Scaptia (Scaptia) aurinigra Lessard

Lessard, Bryan D. & Yeates, David K., 2013, New species of the hairy-eyed horse fly subgenera Scaptia (Myioscaptia) Mackerras, 1955 and Scaptia (Scaptia) Walker, 1850 (Diptera: Tabanidae) from Australia, Zootaxa 3680 (1), pp. 118-129 : 125-126

Scaptia (Scaptia) aurinigra Lessard , sp.n.

( Figs. 4 & 5 )

Type material. Holotype female, Qld, Rockpool Gorge, Mount Walsh National Park, Biggenden, 4 Oct., 1976, H. Frauca ( ANIC). Paratype male same data as for Holotype ( ANIC).

Diagnosis. A small, dark, muscoid-like species superficially resembling S. ( Myioscaptia ), but placed within S. ( Scaptia ) due to its long sabre-like palpi exceeding half the length of the proboscis shaft, most similar to Scaptia (Scaptia) minuscula Mackerras, 1960 , but distinguished by its scutum without vittae, unbanded abdomen, mostly clear to slightly greyish wings, orange to yellow antennae, and dark brownish black beard and legs. Length 8–9 mm.

Female. Length 9 mm. Head. Eyes with short, brown hairs. Frons parallel, index 2.2, dark brown-black, with dull golden fawn around eye margins that meets at median callus, hairs dark brown-black; ocellar tubercle black. Subcallus brownish fawn, becoming darker towards base of antennae; parafacials brownish fawn with dark brown hairs at lower margins; face brownish fawn, darker at centre, with short brown hairs on each side below antennae. Antennae. Scape and pedicel pale brownish fawn to orange, with black hairs; flagellum bright yellow to orange, concolorous, and tapering at tip with segmentation less conspicuous. Palpi orange to brown; 1st segment with large, black hairs; 2nd segment with distinct pale orange-brown concavity and very short black hairs at margins. Beard dark brown-black.

Thorax. Scutum and scutellum black, with a vague blueish hue, rather shiny, without grey median, dorsocentral and lateral margins lines, hairs on disc entirely black, post-alar tuft predominantly black. Pleura dull greyish brown-black, with hairs entirely black, including propleural, hypopleural and squamal tufts.

Legs. Coxae, femora, tibiae and tarsomeres entirely dark brown to black, concolorous, hairs dark brown, except for pale ventral zone on all tarsi and fore tibiae only.

Wings. Clear to faintly greyish; stigma brown; veins brown; R 4 angulate, without appendix; cell R 5 widely open.

Abdomen. Shining metallic black, with a vague blueish hue, becoming slightly duller and greyish towards apical tergites, hairs black on disc and on abdominal margins, without banded appearance, with somewhat lighter at apical margins on tergites. Venter. Black with blusih hues on apical half of sternites, brown on basal half, becoming duller grey from sternites four onwards, with predominantly black hairs.

Male. Length 8 mm. Upper facets of eyes enlarged, hairs very dense, golden brown. Parafacials browner than females, with dense brown hairs. Palpi rod-like, long, slightly pointed with large apical lateral bare area with long brown to black hairs. Apical segments of abdomen shining with a slightly deeper purple to blueish hue than females.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality of south eastern Queensland.

Etymology. This specific epithet is derived from the latin auri, gold, and nigra, black, referring to the bright yellow antennae which sharply contrast the black scutum, abdomen and legs.

Remarks. This species is keyed out in couplet 11 of Mackerras (1960, p. 39) key to the Australian S. ( Scaptia ) species. Furthermore, it may provide a link between S. ( Scaptia ) and S. ( Myioscaptia ) as it shares the general muscoid-like appearance of the latter subgenus, and only substantially differs in its long sabre-like palpi conserved to S. ( Scaptia ) species.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Scaptia (Myioscaptia) aurinigra Lessard, sp. n. Holotype female: (a) dorsum; (b) side; (c) front; (d) profile.

FIGURE 5. Scaptia (Scaptia) aurinigra Lessard, sp. n. Holotype male: (a) dorsum; (b) side; (c) front; (d) profile.