Afroestricus Scarbrough, 2005

Scarbrough, A. G., 2010, An overview of the Afrotropical Ommatiinae (Diptera: Asilidae) with a key to genera, Zootaxa 2540, pp. 1-47 : 7

Afroestricus Scarbrough

Figs. 1, 7, 13–18, 106

Ommatius Wiedemann, 1821: 213 ; Hull 1962: 436; Oldroyd 1974: 139, 1980: 347.

Afroestricus Scarbrough, 2005: 14 . Type species: Ommatius macroscelis Bezzi, 1906 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Afroestricus is distinguished by the strongly produced lower 1/2–2/3 of the face ( Fig. 7), the stout preapical bristle on the prothoracic femur, 2–3 long dorsocentral bristles before the transverse suture, and the combined characters of the terminalia of both sexes ( Figs. 13–18).

Distribution. Subsaharan Africa and Madagascar. Data labels indicate that one or more species are active during each month of the year. They are recorded between 40 and 2700 meters in elevation and are associated with various open woodlands and savannas. Adults fly low over vegetation and perch on bare soil, low vegetation, and tree trunks.

Remarks. Afroestricus includes 24 Afrotropical species, 11 of which were transferred from Ommatius (Scarbrough 2005) . The genus with 23 species is widespread on the African continent ( Fig. 106). Only A. persuasus ( Oldroyd 1960) is recorded from Madagascar.