Alluaudomyia melanosticta ( Ingram & Macfie, 1922 )

Alwin-Kownacka, Alicja, Szadziewski, Ryszard & Szwedo, Jacek, 2016, Biting midges of the tribe Ceratopogonini (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the Middle East, with keys and descriptions of new species, Zootaxa 4079 (5), pp. 551-572 : 557

Alluaudomyia melanosticta ( Ingram & Macfie, 1922)

Thysanognathus melanostictus Ingram & Macfie, 1922: 248 (female, Ghana).

Alluaudomyia melanosticta: Macfie, 1943: 159 (male, female, Egypt); de Meillon & Hardy 1954: 65 ( Zimbabwe, Republic of South Africa); Clastrier & Wirth 1961: 232 ( Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Gambia); Boorman & van Harten 2002: 450 (male, female, Yemen).

Thysanognathus nilogenes Kieffer, 1925: 262 (male, Egypt). Syn. nov.

Diagnosis. Wings pale with prominent pattern of dark spots, a single dark spot half way along the cells r5, m1 and m2 with a one large and one or two much smaller ones in cubital cell. Males can be easily recognized by stout, tapering and simple parameres in genitalia. Females have one, pyriform seminal capsule; female claws very unequal on all legs.

Distribution. Afrotropical species reported from Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa, Senegal, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

Discussion. Macfie (1943) mentioned that Alluaudomyia melanosticta and Alluaudomyia nilogenes are very similar. Actually the original description of A. nilogenes by Kieffer (1925) matches the description of A. melanosticta ( Ingram & Macfie 1922) . Arrangement of spots on wings is the same. We agree with the suggestion by Macfie (1943) and propose to treat Thysanognathus nilogenes Kieffer, 1925 as a junior synonym of A. melanosticta ( Ingram & Macfie 1922) . The female mentioned earlier from Egypt by Macfie (1924) as A. melanosticta was misidentified and treated by de Meillon & Hardy (1954) as another species identical with or closely related to A. vudu de Meillon & Hardy, 1954 .