Ectyphus abdominalis Bezzi, 1924

Lyons, Kathleen M. & Dikow, Torsten, 2010, Taxonomic revision of Ectyphus Gerstaecker, 1868 and Parectyphus Hesse, 1972 with a key to world Ectyphinae (Insecta, Diptera, Mydidae), ZooKeys 73, pp. 25-59 : 28-29

Ectyphus abdominalis Bezzi, 1924 Figs 245

Ectyphus abdominalis Bezzi 1924: 198; Hesse 1969: 378; Bowden 1980: 326.

Diagnosis:

The species is distinguished from congeners by the broad, reddish stripe covering most of the dorsal abdomen (Fig. 2), the light brown setation on the head and scutum, the lack of a yellow posterior margin on the abdominal tergites, and its apparent distribution in the western Western Cape Province.

Re-description female:

Head: brown, facial gibbosity yellow, in general white pubescent; width distinctly greater than thorax, interocular distance on vertex larger than at ventral eye margin, vertex between compound eyes slightly depressed, parafacial area very narrow, facial gibbosity nearly touching median eye margin; facial gibbosity distinct, well-developed and discernible in lateral view; mystax light brown, covering entire facial gibbosity; frons predominantly white pubescent (only narrow median area apubescent), vertex entirely white pubescent, postgena white pubescent; setation: vertex light brown, frons light brown, ocp setae brown, pocl setae brown; ocellar triangle apubescent; proboscis brown, short, about ½ length of oral cavity; labellum small, as wide as prementum, about ½ length of prementum, unsclerotised laterally; maxillary palpus cylindrical, light brown, longer than ½ length of proboscis.

Antenna: brown, scape and pedicel brown setose dorsally and ventrally; postpedicel cylindrical in proximal ½, symmetrically bulbous in distal ½, ≥ 5.0 times as long as combined length of scape and pedicel; apical ‚seta-like‘ sensory element situated apically in cavity on postpedicel.

Thorax: brown, predominantly yellow pubescent; scutum medially bluish-black, laterally brown, surface entirely smooth, lightly grey pubescent, scutal setation comprised of distinct rows of short dorsocentral setae and lateral scutal setae; dc setae pre- and postsuturally light brown, acr setae absent, lateral scutal setae brown, npl, spal, and pal setae absent; postpronotal lobe light brown, partly silver pubescent; proepisternum, lateral postpronotum, and postpronotal lobe long brown setose; scutellum entirely silver pubescent, short brown setose, apical scutellar setae absent; mesopostnotum, anatergite, and katatergite grey pubescent, asetose; katatergite elevated and smoothly convex; anterior anepisternum asetose, supero-posterior anepisternum asetose; posterior anepimeron long white setose, katepimeron asetose; metepimeron evenly elevated, same colour as T1, silver pubescent, asetose; metepisternum silver pubescent, asetose.

Leg: brown, setation predominantly white; pro, mes, and met coxa grey pubescent, white setose; met trochanter macrosetose medially; femur brown, met femur evenly clubbed in distal ¾, in distal ½ macrosetose, 1 antero-ventral and 1 postero-ventral row of macrosetae; pro, mes, and met tibia straight, met tibia cylindrical with distinct ventral keel terminating into a sharp spine; pro and mes tarsomere 1 as long as combined length of tarsomeres 2-3, pulvillus well-developed, as long as well-developed claw, and as wide as base of claw; empodium absent.

Wing: length = 13.2 mm; hyaline throughout, slightly brown stained along veins, veins light brown, microtrichia absent; cells r1, r4, r5, m3, + cup closed; C well-developed, around entire wing; R4 terminates in R1; R5 terminates in R1; stump vein (R3) at base of R4 present, long but not reaching R2; R4 and R5 widest apart medially; r-m distinct, R4+5 and M1 apart, connected by crossvein; M1 straight at r-m (not curving anteriorly), M1 (or M1+M2) terminates in C; CuA1 and CuA2 split proximally to m-cu (cell m3 narrow proximally); M3+CuA1 terminate together in C; A1 undulating, cell a1 wide, A1 and wing margin further apart proximally than distally; alula well-developed; halter brown.

Abdomen: brown and yellow; setation comprised of sparsely scattered short brown setae, surface entirely smooth; T1 brown, T2 brown with yellow anterior and posterior margin, T3-7 brown laterally and yellow medially; T1-3 sparsely brown setose; T predominantly apubescent; S1-7 light brown; S1-3 asetose; S predominantly apubescent; T2-4 parallel-sided and not constricted waist-like; bullae on T2 black, transversely elongate, surface entirely smooth, T2 surface anterior to bullae smooth.

Female genitalia: densely arranged anteriorly directed setae absent, only few on T7-8 and S7-8; T10 divided into 2 heavily sclerotised acanthophorite plates. Specimen not further dissected to preserve the unique, already damaged holotype.

Re-description male:

male unknown.

Material examined:

South Africa: Western Cape Province: 1♀ Montagu, 33°47'12"S; 20°06'42"E, -.i.1876, R. Turner (holotype, SAMC).

Type locality, distribution, and biodiversity hotspot:

Montagu (33°47'12"S; 20°06'42"E), Western Cape, South Africa. Cape Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot.

Remarks:

Although we were able to study some 131 specimens of Ectyphus , many of them new records since the last review by Hesse (1969), we were unable to identify any additional specimen of Ectyphus abdominalis . The unique female holotype is in poor condition and originates from a unique locality from where no other Ectyphus have ever been collected (Fig. 45). It is possible that this species represents another junior synonym of Ectyphus pinguis as this species, which is primarily known from the Eastern Cape, occurs even further west in the Western Cape than the type locality of Ectyphus abdominalis (see Remarks under Ectyphus pinguis ). Only when male specimens from the type locality become available can the status of this species be confirmed.