Protypusia ornata ( Engel, 1932 ) Gibbs, 2023

Gibbs, David, 2023, A world review of the bee fly tribe Usiini (Diptera, Bombyliidae) - Part 3: Parageron Paramonov s. lat., European Journal of Taxonomy 863 (1), pp. 1-162 : 98-102

Protypusia ornata ( Engel, 1932) gen. et comb. nov.

Figs 9 , 53

Usia ornata Engel, 1932: 76 .

Usia tomentosa Engel, 1932: 78 .

Etymology

From Latin ‘ ōrnātus ’ = ‘ornamented’, ‘embellished’.

Type material (not examined)

Syntype

EGYPT • ♂; “Burg El-Arab (Mariout) 25 March 1927 ( Efflatoun 1945)”; formerly ESEC. Destroyed .

Photographs show 15 mounts standing over Pro. ornata in ESEC, two with red labels one of which is likely to be the type of Pro. ornata . Neither Engel (1932) nor Efflatoun (1945) state explicitly how many specimens were used in the type description, just that male sex only was available. Of these two mounts with red labels, one is just a pin, the other had some fragmentary remains at the time the photo was taken. Whichever of the two specimens with red labels is the type of Pro. ornata , it is either entirely destroyed or so damaged as to be unidentifiable.

Neotype (here designated)

EGYPT • ♂; “Mariout, 25 March [19]27/ Coll. Efflatoun, Egypt/ Usia ornata Eng., Det. Efflatoun ”; TAU.

Because the type specimens are destroyed, it is necessary to designate a neotype to clarify the taxonomic status of Pro. ornata Engel, 1932 . Characters differentiating this species are set out in the key above and redescription below. At the time of its description this taxon was known from more than 25 males and 30 females, all collected at the same locality on the same date ( Efflatoun 1945). The neotype here designated is a male from the same series as Engel’s original type and transferred to TAU where it survived and was studied for this review.

Type material of U. tomentosa

Syntype

EGYPT • ♀; “Burg El-Arab (Mariout) 25 March 1927 ( Efflatoun 1945)”; formerly ESEC. Destroyed .

Photographs of the draws show that there are now no specimens standing over Pro. tomentosa Engel in ESEC. Efflatoun (1945) reports that Engel (1932) described this taxon from two specimens sent from his collection, but Engel (1932) lists just 1 ♀. Efflatoun (1945) was soon aware that Pro. tomentosa was the same species as Pro. ornata because he had taken specimens in copula. As such it is possible that he placed Engel’s type of Pro. tomentosa with Pro. ornata . Photographs show 15 mounts standing over ornata in ESEC, two with red labels so it is possible one of these was a tomentosa type although now destroyed or nearly so.

Other material examined

ISRAEL • 12 ♀♀; “km E. Zikim, Holot-Zikim Reserve ; + 300ft., hand netted on stable dunes, 2 May 1996 M.E. Irwin, 31°36′53″N 34°32′35″E”; TAU • 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; “ Nizzanim Reserve , 21April 2008, A. Freidberg ”; TAU • 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀; “ 18 April 2007 ”; TAU • 4 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀; “dunes, Ashkolon , Coastal plain, Palestine, 25April 1954, O. Theodor ”; TAU • 1 ♀; “ 19 May 1959, Ceasavea (dunes), coll. Krystal J. ”; TAU .

MOROCCO • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ Agadir , Imsouane 280 m N30°53′9″ W9°46′49.4″ 28 March 2006 ”; PCJD • 4 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀; “ 270 m 9 April 2009 ”; PCJD • 1 ♂; “ Tiznit , Aglou 50 m N29°45′23″ W9°53′0.7″ 22 March 2006 ”; PCJD • 1 ♀; “ 30 m N29.76253 W9.87466, 18 March 2011 ”; PCJD • 1 ♂; “ Essaouira , Ouassane, 70 m N31°23′6.6″ W9°46′34.6″, 8 April 2009 (leg. J. Dils & J. Faes)”; PCJD .

Redescription

MEASUREMENTS. Body length: 2.5–4.0 mm. Wing length: 3.2–4.0 mm.

Male

HEAD. Gena relatively broad, about as broad as the proboscis, the shining black mouth margin approximately half width of the gena (can vary depending on angle of view). Frons relatively narrow, at antennal insertions distance from antennae to eye about a wide as diameter of scape apically, covered with silky grey dust although appearing darker from some angles, narrowing down gena to merge with darker grey dusted jowls and occiput. Frons also with inconspicuous short pale hairs across much of width. Eyes meeting for a length clearly longer than the length of the frons medially and more than twice as long as length of the vertex, about 12 facets. Ocellar tubercle black in ground colour, thinly brown dusted, all ocelli contiguous with the eye margins or narrowly separated. Pale hairs on ocellar tubercle clearly longer than width of vertex at hind ocelli. Eye facets large in upper half, small in lower half, the division between them fairly well marked. Occiput black in ground colour, subshining and hardly dusted dorsally, a band of dense grey dust laterally behind eyes in lower half. Occipital callosities well developed, black and subshining like occiput, relatively strongly convex. Occiput covered with short pale yellowish hairs dorsally, not over-topping ocellar tubercle, becoming longer and more silvery-white ventrally and on jowls where hairs tend to be wavy-tipped. Antennae black, grey dusting on scape and pedicel, especially in dorsal view, postpedicel significantly longer than scape and pedicel together, straight dorsally, convex below tapering to blunt tip. Scape and pedicel with relatively short silvery hairs dorsally (very short in Israeli specimens), shorter than length of respective segment; postpedicel with shorter pale hairs mid-dorsally and immediately before preapical sulcus. Palps moderately large, clearly longer than width of gena, black and strongly clavate, with clear tuft of relatively long white hairs apically and ventrally. Proboscis not exceptional, about as long as the head and thorax (without scutellum), hairy dorso-laterally at base (especially in Morocco), black, including the basoventral membrane.

THORAX. Disc of mesonotum matt black only obscured by dense grey dust along dorsocentral lines from anterior slope of mesonotum to transverse suture and along acrostichal line from anterior slope to about two thirds distance to transverse suture, often faint and obscure. Post pronotal lobe, notopleuron, supra alar and post alar areas also more thinly grey-brown dusted. Hairs of mesonotum pale yellow, as long as the mid-length of the scutellum, acrostichals and dorsocentrals irregularly quadriserial, paramedian vittae narrowly devoid of hairs.Anterior hairs reclinate, those on hind third upright to proclinate, laterally hairs more generally distributed, relatively dense on notopleuron and post pronotal lobe. Scutellum matt-black, in some dusted lighter ventrally, long pale yellow hairs scattered across disc and arranged in irregular row around margin. Pleura black more or less grey-brown dusted, the ground colour showing through, most obviously on anepisternum and ventral half of katepisternum, pronotum and posterior two-thirds of the anepisternum with long white hairs, katepisternum also with long white hairs in upper anterior third.

WING. Membrane hyaline, with brownish-yellow tinge, pterostigma a little darker, the veins brown, yellower basally, subcosta yellow. Crossvein r-m near base of the discal cell, almost opposite m-cu or a little beyond. Anal lobe well developed with semi circularly convex margin, broader than anal cell.

HALTERE. Variable, yellowish with stem clearly infuscated, often this extends on to knob forming a dorsal spot, most obviously so in Moroccan specimens, Israeli specimens mostly have clear yellowwhite knob. Egyptian specimens somewhat intermediate.

LEGS. Black, coxae grey dusted like pleura, most obviously on anterior coxae. Femora and tibia and tarsi very thinly grey dusted, subshining, not obscuring ground colour. Fore and hind coxae clothed with long white antero-lateral hairs, mid-coxae with much shorter hairs on anterior face only. Fore and midfemora posteriorly, hind femora antero-ventrally with long silky-white hairs. Tibia and tarsi with short adpressed white hairs, sometimes longer and more erect on bases of tibia.

ABDOMEN. Subshining velvety black, tergites grey dusted only on reflexed lateral margins, not visible from above. No visible paler apical margins to any tergites. All tergites with long white erect hairs longer then the length of respective tergite, even longer laterally, except tergite one which is bare on disc centrally. Sternites densely grey dusted with paler inter-segmental membrane often apparent, clothed with long white hairs, a little shorter than on tergites.

GENITALIA. Rather small and retracted into tip of abdomen, black, grey dusted much the same as lateral margins of tergites, gonocoxite with shiny, undusted tips. Gonocoxite with a covering of long silky white hairs, epandrium with much shorter hairs.

Female

Strikingly different to male, so much so that Engel (1932) described it as a separate species. Whole of body densely grey dusted, often with a distinct brown or even golden tone depending on angle of view. Eyes well separated, frons wider than length of postpedicel, about two fifths head width. Frons, gena, occiput and jowls densely grey-brown dusted, mouth margin shining black and almost as wide as gena, a small shining black spot in middle of frons where dusting absent, area behind ocellar tubercle and occipital callosities more thinly dusted. Hairs on frons short and inconspicuous anteriorly, longer and more conspicuous along eye margins posteriorly. Proboscis bare or short haired dorsally at base, hairs on antennae less conspicuous. Mesonotum densely grey dusted, often browner centrally and towards rear, boldly marked with narrow well defined blackish paramedian vittae extending back to level of wing bases, and antehumeral vittae interrupted at the transverse suture and prescutellar vittae running forward to level of paramedian vittae (faint or absent in some, especially Israeli specimens). Scutellum and pleura densely grey-brown dusted. Legs a little more clearly dusted than male. Hairs of thorax and legs generally shorter. Haltere with clear yellow knob. All tergites densely grey dusted, tergite one pale grey concolourous with disc of scutellum, remaining tergites darker blackish basally forming more or less distinct bands. Very narrow pale apical margins can be present. Sternites densely grey dusted with narrow pale apical margins. All abdominal sclerites clothed with white hairs, about two-thirds the length of those on the male abdomen.

Remarks

Although a very distinctive and readily identified species, especially males, it conforms well with the genus in the form of both male and female genitalia. No obvious close affinities with other species, genitalia and relatively broad mouth margin suggest it might be intermediate between the incisus and punctipennis -groups.

Distribution

Egypt, Israel, Morocco.

Figures

Fig. 9. Protypusia ornata (Engel, 1932) gen. et comb. nov., ♂.

Fig. 53. Protypusia ornata (Engel, 1932) gen. et comb. nov. a. Epiphallic complex ventral. b. Epiphallic complex lateral. c. Gonocoxite ventral. d. Gonocoxite lateral. e. Epandrium dorsal. f. Female genitalia ventral. g. Female genitalia lateral.