Paramixogaster icariiformis Pendlebury, 1927

Reemer, Menno & Sankararaman, Hariharakrishnan, 2024, Revision of the Oriental species of the hoverfly genus Paramixogaster Brunetti, 1923 (Diptera, Syrphidae, Microdontinae), ZooKeys 1208, pp. 1-48 : 1-48

Paramixogaster icariiformis Pendlebury, 1927

Figs 6 , 8 , 9 , 67–72

Paramixogaster icariiformis Pendlebury, 1927: 38. Holotype ♀: Malaysia, Selangor, Bukit Kuta (lost); Knutson et al. 1975: 373; Reemer and Ståhls 2013 a: 145.

Studied type specimens.

Neotype of Paramixogaster icariiformis Pendlebury (new neotype designation, see notes). Thailand • 1 ♀; Loei, Phu Ruea NP Sa Sawan, 17 ° 30.735 ' N, 101 ° 20.601 ' E, alt. 1352 m asl., 12–10 March 2007; leg. Patikhom Tumtpip; coll. QSBG. Label 1: “ THAILAND Loei, Phu Ruea NP Sa Sawan, // 17 ° 30.735 ' N, 101 ° 20.601 ' E, 1352 m, // Malaise trap, 12–19. iii. 2007, Patikhom // Turntip leg. T 2309 ”; label 2: “ MR 315 // DNA-voucher // Y 1076 ”; label 3 (red): “ NEOTYPE // Paramixogaster // icariiformis Pendlebury, 1927 // Designated by Reemer & // Sankararaman 2024.

Diagnosis.

Only female known. Body length: 11 mm. This is the only known Oriental species of Paramixogaster that is entirely black except for tergite 2 red (Figs 67 , 68 ). Another unique character of this species is the ‘ saddle-like’ shape of tergite 2, due to its lateral margins being strongly curved upward posteriorly (Figs 9 , 72 ).

Redescription

(based on neotype). Adult female. Body size: 11 mm.

Head. Face at level of antennae occupying ~ 0.6 of head width in frontal view, with sides quite strongly converging ventrad; brown, more blackish in dorsolateral depressed areas, narrowly pale yellow ventrally close to oral gena; white setulose medially, golden yellow setulose laterally. Gena black; white setulose. Frons with blackish pair of lateral bulges which are short golden yellow setulose, separated by narrow pale brown triangular depression. Vertex swollen; black; short black setulose medially, short yellow setulose laterally and posteriorly. Occiput black; yellow setulose dorsally, white setulose ventrally. Eye bare. Antennal fossa slightly wider than high. Antenna brown; postpedicel ~ 4 × as long as scape. Arista slender, yellow, ~ 2 × as long as scape.

Thorax. Mesoscutum black; short black setulose, except for narrow fascia of golden yellow setulae along transverse suture of 1 / 5 of width of mesoscutum, and patch of yellowish setulae of approximately the size of the scutellum anterior to scutellum. Postpronotum brown, bare. Postalar callus yellow, yellow setulose. Scutellum without calcars; black; yellow setulose. Pleura dark brown. Anepisternum and anepimeron white setulose, except for narrow fascia of golden yellow setulae along postero-dorsal margin, which is connected to the fascia of golden yellow setulae along the transverse suture of the mesoscutum. Katepisternum long white setulose dorsally; bare ventrally. Katepimeron with a few long white setulae. Katatergite and anatergite short microtrichose. Metanotum brown. Calypter pale grey. Halter white.

Wing: infuscate anteriorly from costal vein to vena spuria and anterior 1 / 3 of cell r 4 + 5; microtrichose, except bare in cell br posteriad of vena spuria, all of bm, postero-basal 1 / 4 of cell r 4 + 5, antero-basal 1 / 4 of dm, most of cup except microtrichose in distal corner, most of alula except microtrichose along margins.

Legs: pale brown, except hind femur and hind tibia dark brown; white setulose.

Abdomen. Constricted basally, narrowest at basal 1 / 4 of tergite 2, widest at around 1 / 2 of tergite 3. Tergite 1 dark brown; white setulose. Tergite 2 with lateral margins strongly curved upward posteriorly; orange-brown with two large, elongate, pale yellow maculae from anterior margin to just more than half of tergite; short golden yellow setulose, more densely so along posterior margin, with black setulae between yellow maculae and bare on these maculae. Tergite 3 black; very short black setulose except for longer whitish setulae sparsely intermixed laterally. Tergite 4 as tergite 3, except narrowly yellow laterally along posterior margin. Tergite 5 black with yellow lateral and posterior margins; black setulose on black parts, yellow setulose on yellow parts. Sternite 1 brown; sparsely yellow and black setulose. Sternite 2 whitish yellow; sparsely yellow and black setulose. Sternites 3–5 blackish; white setulose.

Notes.

The original type of this species is registered to be in the collection of the NHMUK ( Evenhuis and Pape 2022), but it is not there (N. Wyatt pers. comm. 2022). Probably this type is lost. However, the description by Pendlebury (1927) agrees very well with the female specimen from Thailand here designated as neotype. According to Pendlebury (1927), this is an entirely black species except for the reddish tergite 2. There are not fasciae of yellow or golden setulae on the thorax or abdomen. No other known species of Paramixogaster have the same colouration (entirely black with red tergite 2).

Distribution.

Malaysia and Thailand.

Figures

Figures 5, 6. Head, dorsolateral: 5 frons more or less even, without lateral bulges (Paramixogaster vespiformis female, Indonesia) 6 frons uneven, with lateral bulges (P. icariiformis female, neotype).

Figures 7, 8. Scutum, dorsolateral: 7 transverse suture without fascia of golden setulae (Paramixogaster halmaherensis Reemer, sp. nov. male, holotype) 8 transverse suture with fascia of golden setulae (P. icariiformis female, neotype).

Figures 9, 10. Tergite 2, lateral: 9 Paramixogaster icariiformis female, neotype 10 P. halmaherensis Reemer, sp. nov. male, holotype.

Figures 67–72. Paramixogaster icariiformis Pendlebury female, neotype: 67 habitus, dorsal 68 habitus, lateral 69 head, frontal 70 head, lateral 71 thorax, dorso-lateral 72 tergite 2, lateral.