Afrosyrphus varipes Curran, 1927

Mengual, Ximo, Ssymank, Axel, Skevington, Jeffrey H., Reemer, Menno & Ståhls, Gunilla, 2020, The genus Afrosyrphus Curran (Diptera, Syrphidae), with a description of a new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 635, pp. 1-17 : 12-13

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5852/ejt.2020.635

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:AACC0A19-AB11-42E7-9ADA-8BBFB0B656DF

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03E2ED33-FFAD-154E-FD8B-E097FF3506BB

treatment provided by

Valdenar

scientific name

Afrosyrphus varipes Curran, 1927
status

 

Afrosyrphus varipes Curran, 1927 View in CoL

Figs 1–2 View Fig View Fig , 3A, C View Fig , 4A, D View Fig , 5A View Fig , C–E, 6

Afrosyrphus varipes Curran, 1927: 50 View in CoL (type locality: Kisangani [=Stanleyville], Democratic Republic of the Congo; holotype, ♂, AMNH, by monotypy).

Differential diagnosis

This species can be distinguished from A. schmuttereri sp. nov. as stated in the identification key. Overall a smaller species with slightly narrower abdomen, paler pilosity on calypter fringe, scutum and abdominal segments, and male frontal triangle with pale pruinosity along eye margin ( Fig. 4D View Fig ). Male genitalia as in Fig. 5 View Fig C–E, with ventrally pointed surstyli and postgonites with a large triangular posterodorsal process (see also Vockeroth 1969: fig. 29). Females are also lighter than in A. schmuttereri sp. nov. Tergite 2 is entirely orange in A. varipes (with posterior black fascia in A. schmuttereri sp. nov.), the femora are only slightly darker than the tibiae (femora darker than tibiae in A. schmuttereri sp. nov.), and the face is pale in background colour (black in A. schmuttereri sp. nov.). Both sexes have similar hind legs. The hind first tarsomere (= metabasitarsomere) appears dark and bristly due to the presence of long, black pile ( Fig. 5A View Fig ).

Material examined

Holotype

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO • ♂; Tshopo Province , Kisangani [= Stanleyville]; 1° N, 25.1667° E; ca 460 m a.s.l.; Mar. 1915; Lang and Chapin leg.; based on image at http://research.amnh. org/iz/types_db/details.php?specimen_id=2410; AMNH.

GoogleMaps

Other material

CAMEROON • 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀; Adamaoua Province, Ngaoundéré, Ranch de Ngaoundaba ; 7.12944° N, 13.69556° E; 1265 m a.s.l.; 12 May 2006; A. Ssymank leg.; specimen identifiers: ZFMK-DIP-00015968 to 00015970 ; ASPC GoogleMaps 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; specimen identifier: ZFMK- DIP-00015971 ; GenBank: MN662551 View Materials ; ZFMK GoogleMaps .

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO • 1 ♂; Tshopo Province , Yambuya; 1.263669° N, 24.552813° E; ca 400 m a.s.l.; 24 Nov. 1913; J. Bequaert leg.; specimen identifier: USNM ENT GoogleMaps

00114576; USNM • 1 ♂; North Kivu Province, P.N. Albert, Lesse (near Tungudu); 0.75° N, 29.8° E; 760 m a.s.l.; 21 Jul. 1914; J. Bequaert leg.; specimen identifier: RMCA ENT 000034062 View Materials ; RMCA GoogleMaps .

UGANDA • 1 ♀; Central Region , Entebbe, Kisubi Forest; 0.11928° N, 32.52831° E; ca 1160 m a.s.l.; 24 Apr. 1976; M. Paulus leg.; specimen identifier: CNC DIPTERA 102962 View Materials ; GenBank: MN662560 View Materials ; CNC GoogleMaps .

Genetics

A total of two specimens was successfully sequenced, one sequence with a length of 627 bp ( ZFMK- DIP-0001597, Genbank: MN662551 View Materials ) and another one 307 bp long ( CNC DIPTERA 102962, Genbank: MN662560 View Materials ). The obtained COI sequences have an uncorrected pairwise distance of 0.33% and differ by 5.54–6.54% from the COI sequences obtained for A. schmuttereri sp. nov.

Distribution

This species has previously been recorded from Cameroon ( Ssymank 2012), DRC ( Curran 1927, 1938b), Angola and South Africa ( Smith & Vockeroth 1980) (see also Dirickx 1998). No specimens from the latter two countries were studied by the present authors, as Smith & Vockeroth (1980) did not provide any information about the records. Here, we present the first records from Uganda. The material from Kenya collected and studied by Schmutterer (1974) was originally identified as A. varipes , but it belongs to A. schmuttereri sp. nov. Consequently, the presence of A. varipes in Kenya needs confirmation, as well as its presence in Angola and South Africa.

MtDNA COI barcodes

The topology of the tree with the highest likelihood ( Fig. 6 View Fig ) compared favourably with the Neighbor- Joining tree (not shown). A total of seven specimens were successfully sequenced. The obtained COI sequences have an uncorrected pairwise distance of 0.08–1.52% among the specimens of A. schmuttereri sp. nov., 0.33% between the two specimens of A. varipes and 5.54–6.54% between the two species of Afrosyrphus .

ZFMK

Germany, Bonn, Zoologische Forschungsinstitut und Museum "Alexander Koenig"

RMCA

Belgium, Tervuren, Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale

AMNH

American Museum of Natural History

ZFMK

Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig

USNM

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History

RMCA

Royal Museum for Central Africa

CNC

Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Syrphidae

Genus

Afrosyrphus

Loc

Afrosyrphus varipes Curran, 1927

Mengual, Ximo, Ssymank, Axel, Skevington, Jeffrey H., Reemer, Menno & Ståhls, Gunilla 2020
2020
Loc

Afrosyrphus varipes

Curran C. H. 1927: 50
1927
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