Sisyrnodytes nilicola ( Rondani, 1850 )

Londt, Jason G. H., 2009, A review of Afrotropical Sisyrnodytes Loew, 1856 (Diptera: Asilidae: Stenopogoninae), African Invertebrates 50 (1), pp. 137-137 : 160-163

Sisyrnodytes nilicola ( Rondani, 1850)

Figs 27, 28 , 40

Acnephalum nilicola: Rondani 1850: 186 .

Sisyrnodytes floccus Loew, 1856: 40 ; 1873: 108.

Dasypogon contrarius Walker, 1871: 257 .

Sisyrnodytes brevis auct. nec Macquart (misidentifications): Wulp 1899: 86; Bezzi 1906: 283; Engel 1925: 352; Efflatoun 1937: 251.

Sisyrnodytes rufus Séguy, 1931: 655 .

Sisyrnodytes nilicola: Oldroyd 1957: 86–87 (fig. 6 ơ genitalia); 1980: 368 (catalogue); Theodor 1980: 89– 92 (figs 137–140 ơ genitalia, 141 ^spermatheca).

Redescription:

Male (based on ơ floccus syntype in excellent condition, some anterior mesonotal setae rubbed off).

Head: Dark red-brown, white setose. Antennae: Red-brown except for tip of style which is yellowish. Scape and pedicel white setose. Major ventral setae of pedicel project beyond level achieved by postpedicel. Basal element of style short (as long as broad). Eye to face width ratio 1.3:1. Mystax longish, white. Frons and vertex white setose. Laterally situated frontal setae extend below antennal sockets, mingling with mystax. Occipital and postocular setae white. Palps and proboscis white setose.

Thorax: Dark red-brown, white setose. Pronotum white setose. Mesonotum entirely setose except for paramedial strips, sutural and postsutural areas. Lateral macrosetae white. Scutellum apruinose with poorly defined transverse groove; disc asetose, c. 26 white apical setae. Pleural setae entirely white. Katepimeron setose, katatergals long, shafts more or less smooth. Legs: Red-brown, entirely white setose. Claws longish, dark red-brown; empodia short pale yellowish, pulvilli minute to absent. Wings 3.7× 1.6 mm. C white setose basally; membrane transparent. Haltere brown-yellow.

Abdomen: Dark red-brown; white setose, setae mostly reclinate, but some erect laterally. Genitalia: Not dissected, but visible structures conform to dissected and illustrated genitalia of a male from Tel Aviv ( Israel) ( Figs 27, 28 ). Epandrium greatly reduced and simple in structure, proctiger extending well beyond it. External lobe of gonocoxite somewhat triangular in shape with acutely pointed distal end. Internal lobe small with slightly inflated tip. Gonostylus short, fairly robust, slightly curved. Hypandrium fairly small, triangular in ventral view, medial lobe tapering fairly suddenly to rounded tip. Aedeagus fairly robust, tapering gradually to small, blunt tip.

Female: Similar to male, although invariably with head and thorax somewhat yellow, golden or orange setose (i.e. ventral part of mystax, postoculars, pronotum, mesonotals (often mixed with white setae)). Abdomen may also have some yellowish setae.

Variation: Wing length ơ 3.2–4.4 mm, ^2.9 –5.1 mm. Both sexes may have wing base yellowish or orange stained and legs red-brown (tarsi may be orange).

Type specimens examined: ALGERIA: 1^syntype ( rufus ) ‘Museum Paris / Algérie / Dépt. d’Alger / Fortde-l’Eau [Bordj El Kiffan, 36°45'N: 03°11'E] / J. Surcouf 1921’, ‘Juin’, ‘Cotype’ [red on cream], ‘ Sisyrnodytes / rufus / ơ Type / E. Séguy det 1930’ (MNHN). EGYPT:1 ơ lectotype ( floccus ) ‘Tor [At, T,u -r, 28°14'N: 33°37'E] / aegypt’, ‘ Sisyrnodytes / floccus / m.’, ‘10340’, ‘Coll. / H. Loew’, ‘Type’ [orange], ‘Zool. Mus. / Berlin’ (ZMHB); 1^paralectotype ( floccus ) ‘Tor. ae.g. / Trauenf.’, ‘Coll. / H. Loew’, ‘Type’ [orange], ‘Zool. Mus. / Berlin’ (ZMHB). Note: I have not studied the nilicola type material which Oldroyd (1957) states is ‘in Bologna’.

Notes on synonymised species:

Sisyrnodytes floccus Loew, 1856 : I accept this long-standing synonym pending a modern revision of Palaearctic species. As this is the type species of the genus and stability is desirable through the designation of a lectotype, I designate the ZMHB male as lectotype and the female as paralectotype.

Dasypogon contrarius Walker, 1871 : I have not seen the type (s), Oldroyd (1957) states that the material is not in the BMNH and this I can confirm. In the absence of the specimen(s), which are apparently lost, the synonymy must be accepted.

Sisyrnodytes rufus Séguy, 1931 : I have studied a female (but labelled a male) syntype in MNHN. Séguy (1931) studied both male and female specimens (number not stated), but the whereabouts of the male(s) is not known. I accept the synonymy of this species, but believe that a review of the Palaearctic material is necessary before this synonymy can be accepted with confidence.

Type locality: Rondani (1850) did not give a precise locality for his material, but merely stated ‘AEgypti’. Subsequent workers have not designated a type locality, and I too refrain from doing so as this is best undertaken after a revision of the Palaearctic Sisyrnodytes fauna.

Other material examined:

Afrotropical Region: MAURITANIA:1 ơ ‘Dr. J. Vosseler / Aïn Safra [19°27'N: 12°02'W] / S.W. Oran. 1894’, ‘45715’, ‘ Sisyrnodytes / floccus Lw’ (ZMHB).

Palaearctic Region: ALGERIA: 2^‘ Algeria: / Biskra [34°51'N: 05°44'E], / on the dunes near / Route des Zibam [illegible]. / 30.iv.1894 / Rev. A.E. Eaton. / 94-114’ ( BMNH) . EGYPT: 1 ơ ‘ W. Assiouti [Assiout = Asyu -t ,, 27°11'N: 31°11'E], / 25.4.26’, ‘ Coll. Efflatoun / Egypt’ ( BMNH) ; 2^‘ W. Garawi [Wadi = Jarawı- Wa -dı-, 29°47'N: 31°19'E], / 23.4.23’, ‘ Coll. Efflatoun / Egypt’ ( BMNH) ; 1^‘ Mariout [? Lake Mariut, 31°08'N: 29°56'E] / 26.4.23’, ‘ Coll. Mus. / Berlin’ ( ZMHB) ; 3 ơ 3^‘ Mariout / 2.5.21 [1 ơ 1^] 3.5.21 [1 ơ 1^] 19.4.22 [1 ơ] 27.4.23 [1 ơ]’, ‘ Coll. Efflatoun / Egypte’ ( ZSMC) . ISRAEL: 1^‘ Israel / Avdat [30°48'N: 34°46'E] / 1.v.1977 / A. Freidberg’ ( NMSA) ; 1 ơ ‘ Israel / Tel Aviv [32°04'N: 34°46'E] / 8.v.1973 / A. Freidberg’ ( NMSA) . MOROCCO: 2^‘ Marocco / Oualidia / N Safi [32°44'N: 09°02'W] / 23.6.1987 / leg. W. Schacht’ ( ZSMC) . SAUDI ARABIA: 1 ơ 2^‘ Arabia centr / El Riad [Riyadh, 24°41'N: 46°42'E] / 5. 4. [ơ] 3.4.58 [2^] / leg. E. Diehl’ ( ZSMC) . UNKNOWN: 1^‘ W. Ti’sim [?] / 7.iii.22’ ( ZSMC) . Note: One of the Algerian females is the smallest specimen I have seen (wing 2.9 mm long).Although probably correctly identified, it would be interesting to see males from the same region.

Distribution, phenology and biology: Oldroyd (1957) records the distribution as ‘ Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Southern Arabia’.Some twenty years later he summarised the distribution as ‘ Egypt; widespread N. Afr. from Morocco to Egypt & South Yemen’ (Oldroyd 1980). I have seen material I believe to be nilicola from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Mauritania, Marocco and Saudi Arabia ( Fig. 40 ). While I have not seen any Yemenese material I include the species in this review as Wulp (1899: 86) recorded a single female (under the name brevis ) from Aden (12°50'N: 45°00'E) and I have seen a specimen from Mauritania, also a country likely to have Palaearctic faunal elements. Bezzi (1906) records the species (as brevis ) from Eritrea, but the identification is probably suspect. Efflatoun (1937: 255), writing about the Egyptian asilids states ‘My records extend from the beginning of February (Gebel Elba) to the end of June (Sollum)’, while Oldroyd (1957) reports adult activity as ‘December– June’. My limited data indicate activity in March, April, May and June (Table 1). While labels provide little biological information, Efflatoun (1937) goes on to say that this species ‘is one of our commonest Asilids’ and that it ‘is found everywhere in dry sandy localities’. Comments:This species superficially resembles dasykylon from South Africa, especially with respect to mystacal development. As nilicola resembles Theodor’s engeddensis from Palestine, and three unidentified species known to me from Morocco and Saudi Arabia, there is a definite need for a revision of the Palaearctic Sisyrnodytes fauna. Details of the unidentified Moroccan and Saudi Arabian specimens are as follows: Species 1: 1 ơ 1^‘ Route 7064 env. / d’Ifni, Falaises. / A terre, vegetation / basse’, ‘ Maroc Anki-Atlas / Tiznit 6.v. / 2000 / Maldes réc’ (NMSA).

Species 2: 1 ơ 1^‘ Tagmoute – / Tisgui – Ida–0v. / Ballou 4.v.2000 / à terre prés pieds / Ziziphus’, ‘ Maroc (Tata) / Route 7085 / Tazegzout / Maldes réc.’ ( NMSA) .

Species 3: 1 ơ ‘Arabia: / Hejaz. / Gharis [25.34°N: 56.34°E] / 25-xii-1927 / H.St.J.B. Philby’ ( BMNH) .

Similar species: This species is similar to dasykylon and xeromyia .

Figures

Figs 25–30. Sisyrnodytes species, ơ terminalia in lateral and ventral aspects: (25, 26) S. major Adams, 1905, Zuarungu, Ghana; (27, 28) S. nilicola (Rondani, 1850), Tel Aviv, Israel; (29, 30) S. niveipilosus Ricardo, 1925, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Arrowed is a broken structure. Scale lines = 1 mm.

Fig. 40. Distribution of Sisyrnodytes aterrimus Engel, 1929 (•), major Adams, 1905 (·) and nilicola (Rondani, 1850) (9).