Abstracts
A key to 57 of the 58 Afrotropical Muscidae (Diptera) genera is given. The previous Catalogue of Afrotropical Diptera published about 25 years ago by Adrian C. Pont was used as a taxonomic guide, to which the more recently synonyms and taxonomic changes were updated. For each genus, geographical distribution and number of valid species in this region are also included. Some morphological diagnostic characters are illustrated in order to help the use of the key.
Afrotropical Region; Identification; taxonomy
Uma chave para 57 dos 58 gêneros Afrotropicais de Muscidae (Diptera) é apresentada. O catálogo afrotropical de Diptera publicado a cerca de 25 anos atrás por Adrian C. Pont foi utilizado como guia taxonômico, ao qual foram acrescentados sinônimos e mudanças taxonômicas recentes. Para cada gênero são incluídos o número de espécies válidas e a distribuição geográfica nesta região. Alguns caracteres morfológicos diagnósticos são ilustrados para facilitar a utilização da chave.
Identificação; Região Afrotropical; taxonomia
A key to the Afrotropical genera of Muscidae (Diptera)
Chave para os gêneros afrotropicais de Muscidae (Diptera)
Márcia S. Couri
Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Quinta da Boa Vista, 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Fellow of CNPq. E-mail:mcouri@attglobal.net
ABSTRACT
A key to 57 of the 58 Afrotropical Muscidae (Diptera) genera is given. The previous Catalogue of Afrotropical Diptera published about 25 years ago by Adrian C. Pont was used as a taxonomic guide, to which the more recently synonyms and taxonomic changes were updated. For each genus, geographical distribution and number of valid species in this region are also included. Some morphological diagnostic characters are illustrated in order to help the use of the key.
Key words: Afrotropical Region, Identification, taxonomy.
RESUMO
Uma chave para 57 dos 58 gêneros Afrotropicais de Muscidae (Diptera) é apresentada. O catálogo afrotropical de Diptera publicado a cerca de 25 anos atrás por Adrian C. Pont foi utilizado como guia taxonômico, ao qual foram acrescentados sinônimos e mudanças taxonômicas recentes. Para cada gênero são incluídos o número de espécies válidas e a distribuição geográfica nesta região. Alguns caracteres morfológicos diagnósticos são ilustrados para facilitar a utilização da chave.
Palavras-chave: Identificação, Região Afrotropical, taxonomia.
The taxonomic knowledge of the Afrotropical muscids can be found in EMDEN (1939, 1940, 1941, 1942a,b, 1943, 1951) and, more recently, in ZIELKE (1971) for the Muscini, DEEMING (1971) for the "Atherigonini" and ZUMPT (1973) for the "Stomoxyinae". Species have been described by Crosskey; Deeming; Emden, Paterson, Peris, Pont, Snyder, Zielke and Zumpt and keys have been presented by ZUMPT (1969) for Aethiopomyia Malloch, 1921; PATERSON (1960) for Allaudinella Giglio-Tos, 11895, SNYDER (1953) for Mydaea Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (in part); PONT & DEAR (1976) for Ochromusca Malloch, 1927; PONT (1974) for Passeromyia Rodhain & Villeneuve, 1915; CROSSKEY (1962) for Pygophora Schiner, 1868, among others (PONT 1980).
The latest consolidated information on the Afrotropical muscid fauna is found in PONT (1980), where about 870 valid species (herein atualized to 925) are recorded to the Region, occuring in all available habitats, except for the most arids. The muscids represent some of the most abundant and widespread flies in Africa (PONT 1980).
The information on the madagascan muscid fauna were updated by COURI et al. (2006), where 23 new species were described, seven species and three genera were newly recorded from Madagascar (Azelia Robineau-Desvoidy, Phaonia Robineau-Desvoidy and Spilogona Schnabl); two replacement names were given to two homonimies and one new synonym was stablished. The paper also presented a key for all included genera and species. Most of the material studied was collected by the "Madagascar Arthropod Biodiversity Project" developed by the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, California) from the beginnig of 2001 until early 2005.
Certainly the Afrotropical muscid fauna is much richer than these numbers. Among the madagascan material there are still taxa to be described, including some Atherigona species, a genus well represented in the Region. More collections in the whole Region will certainly make other new taxa known.
Presently, about 75% of the recorded afrotropical muscid genera are represented for less than 10 species, while genera as Atherigona Rondani, 1856, Coenosia Meigen, 1826 and Helina Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 are represented, respectively, by 126, 111 and 99 species.
For the present key, the Catalogue of Afrotropical Diptera (PONT 1980) was used as a taxonomic guide, to which, the more recently synonyms and taxonomic changes were updated (see COURI et al. 2006). The terminology follows MCALPINE et al. (1981).
Table I summarizes the valid muscid genera and subgenera of the Afrotropical Region by subfamily and the number of species based on PONT (1980) for the whole Region and COURI et al. (2007) for Madagascar and other synonymies (including Ophyra Robineau-Desvoidy as a junior synonym of Hydrotaea Robineau-Desvoidy); COURI & PONT (1999, 2000) for Coenosiinae and Carvalho et al. (2005) for general classification.
As a result, 57 of the 58 recorded genera are keyed. Data on geographical records and number of valid species in the Afrotropical Region were included in the key. Some morphological diagnostic characteres were illustrated in order to help the use of the key.
Polietes Rondani, 1866 was not included in the key, as no material was examined and the available data in literature was not sufficient. It is represented in the Afrotropical Region by only one species P. lardaria (Fabricius, 1781). The genus has the prosternum haired on sides, fine hairs on the upper anterior angle of meron; female has cruciate interfrontal setae and two or more proclinate outer setae on each orbit.
The key is mainly based on COURI et al. (2006), where the other Afrotropical Muscidae not recorded to Madagascar were included, and has also parts modified from EMDEN (1939, 1940, 1951), ZUMPT (1973) (Stomoxyiinae), COURI & PONT (1999), CARVALHO & COURI (2002) and COURI & CARVALHO (2002).
Key to the Afrotropical genera of Muscidae
Proboscis usually elongated, strong sclerotized; labela reduced; mouth parts modified into a piercing organ; prosternum and anepimeron setulose; arista with long hairs on the dorsal surface and bare on ventral or, at most with 3-4 ventral cilia (except in Rhinomusca and Haematobosca) ................................2
Proboscis retractile, not modified into a piercing organ, faintly or moderately sclerotized; prosternum and anepimeron setulose or bare; arista bare, with short hairs or plumose ......................................................................9
Palpus about as long as proboscis (Fig. 1) .......................................3
Palpus shorter than half of the proboscis length; 14 species (widespread in Afrotropical Region, including Cape Verde Is., Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles, St. Helena, South Yemen) ..............................Stomoxys Geoffroy
Palpi strap-like, not grooved internally .....................................4
Postalar wall with a tuft of black hairs; arista with long dorsal and ventral hairs; propleuron setulose; katepisternal anterior seta absent; 2 species (associated with rhinocerous in east and southern Africa) (Kenya, South Africa) ................................................................................Rhinomusca Malloch
Propleuron bare; katepisternal anterior seta present; 1 species (Uganda, Sudan, Zaire) ..............................................................Bruceomyia Malloch
Propleuron setulose; katepisternal anterior seta present or absent ................6
Katepisternal anterior seta present; arista with dorsal hairs only; general body color black and orange; body length 6 mm; 1 species (Mozambique) ......................................................................Parastomoxys Zumpt
Katepisternal anterior seta absent; arista with dorsal hairs only, or with few short ones ventrally; general body color dark; body length 3.5-4.5 mm; 1 species (Zaire) ...............................................Prostomoxys Zumpt
Katepisternal anterior seta absent; arista with dorsal hairs only; propleuron and notopleuron setulose; 2 species (Kenya, South Africa, South Yemen, Rhodesia, Somalia, Sudan, Zaire, widespread east to southern Afrotropical Region) .....................................................................Stygeromyia Austen
Katepisternal anterior seta present; arista with dorsal and ventral cilia, or only dorsal; propleuron and notopleuron setulose or bare ..............................8
Arista with dorsal and ventral hairs, notopleuron with covering setulae; propleuron setulose or bare; general body color from yellow to black; body length between 3.5-9.0 mm, 9 species (Cameroun, Kenya, Malawi, Rhodesia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, widespread east to southen Afrotropical Region) .................................................Haematobosca Bezzi
Arista with dorsal hairs only, notopleuron without covering setulae (but setae present); propleuron bare; general body color with dense grey and oliver pollinosity; body length between 2.0-5.0 mm, 6 species (widespread Afrotropical Region, including Socotra, South Yemen) ....Haematobia Le Peletier and Serville
Head angular in profile; antenna long; antennal insertion above mid-level of eye (Fig. 2); dorsocentral presutural setae very short and fine, almost indistinct from the covering setulae, 126 species (widespread in Afrotropical Region, including Cape Verde Is., Comoro Is., Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles, South Yemen) ...................................................Atherigona Rondani
Palpi of male elongated, flattened (Fig. 3); presutural acrostichal setulae often in 4-5 rows; basal lateral setae of scutellum usually almost or quite half as long as subbasal lateral seta; crossvein r-m usually at or beyond middle of cell dm; fore femur often with a shallow dorsal preapical excavation; adult males without a trifoliate process and hypopygial prominence, 14 species ...........................................Subgenus Acritochaeta Grimshaw
Palpi of male club-like (Fig. 4), strikingly swollen on apical half; presutural acrostichal setulae always in 2-3 rows; basal lateral setae of scutellum at most one third as long as subbasal lateral seta; cross vein r-m always well in basal half of cell dm; fore femur without a dorsal preapical excavation; adult males with a trifoliate process and hypopygial prominence, 112 species .........................................................Subgenus Atherigona Rondani
Head shape not as above; antennal insertion below mid-level of eye; dorsocentral presutural setae developed or not differentiated from the covering setulae ..........................................................10
Palpi yellow; tibiae yellow; antennae orange, flagellomere sometimes infuscated towards tip; arista short-plumose, the longest individual hairs equal to width of antennal flagellomere; stem-vein bare; female without proclinate orbital setae; 6 species (widespread Afrotropical Region including Fernando Póo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles) ............................Alluaudinella Giglio-Tos
Body shining metallic green or blue; mid tibia with a strong ventral seta .......14
Body black or bluish-black, not metallic shining green or blue; mid tibia without a ventral seta ............................................................................19
Suprasquamal ridge setulose .........................................................15
Infra-alar bulla setulose; 43 species (widespread in Afrotropical Region, including Cape Verde Is., Fernando Póo, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Rodriguez) ......................................................Neomyia Robineau-Desvoidy
Infra-alar bulla bare; 7 species (Cameroun, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, widespread west Afrotropical Region, including Fernando Póo) ...............................Curranosia Paterson
Lower calypter relativelly smaller; cercal plate of male with spined ventral process (Fig. 6); 12 species (widespread Afrotropical Region including Fernando Póo, Principe) ...............................................................Pyrellina Seguy
Prostenum very wide, much wider than high; 9 species (Cameroun, Mozambique, Rhodesia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia) .......................................................................Mitroplatia Enderlein
Prosternum not widened; 1 species (St. Helena) Dasyphora Robineau-Desvoidy
Eyes widely separated in both sexes; general body color brownish to yellow to rufous, the dorsum of the thorax more or less infuscated or with darker stripes; robust flies ............................................................................20
Male usually holoptic; general body color blackish, very rarely the ground color of the body pale; more delicate flies ...........................................21
Proepisternum hairy (Fig. 9); suprasquamal ridge bare; front tibia without a submedian posteroventral seta; mid tibia without a submedian anteroventral seta; mesonotum with four black long vittae; 1 species .......................................................................Subgenus Musca Linnaeus
Proepisternum bare; suprasquamal ridge bare or hairy; front tibia with or without a submedian posteroventral seta; mid tibia with or without a submedian anteroventral seta ......................................................................21b
Post humeral seta present .............................................................23
Callus prealar bare; 37 species ......................Subgenus Dichaetomyia Malloch
Hind coxa with setulae present on posterior apical margin; 2 species 91 not identified) (Uganda, Madagascar) ............................Azelia Robineau-Desvoidy
Vein R4+5 with several setulae on base, these sometimes absent on upper wing surface; male dichoptic; postalar wall setulose or bare, arista short, long plumose, the dorsal plumes longer and sparse than the ventrals; 1 species (Zambia, widespread mainland neotropical) .Passeromyia Rodhain and Villeneuve
Presutural dorsocentral setae present; palpi usually filiform ........................41
Katepisternal setae 1+1-3; ovipositor of the Mydaea-type, short, with a spinose hypoproct .........................................................................................47
Arista bare; ground-colour black, entire body whitish dusted, and the head wholly white to silvery-white; small species, wing-length about 3 mm, confined to the seashore; 1 species .......................................................New genus
One pair of long presutural dorsocentral setae, sometimes preceded by a very short second pair ...............................................................................50
Two pairs of more or less subequal presutural dorsocentral setae ................52
Three pairs of postsutural dorsocentral setae; basal scutellar seta present or absent .............................................................................................56
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Part of this paper was carried out at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco (California) and I would like to thank all the colleagues of the Academy for their support, especially Norman D. Penny. I also thank Adrian C. Pont (Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford, United Kingdom) for the useful information on the Afrotropical muscid fauna. I am also grateful to CAPES (process 3123-04-9) and to CNPq (process 300370/2004-0), agencies of the Brazilian Government fostering scientific and technological development, respectively for the Post-doctoral grant and the Research grant.
Received in 07.VII.2006; accepted in 01.III.2007.
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Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
24 Apr 2007 -
Date of issue
Mar 2007
History
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Accepted
01 Mar 2007 -
Received
07 July 2006