immediately adjacent to posterior margin of compound eye; frons with 1 fronto­orbital seta, reclinate; postvertical setae present, divergent; ocellar setae present, well developed; face uniformly sclerotized and transversely arched (shield­like in Scutops Coquilett, 1904 ); face setose laterally, strongly receded ventrally, extended laterally below gena; gena extended anterodorsally, bearing a row of setae, with anterior one inserted well above oral margin; mouth opening large. Thorax: Postpronotal seta well developed. Wing with costa extended to vein R 4+5; cell cup present, although vein CuA 2 extremely reduced. Abdomen: 7 th spiracle in sclerite, not free in membrane of female postabdomen. See Griffiths (1972) for discussion of male terminalia.

Biology and behaviour: The immature stages, and to an extent the adults, are associated with sap from bleeding deciduous trees (oak, elm, cottonwood, etc.).

Classification: The genera comprising Periscelidinae are those that Hennig (1969) included in his more restricted concept of the family, viz. Periscelis Loew , Marbenia Malloch, 1931 , Neoscutops Malloch, 1926 , Scutops Coquillett and Diopsosoma Malloch, 1932 . These five genera comprise a well­established, monophyletic assemblage, with corroborative synapomorphies as follows: (1) mouth opening large; (2) occiput with a silvery­white, microtomentose area immediately adjacent to the posterior margin of the compound eye; (3) only one fronto­orbital seta, reclinate; (4) costal vein short, extended only to vein R 4+5; (5) vein CuA 2 reduced or absent; (6) several characters of the male terminalia (see Griffiths 1972).