Eristalinus megacephalus ( Rossi, 1794 )

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Al-Dhafer, Hathal & Turner, James, 2020, An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, Zootaxa 4855 (1), pp. 1-69 : 19-22

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) .

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).

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).

Figures

FIGURE 18. Habitus of Eristalinus megacephalus (Rossi, 1794). Female, lateral view.