Filistea 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 : 251

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Tachinidae

Filistea Cerretti & O'Hara gen. n. Figs 8, 9

Type species.

Viviania aureofasciata Curran, 1927, by present designation.

Etymology.

The holotype of our new species Filistea verbekei below bears a label written by Verbeke identifying it by the unpublished generic name " Filistea ". We have chosen to use this name for our new genus, although we do not know its meaning or etymology. It is to be treated as a feminine noun.

Diagnosis.

An attractively patterned fly. Thoracic dorsum with a black submedian postsutural spot and two or four black presutural vittae standing out against the golden-microtomentose scutum. Ground colour of body black. Abdominal tergites 3 to 5 each with a distinct basal band of golden microtomentum strongly contrasting with black remainder. Wing almost entirely brown coloured. Compound eye bare. Ocellar setae well developed, proclinate. Frons 0.52-0.62 (male), 0.90-1.05 (female) times as wide as compound eye in dorsal view. Outer vertical seta not differentiated from postocular setae in both sexes. Two upper reclinate orbital setae (only 1 in a male from D.R. Congo). Male without, female with 2 proclinate orbital setae. Parafacial bare below lower frontal seta. Parafacial at its narrowest point 0.9-2.0 times as wide as width of postpedicel. Facial ridge straight or slightly concave, with short, fine, decumbent setulae on lower 1/5-1/4 of its length. Lower facial margin not visible in lateral view. Antenna arising above level of middle of eye height when head seen in lateral view. Postpedicel 2.2-2.9 times as long as pedicel. Arista apparently bare (i.e., longest microtrichia distinctly shorter than maximum basal diameter of arista), thickened on basal 1/4-1/3. First aristomere shorter than wide; second aristomere about as long as wide. Genal dilation well developed. Occiput flat to slightly concave. Lower occiput and postgena covered with pale setulae. Upper occiput with one or more rows of black occipital setulae. Vibrissa arising above level of lower facial margin. Palpus varying from cylindrical to slightly clavate. Prementum not more that 3.5 times as long as wide. Prosternum usually bare, rarely with 1-5 fine setulae laterally. Proepisternal depression bare. Proepisternal seta present. Postpronotum with 3 setae arranged in a line or in a shallow triangle. Scutum with 1 + 3 intra-alar setae; 2-3 + 3 dorsocentral setae; 3 + 3 acrostichal setae. First postsutural supra-alar seta shorter than first postsutural intra-alar seta, shorter than first postsutural dorsocentral seta and at most as long as notopleural setae. Katepimeron bare. Three katepisternal setae (2+1). Scutellum with 5 pairs of marginal setae: one pair of apical setae, crossed and sub-horizontal; one pair of subapical setae, well developed and divergent; two pairs of lateral setae (anterior pair shorter and less divergent than posterior pair); one pair of converging basal setae. Wing cell r4+5 narrowly open at wing margin. Mid tibia with 2 or more anterodorsal setae and a strong ventral seta. Hind coxa bare posterodorsally. Hind tibia with a row of anterodorsal setae irregular in length and thickness and 2 or 3 dorsal preapical setae. Mid-dorsal depression of abdominal syntergite 1+2 reaching posterior margin of syntergite. Syntergite 1+2 with 1 pair of median marginal setae; tergite 3 with one pair or a complete row of marginal setae; tergite 4 with a complete row of marginal setae. Tergites 3 and 4 with median discal setae.

Remarks.

The bare compound eye, the vibrissa arising far above lower facial margin, the presence of robust, crossed and horizontal apical scutellar setae, together with a usually bare prosternum and an unmodified oviscapt are the main character states that separate Filistea from the other Afrotropical Blondeliini . Moreover, the unique colour pattern of the body and the darkened wing membrane make Filistea easily identifiable among Afrotropical tachinids. We also examined all available keys to genera of other regions and compared our specimens with blondeliine descriptions and specimens in collections, paying special attention to those of the Palaearctic and Oriental regions, and did not find any basis for assigning Filistea aureofasciata and Filistea verbekei to a known genus. We thus erect a new genus for these two Afrotropical species.