Spilogona breviaristata, sp. nov. (Figs 5–8)

Type material. Holotype male: AFRICA: NAMIBIA (25), Swakopmund, 26–30.i.1972; Southern African Exp., B.M. 1972-1 (BMNH).

Paratypes. Same labels as holotype: 2 males, 4 females; NAMIBIA (24), Walvis Bay, 25–26. i.1972, 4 males (1 MNRJ, 1 OUMNH) ; 9 females (1 MNRJ, 1 OUMNH); NAMIBIA (27), E. Swakopmund, 30. i.1972, 3 males, 1 female; SOUTH AFRICA, (13), Die Panne N. R., Cape Province, 5–6. i.1972, 1 female (MNRJ) .

Diagnosis. Arista short, almost bare; facial edge of male projecting; postsutural dorsocentrals 4; fore tibia without a long posterior median seta; abdomen uniformly grey dusted with no dark spots.

Description. Male. Body length: 3.5–3.8 mm; wing length: 3.3–3.6

Female: Body length: 3.5–4.5 mm; wing length: 3.2–4.3

Head. Grey pollinose; frons of male narrower than that of the female; male with frons projecting at level of antennal insertion; postpedicel short, about 1.2 times the pedicel length; female with frons not projecting and postpedicel longer than in male; arista short, almost bare.

Thorax. General colour brown with grey pollinosity; scutum uniformly grey; postsutural dorsocentrals 4, the first two a little shorter than the two posterior ones; lower katepisternal seta present but very short, inserted closer to the posterior one; fore tibia without a long posterior median seta; mid femur with 2 preapical posterior setae; mid tibia with 2 posterior setae; wing with no setulae, except along costal vein.

Abdomen. General colour brown with grey pollinosity; sternite 1 bare; sternite 5 with medium sized setae on disc (Fig. 5).

Terminalia. Cercal plate heart-shaped and surstylus long as in Fig 6; cercal plate resembling that of a species of Limnophora; surstylus large in lateral view (Fig. 7). Aedeagal complex as in Fig. 8; hypandrium “U” shaped.

Distribution. Namibia and Republic of South Africa.

Etymology. The specific name is a reference to the unusually short arista.

Remarks. In Emden’s (1951) key the new species runs to S. fuscotriangulata Emden at couplet 27, but differs by the unspotted abdomen.