An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia
Author
Dawah, Hassan A.
Author
Abdullah, Mohammed A.
0000-0002-3323-3623
mohd_robiya@hotmail.com
Author
Ahmad, Syed Kamran
0000-0002-6211-2345
entosaif@rediffmail.com
Author
Al-Dhafer, Hathal
0000-0002-4911-2332
hdhafer@ksu.edu.sa
Author
Turner, James
0000-0003-2411-7396
urner@museumwales.ac.uk
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-09-25
4855
1
1
69
journal article
8491
10.11646/zootaxa.4855.1.1
1ad9a0ab-ccd4-4047-9a29-f2dd287dc3e3
1175-5326
4411181
28A15E99-7A79-40CA-A0C6-1DC501B69E46
Eristalinus megacephalus
(
Rossi, 1794
)
(
Fig. 18
)
Syrphus megacephalus
Rossi, 1794: 63
Examined specimens.
1♀
,
Al-Riyadh
,
Al Aziziyah
,
20.iv.1980
, sweeping,
A. Talhouk
(
KSMA
)
;
2♂
,
2♀
, same locality but
28.iv.1980
(
KSMA
)
;
2♂
,
3♀
, same locality but
20.ii.1980
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
,
3♀
, same locality but
15.x.1984
(
KSMA
)
;
3♂
,
3♀
, same locality but
14.xi.1984
(
KSMA
)
;
2♂
,
3♀
, same locality but
30.iv.1982
(
KSMA
)
;
2♂
,
2♀
, same locality but
8.i.1985
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
,
1♀
, same locality but
15.ii.1981
(
KSMA
)
;
1♀
, same locality but
16.v.1977
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
, same locality but
21.ix.1977
(
KSMA
)
;
1♀
, same locality but
20.ix.1980
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
, same locality but
16.vi.1977
,
El-Taher
(
KSMA
)
;
1♀
, same locality but
20.ii.1980
(
KSMA
)
;
1♀
, same locality but
20.ii.1980
, A.
Madi
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
,
2♀
, same locality but
15.ii.1981
, A.
Talhouk
& S.
Tilkian
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
,
1♀
, same locality but
16.v.1977
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
, same locality but
2.v.1981
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
,
1♀
, same locality but
20.ix. 1980
, R.
Abu-Zoherah
(
KSMA
)
;
1♀
, same locality but
16.v.1977
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
,
1♀
, same locality but
15.ii.1981
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
, same locality but
18.i.1976
, clover,
Al Ahmady
(
KSMA
)
;
2♀
, same locality but
10.v.2007
(
KSMA
)
;
2♂
,
3♀
,
Al Kharj
,
80km
.
S. Al-Riyadh
,
28.x.1980
,
A. Talhouk
&
S. Tilkian
(
KSMA
)
;
1♂
,
Al-Riyadh
,
Dirab
,
Educaton Farm of King Saud University
,
24.ii.1987
,
Amr
(
KSMA
)
.
FIGURE 17.
Habitus of
Eristalinus aeneus
(
Scopoli, 1763
)
. Female, lateral view.
FIGURE 18.
Habitus of
Eristalinus megacephalus
(
Rossi, 1794
)
. Female, lateral view.
Distribution.
Smit
et al
. (2017: 578)
stated that the material relating to
E. megacephalus
which is recorded by
Walker & Pittaway (1987)
from
Kuwait
and
Saudi Arabia
is in fact
E. tabanoides
. Therefore, this is the first correct record from
Saudi Arabia
. It was described from
Italy
and further recorded from the Afrotropical Region:
South Africa
,
United Arab Emirates
and
Yemen
; Palaearctic Region: southern
Spain
, Rhone delta in
France
and coastal parts of
Italy
round the Mediterranean basin (including islands, e.g.
Corsica
,
Malta
, Sicily, Crete) to
Turkey
and on into
Algeria
,
Egypt
,
Iran
and
Kuwait
(Dirickx 1984;
Whittington 2003
;
Naderloo
et al
. 2011
;
Sengupta
et al
. 2016
;
Smit
et al
. 2017
;
Speight 2020
;
Mebarkia
et al
. 2020
).
FIGURE 19–20.
Habitus of
Eristalinus tabanoides
(
Jaennicke, 1867
)
.
19
) Male, dorsal view,
20
) Female, lateral view.
Remarks.
The larvae and puparia of
E. megacephalus
were described by Pérez-Bañóni
et al
. (2003b) for the first time, including new morphological characters of the thoracic respiratory process.
E. megacephalus
is a fast flying species around tall waterside vegetation and it prefers open ground and freshwater; canal and riverside situations in open country; and coastal lagoons (
Speight 2020
).