Stegana (Steganina) Wheeler, 1960

Bächli, Gerhard & Vilela, Carlos R., 2022, On the identities of Neotropical Stegana species (Diptera, Drosophilidae). III. Four Costa Rican species described by J. R. Malloch, Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (e 20210113) 66 (1), pp. 1-23 : 2

Subgenus Stegana (Steganina) Wheeler, 1960

Wheeler, 1960: 110 (description, taxa included). Type species: Musca coleoptrata Scopoli, 1763 (original designation).

Diagnosis. See Bächli et al. (2004: 83).

Comments: All species described by Malloch have hitherto been placed in the subgenus Steganina ( Brake and Bächli, 2008) . One of the main diagnostic characters of the Steganina species is that the main eye axis is oblique or almost horizontal (up to about 80 degrees) ( Bächli et al. 2004), with distinct, broad gena. Malloch and many other investigators of Stegana species did not always specify the main eye axis direction. If this character is not clearly stated as oblique, we suppose that the main eye axis is more or less vertical because, for drosophilists, this is a standard condition and, therefore, not usually mentioned. Such species may belong to the subgenus Stegana . The Malloch species analyzed here, except for Stegana schildi , do not present this feature but have almost roundish eyes with the main eye axis indistinct or relatively vertical (differing by about 10 degrees) and with very narrow gena, suggesting that they would belong to the subgenus Stegana . For now, however, we have decided to keep the four species within the subgenus Steganina .