Agaedioxenis setifrons (Villeneuve, 1937) Cerretti & O’Hara & Winkler & Lo Giudice & Stireman, 2015

Cerretti, Pierfilippo, O’Hara, James E., Winkler, Isaac S., Lo Giudice, Giuseppe & Stireman, John O., 2015, Two tribes hidden in one genus: the case of Agaedioxenis Villeneuve (Diptera: Tachinidae: Exoristinae), Organisms Diversity & Evolution (New York, N. Y.) 15 (3), pp. 489-512 : 504-505

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s13127-015-0211-0
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0C53D317-5C05-45D7-A9E4-FB6E6D6F28DE
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038587E4-FFB4-295D-FF79-FBEDFB52CFDC
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Agaedioxenis setifrons (Villeneuve, 1937)
status	comb. nov.

Treatment

Agaedioxenis setifrons (Villeneuve, 1937) , comb. nov.

( Figs. 1e–f View Fig , 3a–b View Fig , 5c–d View Fig )

Gaedioxenis setifrons Villeneuve, 1937: 207 View in CoL . Holotype female (CNC). Type locality: South Africa, Western Cape, Stellenbosch.

Gaedioxenis setifrons View in CoL : Villeneuve (1939: 1); Townsend (1943: 335), type species designation; Crosskey (1980: 878), Afrotropical catalogue; Crosskey (1984: 291), note in key to genera of tropical and southern Africa; Evenhuis et al. (2008: 14), newly recognized as type species of Gaedioxenis Townsend View in CoL ; Evenhuis et al. (2015), type species of Gaedioxenis View in CoL in list of Townsend genus-group names.

Type material. Holotype ♀: [blank small red square label] // Capland / Stellenbosch / Nov-10 1925 / Dr. H. Brauns. // Gaedioxenis / setifrons / Villen. / Typ. [label handwritten by Villeneuve] // Gaedioxenis / setifrons Vill. [handwritten by Mesnil] / L.P. Mesnil det., 1969 // TYPE [red label] // EX / L.-P. MESNIL / COLLECTION 1970 [ CNC, in good condition except missing both front legs]. Other material examined. 1♂, South Africa, Western Cape, West Coast National Park, 33° 07′ 31″ S 18° 03′ 38″ E 30 m, J.G.L. & A. Londt, 13.ix.2001, Seeberg area, lagoon bush; 1♀, South Africa, Cape Prov., 10 km E Garies, 3017DB, 3.ix.1981, J. Londt, L. Schoeman and B. Stuckenberg, Succulent Karoo (both in NMDA).

Description.

Body length: 10.5–11.0 mm.

Male.

Colouration: Head ground colour black except genal groove and facial ridge which are dark red, and frontal vitta which is dark brown. Head covered with whitish-grey reflecting microtomentum. Scape and pedicel reddish yellow; postpedicel and arista black. Palpus blackish or brownish (reddish brown in holotype). Thorax (except scutellum) black; scutellum anteriorly and anterolaterally black turning to red on posteromedian 1/2. Presutural area of scutum with 4 dark vittae (lateral pair subtriangular, median pair straight and narrow); postsutural area of scutum, when viewed from behind, with 5 dark vittae, 3 extending length of postsutural area and 2 on anterior portion only and continuous with median pair on presutural area. Legs black. Tegula and basicosta black. Wing membrane hyaline. Abdomen almost entirely black in ground colour, only faintly reddish laterally on tergite 4 or on both tergites 3 and 4. Tergites 3 and 4 with a band of whitish reflecting microtomentum on anterior 1/2; tergite 5 with a narrow band of whitish and brownish reflecting microtomentum on anterior 1/4–1/3.

Head ( Figs. 1e View Fig , 3a View Fig ): Compound eye bare. Frons 1.33 times as wide as compound eye in dorsal view. Inner and outer vertical setae long and robust (outer vertical seta lateroclinate). Ocellar seta strong, proclinate. Fronto-orbital plate with 2 irregular rows of several strong medioclinate setae lateral to lower frontal setae. Four to 6 upper reclinate orbital seta (2 of them lateroclinate). Proclinate orbital setae absent. Parafacial flat, at its narrowest point about 0.8 times as wide as postpedicel; parafacial covered with fine, long, black setae. Facial ridge concave, with decumbent setae on lower 1/4–1/5. Vibrissa strong, arising slightly above or at level of lower facial margin. Face slightly raised and usually visible in lateral view. Lower facial margin protruded and clearly visible in lateral view. Postpedicel about 4 times as long as pedicel. Arista bare, thickened on basal 4/5 or more. First aristomere at most as long as wide; second aristomere about 3–5 times as long as wide. Genal dilation well developed. Gena in profile ca. 0.4 times as high as compound eye. Occiput slightly convex; posterodorsal portion of occiput with 2 irregular rows of black setulae behind postocular row. Rest of occiput and postgena almost entirely covered with fine, pale setae. Palpus long and narrow, sub-cylindrical. Prementum slender, 0.60– 0.75 times as long as height of head.

Thorax: Four postpronotal setae, the 3 strongest basal setae arranged in a straight line; 1 strong anterior seta arising in front between mid basal and inner basal setae. Scutum with 3+3 acrostichal setae; 3+4 dorsocentral setae; 1+3 intra-alar setae; 3 posthumeral setae; 1+3 supra-alar setae (first postsutural supra-alar seta longer than notopleural setae); notopleuron with 2 strong setae, equal in length and thickness; postalar callus with 2 strong setae, 1 additional, smaller seta may be present. Anatergite bare. Prosternum with several long setulae on lateral margin. Proepisternal depression bare. Katepimeron bare or with 1 fine setula anteriorly. Four katepisternal setae. Anterior and posterior lappets of metathoracic spiracle unequal in size (posterior lappet larger, operculum-like). Apical scutellar setae strong, crossed and varying from almost horizontal to slightly erect. One pair of subapical scutellar setae, 1 pair of lateral setae, and 1 pair of basal setae; lateral scutellar setae about 4/5 as long as subapical setae; 1 pair of widely separated discal setae and 1–2 pairs of strong, erect preapical setae, irregular in length. Postmetacoxal area membranous.

Legs: Fore tibia with 2 posterior setae. Preapical anterodorsal seta of fore tibia distinctly longer than preapical dorsal seta. Fore claws shorter than fifth tarsomere. Mid tibia with 3–5 anterodorsal setae. Submedian ventral seta on mid tibia present. Row of anterodorsal setae of hind tibia very irregular in size (i.e., not forming a comb-like row). Preapical posteroventral seta of hind tibia distinctly shorter than preapical anteroventral seta. Hind tibia with 3 dorsal preapical setae (mid-dorsal one shorter than preapical anterodorsal and preapical posterodorsal).

Wing: Costal spine well developed, about twice as long as crossvein r-m. Vein R 4+5 with 2–3 setulae at base. Bend of vein M nearly right-angled. Costa sector cs 2 ventrally bare. Costal sector cs 4 longer than cs 6. Section of M between crossveins rm and dm-cu clearly longer than section between dm-cu and bend of M. Section of M between dm-cu and bend of M shorter than postangular section of M. Cell r 4+5 closed at wing margin. Wing membrane uniformly covered with microscopic setulae.

Abdomen: Ventral edges of syntergite 1+2 and tergites 3 and 4 entirely overlapping corresponding sternites. Mid-dorsal depression of syntergite 1+2 extending posteriorly to hind margin of that segment. Syntergite 1+2 with 2 pairs of equally strong median marginal setae, and 2–3 pairs of lateral marginal setae; tergite 3 with 2 pairs of median marginal setae and 4 pairs of lateral marginal setae; tergite 4 with a complete row of regular marginal setae; tergite 5 with erect marginal and discal setae not arranged in rows. Tergites 3 and 4 with irregular median discal setae barely distinguishable from strong erect general setulae (median discal setae more developed on tergite 4). Tergites 3 to 5 without sexual patches. Tergite 5 about 0.9–1.0 times as long as tergite 4.

Male terminalia ( Fig. 5c–d View Fig ): Tergite 6 divided into 2 large hemitergites, not fused with segment 7. Syntergosternite 7+8 relatively broad. Sternite 6 asymmetrical and right side connection to segment 7 narrowly membranous. Sternite 5 with anterior margin almost straight; posterior margin with a deep median U-shaped cleft. Membranous transverse band on sternite 5 well developed. Epandrium short and convex. Lateral epandrial lobe not developed. Cerci in posterior view long and sub-triangular, distally only slightly separated. Surstylus laterally compressed, shorter than cerci; distal 2/3 rounded in lateral view and proximally not fused with epandrium; with several short setulae on both lateral and medial surfaces. Bacilliform sclerite rod-shaped and fused to surstylus anterobasally; surstylus with a stout median, proximal apophysis, visible in lateral view in form of a postero-proximal lobe ( Fig. 5d View Fig , red arrow). Hypandrial arms strongly approximated, not fused posteromedially. Pregonite well developed, sub-triangular, hook-shaped distally. Postgonite narrow, distally pointed and gently bent anteriorly. Intermedium well developed. Ejaculatory apodeme present, small. Basal processes of basiphallus present. Epiphallus very short and membranous (barely distinguishable), arising dorsally in distal position (i.e., close to junction between basiphallus and distiphallus) (as in Fig. 6g View Fig ). Ventral wall of distiphallus concave. Lateroventral region of distiphallus sclerotized. Medioventral ridge of distiphallus not developed. Extension of dorsal sclerite of distiphallus well developed (as in Fig. 6g View Fig ).

Female differs from male as follows:

Head ( Figs. 1f View Fig , 3b View Fig ): Frons 1.40–1.51 times as wide as compound eye in dorsal view. Fronto-orbital plate with 1 irregular row of several strong medioclinate setae lateral to lower frontal setae. Two or 3 upper reclinate orbital setae, 2 strong proclinate orbital setae, and 2 lateroclinate orbital setae. Postpedicel about 2.5 times as long as pedicel. Thorax: Postalar callus with 2 setae. Legs: Hind tibia with 3 dorsal preapical setae subequal in size. Abdomen: Syntergite 1+2 with 2 pairs of median marginal setae, inner pair weak. Tergite 3 with 1 strong and 1 weak pair of median marginal setae and 2 or 3 pairs of lateral marginal setae; tergite 5 sub-conical, 0.9 times as long as tergite 4.

Distribution. Afrotropical: South Africa (Western Cape).

Remarks. Agaedioxenis setifrons is morphologically divergent and is separable from congeners by having a different shape of the antennae and head and by having apical scutellar setae well developed and crossed. Moreover, males of A. setifrons do not have sexual patches on abdominal tergites, which otherwise characterize the remaining species; i.e., A. brevicornis , A. kirkspriggsi , A. succulentus and A. timidus . Sexual patches on tergites 3 and 4, although present also in several other Goniini and Eryciini (see Cerretti et al. 2014a), may represent a homoplasious autapomorphy supporting monophyly of this group of species.