Dischistus Loew, 1855

Greathead, D. J. & Evenhuis, N. L., 2001, Annotated keys to the genera of African Bombylioidea (Diptera: Bombyliidae; Mythicomyiidae), African Invertebrates 42 (1820), pp. 105-224 : 156-157

Dischistus Loew

Dischistus Loew, 1855: 45 (as subgenus of Bombylius Linnaeus ). Type species: Bombylius mystax Wiedemann, 1818 , by subsequent designation (Becker, 1913: 494).

Comments: Hesse (1938) correctly recognised the South African species D. mystax (Wiedemann) as genotype, and that Dischistus is very close to its Mediterranean counterpart, Acanthogeron , which Bowden (1973) formally reduced to a subgenus of Dischistus . It has since been regarded as a synonym of Dischistus , but as Acanthogeron spp. differ in wing venation and vestiture, and are therefore readily separated, it is convenient to recognise Acanthogeron as a subgenus. Dischistus sensu stricto all have a brown vestiture composed of long upright hair, but D. ( Acanthogeron ) spp. have much shorter and denser, pale hair.

Subgenus Dischistus Loew

Key: Southern Africa, Hesse (1938).

Distribution: Africa South of the Sahara: South Africa: 6 species: Kenya: 1 species; Dischistus holopticus Greathead. Distribution map in Greathead (1997).

Subgenus Acanthogeron Bezzi , stat. rev.

Acanthogeron Bezzi, 1925: 164 . Type species: Bombylius senex Meigen, 1820 , by original designation. Lissomerus Austen, 1937: 33 . Type species: Lissomerus niveicomatus Austen, 1937 , by original designation.

Key: Engel (1932 –7), Paramonov (1940 b), and Egypt, Efflatoun (1945) .

Distribution: Mediterranean Basin. North Africa: 13 species. Canary Islands: 1 species; Dischistus (A.) atlanticus Santos Abreu.