Gonioscelis genitalis Ricardo, 1925

Londt, Jason G. H., 2004, A review of the afrotropical genus Gonioscelis Schiner, 1866 (Diptera: Asilidae), with descriptions of new species, African Invertebrates 45, pp. 21-124 : 47-48

Gonioscelis genitalis Ricardo, 1925

Figs 49–51 , 148

Gonioscelis genitalis Ricardo, 1925: 271–272 ; Oldroyd 1970: 277 ( Fig. 50b ơ gen.), 1974: 39 ( Figs 28 ơ gen., 30 foreleg).

Redescription: Based mainly on syntype ơ ( BMNH) .

Head:Antenna dark red-brown, setae mostly dark red-brown (some shiny yellow-brown). Facial swelling moderately developed, with a second smaller protuberance between main gibbosity and antennal sockets, mystax pale yellow-white. Frons and vertex gold pruinose. Ocellar tubercle prominent, apruinose with dark red-brown oc. Occiput silver pruinose, setae pale yellow-white. Proboscis and palpus dark red-brown, white setose.

Thorax: Dark red-brown, silver-gold pruinose. Postpronotal lobes partly brown-yellow and contrasting with adjacent mesonotum, with long and short white setae. Mesonotal setae: ac not evident; dc badly damaged, but evidence of good series is present both posterior and anterior of suture, those posterior are pale yellow-white while those anterior of suture are dark brown; approx. 4 white npl; approx. 4 white sa; approx. 7 white pa. Scutellum greasy (colour difficult to ascertain), with approx. 8 white mrg sct. Wing length 9.4 mm, membrane pale yellow. Legs mostly brown-yellow, prothoracic femur mostly dark red-brown anteriorly, with posterodorsal dark red-brown band, tibiae brownyellow dorsally dark red-brown ventrally (ơ syntype is missing the metathoracic legs). Prothoracic coxa dark red-brown, silver pruinose, white setose; femoral spur bluntly pointed (angle approx. 60°).

Abdomen: Tergites mostly dark red-brown, mostly thinly gold pruinose, setae shiny yellow, long, especially laterally. Sternites similar to tergites, but uniformly long setose.

Terminalia ( Figs 49–51 ): Very long ep (lobes projecting far beyond tip of proctiger), lobes tapering gradually distally in lateral aspect, each with a small group of welldeveloped, inwardly directed macrosetae distally; gcx with two distal projections, lower one possessing a few macrosetae basally; hyp, in ventral view, much longer than broad, constricted at about mid-length and bilobed distally, lobes parallel and tipped with short but stout macrosetae.

Variation: Little individual variation or sexual dimorphism evident. Leg coloration may be somewhat variable in the degree to which they have dark markings.

Type material: NAMIBIA: 1ơ syntype (seen), ‘Ongandjera [17°53'S 15°04'E] / Mar. 1923 ’, ~ ‘SW Africa, Mus. Exp.’, ‘Pres. Cape Mus 29.xi.1923 ’ (BMNH); 1^ syntype (seen), ‘Ondongua olonga [i.e. name corrected to read Onolonga – 18°31'S 15°36'E] / April 1923 ’ ~ ‘SW Africa / Mus. Exped.’, ‘ Gonioscelis ^ Type / genitalis / n sp Ricardo’, ‘Allo- / type’, ‘SAM-DIP / A008236’ (SAMC).

Type locality: Namibia: Ongandjera .

Other material: ANGOLA: 1ơ, ‘ Angola (A6) / Tundavala, / 9 mls. NW. Sa / da Bandiera [15°55'S 13°30'E] / 23 ii.1972 ’, ‘ Southern / African Exp. / B.M. 1972-1’ ( BMNH) . NAMIBIA: 2ơ, ‘ Oshakati / Ovamboland, S.W.A. / SE 1715 Da / 5 May 1971 ’, ‘H2535’ ( NMNW) ; 1ơ, ‘S.W. Africa (W47) / 32 mls. SE. Ondangua [17°58'S 16°01'E] / 1.iv.1972 ’, ‘ Southern / African Exp. / B.M. 1972-1’ ( BMNH) . ZAMBIA: 1ơ, ‘ G.H. Frank / N. R. [ Northern Rhodesia = Zambia] / [illegible word]’ ( AMGS) . ZIMBABWE: 1ơ, ‘ Country Rhodesia / Loc. Kariba [16°31'S 28°48'E] / Date 14/iv/64 / Coll A.M .

Simmonds’; 1^, ‘Country Rhodesia / Loc. Kariba / Date 19/ii/64 / Coll A.M. Simmonds’; 1ơ 1^, ‘Country Rhodesia / Loc. Rekomitjie [16°08'S 29°24'E] / Date 17/ iii/64 / Coll A.M. Simmonds’; 1^, ‘Country Rhodesia / Loc. Salisbury [Harare – 17°49'S 30°02'E] / Date April 1969 / Coll Fr Watsham’; 1^, ‘Salisbury / 5000 feet, / Mashonaland. / Captured 1899 / & pres. 1902 by / G.A.K. Marshall.’, ‘Sammlung / F. Hermann’, ‘ Gonioscelis / ventralis Schin. / det. E.O. Engel ^’ (ZSMC); 1^, ‘Khami [Camp 19°58'S 27°27'E] /S Rhodesia / 22.4.1920 / Rhodesia / Museum’, ‘ Gonioscelis / mantis Lw ^ / det. E.O. Engel’ (ZSMC).

Recorded material not studied: Oldroyd (1974) records the species also from Harrismith, Bosrand ( South Africa), Salisbury ( Zimbabwe) and Zambia. His Salisbury (= Harare) material was probably correctly identified. The Harrismith material is probably that here listed under mantis , and I have not see any specimens labelled Bosrand.

Notes: As Ricardo (1925) designated two types, her specimens must be considered syntypes. There is no need at present to designate a lectotype. Ricardo also gives ‘Olinga’ as the locality of the ^ syntype —this must be a misprint. The 2^ identified by Engel are listed above with some hesitation in the absence of a male.

Distribution, phenology and biology (Tables 1–2, Fig. 148 ): The species is recorded from southern Angola, northern Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia between February and May. The considerable gap between the Namibian and Zimbabwean data can be explained by the general paucity of material from the intervening area. All records fall within the vast Savanna biome and so further records can be anticipated.

Similar species:A member of the large and widely distributed group of species possessing a poorly defined facial gibbosity. The species is one of three within this large assemblage that occur in southern Africa and have a hypandrial length greater than its width (the other two being longulus and nigripennis ). G. nigripennis is a very distinctive species and so genitalis is probably more closely related to longulus , but can easily be distinguished using genital morphology.

Figures

Figs 42–51. Gonioscelis male genitalia. 42–44. G. exouros sp. n. (holotype). 42. Lateral. 43. Dorsal. 44.Ventral.45–47. G. feijeni sp. n. (Nampula paratype), epandrial macrosetae missing.45. Lateral. 46. Dorsal. 47. Ventral. 48. G. francoisi Oldroyd, 1970, lateral, reproduction of published illustration. 49–51. G. genitalis Ricardo, 1925 (Ongandjera syntype), left epandrial lobe broken off at mid-length. 49. Lateral. 50. Dorsal. 51. Ventral. Scale lines = 1 mm.

Figs 148–149. Distribution of Gonioscelis species found only in southernAfrica. 148. closed circle = genitalis, open circle = longulus, closed square = maculiventris, open square = phacopterus. 149. closed circle = lacertosus, open circle = nigripennis, closed square = ramphis, open square = truncatus.

Figs 18–29. Gonioscelis male genitalia. 18–20. G. amnoni sp. n. (holotype). 18. Lateral. 19. Dorsal. 20. Ventral. 21–23. G. batyleon sp. n. (holotype). 21. Lateral. 22. Dorsal. 23. Ventral. 24–26. G. bykanistes sp. n. (Hotazel paratype). 24. Lateral. 25. Dorsal. 26. Ventral. 27–29. G. ceresae Oldroyd, 1974 (holotype). 27. Lateral. 28. Dorsal. 29. Ventral. Scale lines = 1 mm.