Ommatius (Pygommatius) digitattus Oldroyd

Scarbrough, Aubrey G. & Marascia, Claudio G., 2003, Revision of Ommatius Wiedemann (Diptera: Asilidae). IV. Pygommatius subgen. nov. with twenty-five Afrotropical species, Zootaxa 228 (1), pp. 1-94 : 32-33

Ommatius (Pygommatius) digitattus Oldroyd

Figs. 8 , 118­125

Ommatius digittatus Oldroyd, 1970 , 24: 321.

Ommatius digittatus: Oldroyd, 1980: 347 (Afrotropical catalogue).

Redescription, male. As O. bingeri except as follows. Black. Length, body 8.9­9.0 mm; wing 5.0­ 5.1 mm. Head: FHWR 1.0:4.3­1.0:4.8. Frons with setae about as long as scape and pedicel combined. Pedicel ventrally with 1 long black seta; style with unusually long setae, length about as long as style. Ocellar tubercle with 2 contrastingly long setae, several thinner, shorter setae present. Occiput with 3­4 brown postocular bristles, longest with apex above ocellar tubercle.

Thorax: Mesonotum with anterior setae as long as 3 antennal segments combined; dorsolateral slopes with sparse, short setae. Scutellum with 2 marginal bristles only slightly thicker than setae.

Wing: As in O. bingeri (see Fig. 8 ).

Leg: Tibiae and femora with abundant thin, yellow setae, slightly longer than usual, producing a thin fuzzy or woolly appearance. Hind femur anteriorly with 2 rather long bristles, apical half with ventral bristles short and thick, those basally much thinner and shorter; HFWLR 1.0:6.5­1.0:6.7.

Terminalia ( Figs. 118­122 ): Epandrium 3 branched; dorsal branch short, flat dorsally, shorter than cercus; dorsal and ventral branches parallel, flat laterally, much longer than wide. Gonostylus slender, long, curved basally, crossing posteriorly. Hypandrium apically with a flat ‘beard’ of thin bristles.

Female. Differs from male as follows. Length, body 9.1 mm; wing 5.8 mm. Head: Face with 4 brown bristles, vestiture otherwise yellow; FHWR 1.0:4.4. Leg: Hind femur basally with only 4 very long, thin posteroventral setae; HFWLR 1.0:5.0. Tibial setae sparse. Middle tarsus with only 4 yellow bristles; hind tarsus with only brown bristles. Abdomen: Brown tomentose dorsally, slightly yellow, mostly brown setose; sternites 3­5 with only thin setae. Apical corner of tergite 7 with 1­3 bristly setae or bristles. Sternite 7 apically with 4 thick and long bristles. Tergite 9 short, one­third as long dorsomedially as laterally. Terminalia ( Figs. 123­125 ): Three tubular spermathecae present; duct prebasal and lateral. Apical margin of sternite 8 moderately produced, notched on each side before middle.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Holotype ♂, Congo Belge P. N. G. / Miss H. de Saeger / Mabanger 29.ix.1952 / H. De Saeger, 4103 ( MARC); 1 ♂, paratype, same data as holotype except Ndelele /4 18.vi.52 / 3678 ( MARC); 1 ♀ paratype, same data as holotype except I/o/7 11.ix.1950 / Rec. G. Demoulin 812 ( MARC); 2 ♂ paratypes, same data as holotype except I/o/2 3.x.1950 / # 866 ( MARC); 1 ♀ paratype, same data as holotype, II/gd/4 5.vii.1952 / 3743 ( MARC); 1 ♂ paratype, as holotype except “Pali”/8 27.ix.1952 / 4101 ( MARC); 1 ♀ paratype, II/gc/6 27.ix.1951 / # 2479 ( MARC); 1 ♀ paratype, ii/FD/18 8.x1.1951 / # 2554 ( MARC); 1 ♂, 1 ♀ paratype, Congo Belge PNG / Miss H. De Saeger / Pali /8 / 27.xi.1952 / H. De Saeger 4101 ( BMNH). 1 ♂, 12 mi N of Uvina / 920 m / 5.i.1958 / E. S. Ross and R. E. Leech ( CASC). KENYA: 1 ♂, Chyulu Range / 1300­1800 m / 2.v.1991 / A. Freidberg and Fini Kapplan ( NMSA).

Distribution. Captured from 920 to 1800 meters in elevation from September to July in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya.

Remarks. Ommatius digittatus differs from other congeners primarily in the combined characters of the terminalia ( Figs. 118­125 ).

The holotype is in excellent condition. The eight paratypes in MARC range from good to poor condition with broken or missing parts, e. g. # 812 with left hind leg missing; # 866 female teneral with the right wing ‘crumpled’, and right fore tarsus and left fore and left middle tarsi missing; # 3743 left flagellum/style, entire abdomen, right wing, and right hind tarsus missing; # 866 male with abdomen glued to thorax and right leg missing; # 4101 with abdomen glued and right hind tarsus, left flagellum/style missing; # 2479 with abdomen beyond segment 3 and apex of wing absent; # 2554 with flagellum/style, both hind legs and right middle tarsi absent, and right wing torn posteriorly; # 3678 with abdomen absent beyond segment 4. Paratype # 3197 is an unknown species, not O. digittatus . The two paratypes in BMNH are in good condition .

Figures

FIGURES 1­10. Right wing of male Ommatius (Pygommatius) spp. 1. O. alatipes, sp. n..; 2. O. albatus Martin; 3. O. bingeri Oldroyd; 4. O. brevicornis Curran; 5. O. cingulatus Bromley; 6. O. comosus, sp. n..; 7. O. dasypogon Oldroyd; 8. O. digittatus Oldroyd; 9. O. fluvius sp. n..; 10. O. grossus, sp. n. Abbr. R4 =fourth radial vein, r4 = fourth radial cell, m1= first medial cell, m3=third medial cell, d = discal cell, r­m = radial­medial crossvein.

FIGURES 118­125. Male terminalia of Ommatius digittatus Oldroyd. 118­120. Lateral, dorsal and ventral views; 121. Gonostylus; 122. Aedeagus, lateral view. Female terminalia. 123. Spermatheca; 124. Genital fork; 125. Sternite 8, ventral view.