Ommatius (Pygommatius) comosus, Scarbrough & Marascia, 2003

Scarbrough, Aubrey G. & Marascia, Claudio G., 2003, Revision of Ommatius Wiedemann (Diptera: Asilidae). IV. Pygommatius subgen. nov. with twenty-five Afrotropical species, Zootaxa 228 (1), pp. 1-94 : 28-30

Ommatius (Pygommatius) comosus , sp. n.

Figs. 6 , 31 , 39 , 53 , 102­109

Male. Brown dorsally, pleuron and legs mostly yellow. Length, body 10.0­12.0 mm; wing 6.7­7.5 mm. Head: Mostly yellowish­gray to yellow tomentose, yellow and white setose. Face with 6, long, brown bristles, mystax sparse with long setae and 4 pencil­like yellow bristles, apices often broken; FHWR 1.0:10.0­1.0:10.5. Palpus and proboscis with base narrowly yellow. Antenna brown­yellow, flagellum darkest. Frons yellowish­brown tomentose. Ocellar tubercle with 2 setae as long scape and pedicel combined. Occiput dorsally with 4­5 brown postocular bristles, apex of longest about half distance toward ocellar tubercle.

Thorax: Mostly dark brown dorsally, postalar callus brownish­yellow, propleuron yellow. Mesonotum dense yellowish­brown tomentose dorsally, narrow lateral and posterior margins yellow; postalar callus brown­yellow dorsally, yellow laterally; setae sparse, mostly brown; 2 dorsocentral and 4 lateral bristles present. Scutellum brown, apical margin often lighter, yellow tomentose, with sparse pale setae and 2 marginal bristles. Mediotergite brown. Pleuron mostly yellow, anepisternum entirely, katepisternite mostly, and meron often, black; setae yellow. Halter yellow.

Wing ( Fig. 6 ): Apical third, narrow half, and posterior two­thirds dense microtrichose. Cell r 4 triangular, moderately wide; R 5 slightly sigmoid. Apex of cell m 3 slightly curved, perpendicular to long axis of wing, just beyond r­m.

Leg: Coxae and trochanters except hind trochanter yellow with yellow vestiture; hind trochanter brown with prominent brown bristles. Femora yellow except narrow apex of anterior two femora and apical third to half of hind femur, brown. Fore femur (see O. brevicornis Fig. 23 ) ventrally with row of 7­8 long, yellow bristles. Middle femur with shallow, ventral concavity on basal third; setae present ventrally, bristles absent. Hind femur ( Fig. 31 ) wider medially than apically and basally; only thin, brown, anteroventral setae present; 1 short, slightly curved to sigmoid, ventral bristle present basally; row of 10­12 brown setae and bristles present posteriorly; apical half ventrally and posteriorly with abundant, long, wavy setae; HFWLR 1.0:4.0­1.0:4.6. Fore and middle tibiae yellow with long, seta­like, yellow bristles; hind tibia ( Fig. 39 ) brown apically, yellow medially and light brown­yellow basally; numerous long, wavy setae present basally. Fore and middle tarsi with basal tarsomere mostly yellow, narrow apex brown, remaining tarsomeres brown. Anterior two tarsi with 1­2 yellow bristles.

Abdomen ( Fig. 53 ). Mostly brown; lateral and apical margins of most tergites and sternites yellow, those on tergites 1­4 wide; tomentum sparse, tergites and apical sternites mostly brown, basal tergites laterally and sternites 1­5 entirely gray to yellowish­gray; tergites dorsally mostly brown setose; tergite 3 laterally with 1­3 bristles in apical corners, tergite 4 laterally with dense fringe of yellow bristles; tergite 5 laterally with numerous large setal sockets, each with minute seta. Segment 6 constricted, apically third to half as wide as segment 4. Sternites 3­4 with long, dense, wavy setae, that on 3 medially and 4 wide spread; sternite 5 bare; sternite 6 with numerous, erect, pencil­like setae; apical margin of sternites 7­8 with a row of bristles, 1­2 unusually stout in apical corner; apical 3 sternites with only brown setae and bristles.

Terminalia ( Figs. 102­106 ): Cercus with row of long, dense reddish­yellow setae. Epandrium 3 branched; dorsal branch narrow, asymmetrically forked; median branch short, digitate, arising from dorsal margin of ventral branch; ventral branch wide apically with a median spine and thin, claw­like, bristles. Gonostylus podiform. Gonocoxite laterally with numerous minute setae in large sockets. Hypandrium with only scattered, short setae.

Female. Differs from male as follows. Length, body 8.9­13.3; wing 7.0­9.0 mm. Head: Face yellow tomentose, bristles mostly or wholly black; FHWR 1.0:9.5­11.0. Thorax: Halter brown­yellow. Leg: Femora and tibiae normal, without unusual features of male. Fore and middle femora with apical fourth brown and only thin, long setae. Middle femur with only brown setae ventrally. Hind femur and hind tibia normal, not unusually wide medially; ventral bristles thicker and/or longer, posterior row of bristles and brown wavy setae absent; HFWLR 1.0:6.0­1.0:7.0. Fore and middle tibiae with narrow apex and all tarsal bristles brown. Abdomen: Narrow lateral margins of tergites 1­6 or 7 yellow; apical margins of tergites with brown bristles, those on tergite 8 thickest. Tergite 8, narrow, entirely membranous dorsally, sides sclerotizaed. Sternites 1­5 with short, yellow setae, sternites 6­ 8 mostly or entirely brown setose; sternites 4­6 laterally with 2­4 long, usually brown setae; sternites 6­7 with brown bristles apically. Terminalia ( Figs. 107­109 ): Three spermathecae present, apex pointed; duct prebasal and lateral. Sternite 8 with medioapical margin strongly triangular, base notched with a raised, arched ridge present in dry specimen, apex membranous, slightly flared; surface posteriorly, light brown to yellowishbrown, thin, usually sunken in dry specimen; stout brown bristles present.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED. Holotype ♂, allotype ♀, UGANDA: Entebbe / 10.xi.1971 / H. Falke / in forest ( CNCI) . Paratypes: UGANDA: 1 ♀, same data as holotype except 7.x.1971 ( CNCI) ; 1 ♂, 4 ♀, same data as holotype except 13.vi.1972 ( CNCI) ; 2 ♀, 7 mi. N. Entebbe / 1135 m / 5.x.1972 ( CNCI) ; 2 ♀, Budongo Forest / nr Lk Albert / 20­ 31.iii.1972 / H. Falke 915 m ( CNCI) ; 1 ♀, Kampala / 1­10.vi.1992 / 1150 m / E. Babyetagara ( CNCI) ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Entebba / 25.vi.1972 / H. Falke ( FSCA) ; 1 ♂, Kampala, 3.iv.1926, H. Hargraves ( USNM) ; 2 ♂, District Mansindi / Budongo Forest n. Sonso / 1° 45’ N 31° 35’ E 1.­10. / Th. Wagner Leg vii.95 ( ZFMK) ; 1 ♂, 2 ♀, District Mansindi / Budongo Forest n. Sonso / 1° 45’ N 31° 35’ E 19.­30. / Th. Wagner Leg vii.95 ( ZFMK) ; 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Mansindi Distr. / Budongo Forest n. Sonso / 1° 45’ N 31° 35’ E 1­10.vii.1995 / Leg. T. Wagner ( ZFMK) ; DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: 1 ♂, Musée Du Congo / Bambesa / ix­1933 / J. V. Leroy ( MRAC) ; 3 ♀, Musée Du Congo / Bambesa / 15.x.1933 / H. J. Bredo ( MRAC) ; 1 ♀, Coll. Mus. Tervuran / Lukunga ( Bas. Congo) / 2.vii.1968 / P. M. Elsen ( MRAC) . Non­type specimens: 1 ♂, Uganda: Mansindi Distr. / Budongo Forest n. Sonso / 1° 45’ N 31° 35’ E 1­10.vii.1995 / Leg. T. Wagner ( ZFMK) ; 1 ♂, 4 ♀, Uganda: District Mansindi / Budongo Forest n. Sonso / 1° 45’ N 31° 35’ E 1­10, 21­31/ Th. Wagner Leg vii.95 ( ZFMK) .

Distribution. A forest species captured from October to July at 915­1150 meters in elevation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Etymology. Latin comosus , “hairy, having much or long hair”, referring to the dense, long, wavy setae on sternites 3­4 and hind femur and hind tibia of the male.

Remarks. Ommatius comosus is most similar to O. imaginus and O. renudus but is differs from the males of the latter species by the characters in the key, especially the combined characters of the terminalia ( Figs. 102­109 ). The spermathecal duct is prebasal and lateral in O. comosus whereas it is more basal in the other species. Furthermore, the sides of the triangular apical margin of sternite 8 are straight and tergite 9 is much shorter medially than laterally in O. comosus . Contrastingly, the sides of the triangular apical margin of sternite 8 are convex in O. imaginus and tergite 9 is almost as long medially as laterally in O. renudus .

Figures

FIGURES 1­10. Right wing of male Ommatius (Pygommatius) spp. 1. O. alatipes, sp. n..; 2. O. albatus Martin; 3. O. bingeri Oldroyd; 4. O. brevicornis Curran; 5. O. cingulatus Bromley; 6. O. comosus, sp. n..; 7. O. dasypogon Oldroyd; 8. O. digittatus Oldroyd; 9. O. fluvius sp. n..; 10. O. grossus, sp. n. Abbr. R4 =fourth radial vein, r4 = fourth radial cell, m1= first medial cell, m3=third medial cell, d = discal cell, r­m = radial­medial crossvein.

FIGURES 29­38. Male Ommatius (Pygommatius) spp. 29. O. jaculator Walker, middle femur. 30­ 38. Hind femur, 30. O. brevicornis Curran, anterior view; 31. O. comosus, sp. n., anterior view; 32. O. dasypogon Oldroyd, anterior view; 33. O. jaculator Walker, anterior view; 34. O. limbus, sp. n., with coxa, anterior view; 35. O. litoreus, sp. n., anterior view; 36. O. neglectus Bromley, anterior view; 37. O. strigiatus, sp. n., posterior view; 38. O. vultus, sp. n., posterior view.

FIGURES 39­48. Left hind tibia of male Ommatius (Pygommatius) spp. 39. O. comosus, sp. n.; 40. O. fluvius, sp. n.; 41. O. imaginus, sp. n.; 42. O. limbus, sp. n., anterior; 43. O. litoreus, sp. n.; 44. O. neglectus Bromley; 45. O. porticus, sp. n.; 46. O. renudus, sp. n.; 47. O. strigiatus, sp. n.; 48. O. vultus, sp. n., inner surface.

FIGURES 49­53. Male Ommatius (Pygommatius) spp. 49. O. alatipes, sp. n., hind tarsus; 50. O. dasypogon Oldroyd, apical 3 tarsomeres; 51. O. neglectus Bromley, apical tarsomere; 52. O. bingeri Oldroyd, abdomen, apical segments; 53. O. comosus, sp. n., abdomen segments 3­6 showing a lateral fringe of tergal bristles (Lf), minute setae (Ms), sternal setae (Ss), and sternal bristles (Sb).

FIGURES 102­109. Male terminalia of Ommatius comosus sp. n 102­104. Lateral, dorsal and ventral views; 105. Gonostylus; 106. Aedeagus, lateral view. Female terminalia. 107. Spermatheca; 108. Genital fork; 109. Sternite 8, ventral view.

FIGURES 21­28. Right wing of male Ommatius (Pygommatius) spp. 21. O. talus, sp. n.; 22. O. vultus, sp. n.; 23­28. Right fore femur of male Ommatius (Pygommatius) spp. showing arrangement of anteroventral bristles. 23. O. brevicornis Curran; 24. O. grossus, sp. n.; 25. O. limbus, sp. n.; 26. O. litoreus, sp. n.; 27. O. strigiatus, sp. n..; 28. O. vultus, sp. n.