Furcantenna Cheng

Cheng, Xin-Yue & Thompson, Christian, 2008, A generic conspectus of the Microdontinae (Diptera: Syrphidae) with the description of two new genera from Africa and China, Zootaxa 1879, pp. 21-48 : 29

Furcantenna Cheng , gen. nov.

( Figs. 3–9 )

Type-species: Furcantenna yangi Cheng , sp. nov.

Body broad, flat, without chetae (bristles).

Head very broad, short, thin, obviously wider than thorax. Face narrowed downwards, straight in lateral view. Frons parallel on both sides, about half the width of head. Vertex very high and protuberant, obviously distinguish from frons. Eye bare; broadly dichoptic. Antenna set on the middle of head, elongate, slender; scape and basoflagellomere several to many times longer than the second; basoflagellomere is more than two times of the first; produced into two deeply furcation, and furnished with obvious pubescence on them; arista absent.

Thorax: postpronotum pilose; scutellum small, with apical margin deeply sulcate medially, almost divided into two lobes; propleuron bare; anepisternum and katepisternum pilose; anepimeron bare; katepimeron (Barrette) bare; katatergum microtrichose; metasternum developed and pilose.

Wing: crossvein r-m at middle of M2 cell, vein M1 nearly rectangular to vein R4+5, cross-vein dm-cu recessive, vein R4+5 without an appendix; vein M also without an appendix anterior into cell R4+5. Legs: femora with distinct cicatrices on basal 1/4; metafemur slightly thickened; tibiae slightly curved, thin basally, thick apically; tarsi broad, short.

Abdomen slightly arched, short, compact, oval, broad, wider than thorax, length almost as long as wide, widest at junction second and third segment. Male genitalia. Aedeagus bifid, divided apically into two processes.

Included species: Only the type species is known.

This genus is similar to the genus Schizoceratomyia . They differ from each other by the shapes of scutellum. The scutellum of the Furcantenna is divided into two lobes by a deep sulcus or cleft in the middle of posterior (apical) margin.

Etymology. The name Furcantenna is a combination of furca, Latin for fork, and antenna, Latin for "sailyard" but now universally used for the sensory appendage on the head of insects ( Brown 1956). The name is to be treated as feminine.

Figures

FIGURES 3 – 9. Furcantenna yangi Cheng. 3, male, head, frontal view. 4, male, scutellum, dorsal view. 5, male, habitus, posterior view. 6 – 9, male genitalia, lateral view.