Trichocera (Saltrichocera) pappi Krzemińska, 2003

Driauach, Ouafaa, Krzemińska, Ewa & Belqat, Boutaïna, 2015, Genus Trichocera in Morocco: first records from Africa and a new species (Diptera: Trichoceridae), Zootaxa 4059 (1), pp. 181-190 : 184

Trichocera (Saltrichocera) pappi Krzemińska, 2003

Trichocera (Saltrichocera) pappi Krzemińska 2003: 278 , fig. 1–11

Material examined. Morocco: Seguia El Hajeb, 9. XII.2011, 1 ♂; Daya Fifi, 30. III.2012, 1 ♂; Affluent Oued Akrir, 23. XI. 2012, 1 ♀, 3♂; Cascade Grotte des Pigeons, 25. XI. 2014, 1 ♀, 1♂; Oued Amsemlil, 28.II. 2015, Site 2, 2♀, 2♂; Site 3, 1♀, 4♂; Affluent Oued Amsemlil, 28. II. 2015, 2 f, 4♂; Ruisseau Agoummir, 28. II.2015, 3 ♂; Maison forestière, 21. IV.2015, 1 ♂.

Additional description. Body colour dark brown to black. Wing membrane dark pigmented; venation very variable, regarding the shape of discal cell and proportions of veins R2+3+4/R2+3.

Genitalia, female: The genital segment and the ovipositor are dark yellow, contrasting with dark colour of the remainder of abdomen. The apical portion of genital fork is characteristic, wider than long, bowl-shaped, with lateral portions slightly inclined to inside and more sclerotized (darker) than remainder. Some females bear four bristles on supragenital plate instead of the usual two.

Remarks on discerning T. (S.) saltator and T. (S.) pappi . Males of the two species are more difficult to discern in the Moroccan localities than in Europe. T. pappi is most often as black as T. saltator , and the shape of gonostyles and bridge are in many specimens very similar. When in doubt, the males were discerned by ventral setation of vein Sc, which in T. saltator begins in the distal half of Sc, and is scarce (up to c. 20 setae grouped mainly in distal section). In T. pappi the setae begin in c. of Sc, and are more dense (30–60), especially in mid vein. In both species the vein Rs has setae, contrary to the results of Lawrence (1957) recorded for T. saltator in Great Britain. Additionally, the hind tarsal claw in male is longer and stronger in T. saltator .

Females of the two species are easily distinguishable by the shape of the ovipositor and genital plate, although remarkably some females of T. pappi have 4–6 bristles on supragenital plate, while other have usual two. This latter finding, and the unusual similarity of some males may indicate casual interbreeding between the two species living close to their distributional limits.