Afrophylax Cerretti & O'Hara

O'Hara, James E. & Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2016, Annotated catalogue of the Tachinidae (Insecta, Diptera) of the Afrotropical Region, with the description of seven new genera, ZooKeys 575, pp. 1-344 : 253-256

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Tachinidae

Afrophylax Cerretti & O'Hara gen. n. Fig. 10

Type species:

Sturmia aureiventris Villeneuve, 1910, by present designation.

Etymology.

Afrophylax is a composite word formed from Afro (African) and the suffix of the generic name Argyrophylax Townsend. The name alludes to the morphological external similarity between Afrophylax and Argyrophylax that led Mesnil (1950b) to assign aureiventris to Argyrophylax .

Diagnosis.

Compound eye bare. Ocellar setae well developed, proclinate. Male with 1 strong proclinate orbital seta arising on posterior 1/2-1/3 of fronto-orbital plate, female with 2 proclinate orbital setae. Parafacial bare below lower frontal seta. Parafacial very narrow, at its narrowest point 0.5-0.7 times as wide as width of postpedicel. Facial ridge straight or convex, with short, fine, decumbent setulae on lower 1/5 or less of its length. Lower facial margin not visible in lateral view. Antenna arising at about level of middle of eye height when head seen in lateral view. Postpedicel 2.9-3.9 times as long as pedicel. Arista apparently bare, thickened on basal 1/5. First aristomere shorter than wide; second aristomere about as long as wide. Genal dilation well developed, though very narrow as gena is reduced to a narrow strip in male. Gena slightly wider in female but not more than 0.06 times as high as compound eye. Occiput concave, covered with only pale hair-like setulae. Vibrissa arising at level of lower facial margin. Palpus slightly clavate in male, grossly clubbed in female. Prementum not more that 2.5 times as long as wide. Scutum and scutellum evenly covered with light silver and/or yellow reflecting microtomentum that is particularly bright when thorax is seen in anterodorsal view. Prosternum with at least 3 pairs of setulae along lateral margin. Proepisternal depression bare. Proepisternal seta present. Postpronotum with 3 setae arranged in a line (sometimes a fourth weak seta present in front of middle basal one). Scutum with 1 + 3 intra-alar setae; 3 + 4 dorsocentral setae; 3 presutural acrostichal setae. First postsutural supra-alar seta longer than notopleural setae and longer and stronger than first postsutural intra-alar seta. Katepimeron bare or with 1-3 setulae on anterior 1/4. Three katepisternal setae (1+2; i.e., ventral seta arising closer to posterior dorsal seta than to anterior dorsal seta) (Fig. 10d). Scutellum with 4 pairs of marginal setae and 1 pair of discal setae: apical scutellar setae weak (2/5-1/2 as long as subapical setae), crossed and sub-horizontal; lateral setae 2/5-2/3 as long as subapical setae. Wing cell r4+5 open at wing margin. Mid tibia with 1 strong anterodorsal seta and a strong submedian ventral seta. Hind coxa bare posterodorsally. Mid-dorsal depression of abdominal syntergite 1+2 reaching posterior margin of syntergite. Syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 with 1 pair of median marginal setae (those on syntergite weak). Tergite 4 with a complete row of marginal setae. Tergites 3 and 4 without median discal setae, and with general setulae decumbent. Egg: macrotype, membranous, fully embryonated.