Notiolaphria Londt, 1977

Londt, Jason G. H., 2015, Taxonomic observations regarding four genera ofAfrotropical robber flies, Choerades Walker, 1851, Laphria Meigen, 1803, Nannolaphria Londt, 1977 and Notiolaphria Londt, 1977, and the description of Ericomyia gen. n. (Diptera, Asilidae, Laphriinae), African Invertebrates 56 (1), pp. 191-191 : 198-200

Genus Notiolaphria Londt, 1977

Notiolaphria Londt, 1977: 50 .

Type species: Laphria macra Bigot, 1859 (= Laphria coerulescens Macquart, 1834 ), by original designation.

Diagnosis: Generally dark red-brown to black flies. Head: Antennal postpedicel with at most 1 or 2 poorly developed setae dorsally; scape usually only a little longer than pedicel, antennal stylus absent. Mystax overlaid by shiny scale-like setae. Posterior margin of lower occiput not extended and flange-like. Maxillary palpus cylindrical in cross-section, 2-segmented. Proboscis short, not laterally compressed, but subtriangular in cross-section. Thorax: Prosternum fused to proepisternum.Anepisternum with at least 1 strong, long macroseta at supero-posterior angle, in front of wing insertion. Apical scutellar macrosetae present. Postmetacoxal area membranous.Anatergal setae absent. Legs commonly entirely blackish, but may have reddish parts, femur only slightly inflated. Prothoracic tibia without an apical spur. Pulvilli present. Wing with alula present. Cell r 1 closed, joined to C by an obvious, fairly straight stalk. Cell r 5 open. Vein M2 reaching wing margin. Apical portion of vein M3 not perfectly aligned with proximal portion of M2 (forming a cross). Wing membrane covered with black microtrichia distally. Abdomen: T2 no more than four times as long as wide; S1 confined beneath T1. Male epandrium not indented medially. Female ovipositor short and not markedly tubular. Female terminalia simple, without acanthophorite spines.

While only two Afrotropical species of Notiolaphria have so far been reported, africana from the eastern parts of the African mainland, and macra from some of the Indian Ocean islands ( Londt 1977), there are others that require formal transfer to the genus. Having never seen a true Laphria , Choerades or Nannolaphria from Madagascar, or any of the other Indian Ocean islands (apart from the single Choerades specimen mentioned above from Seychelles), I believe that almost all species from these islands, previously allocated to Laphria , should now be transferred to Notiolaphria . While some can be verified as definitely belonging to the genus, others may need confirmation following study of type material. In the interests of taxonomic stability the following new combinations are here formally proposed (species arranged alphabetically):

Notiolaphria albimaculata (Macquart, 1838) , comb. n.

Notiolaphria breonii (Macquart, 1838) , comb. n.

Notiolaphria coerulescens ( Macquart, 1834) , comb. n.

Notiolaphria cyaneogaster (Macquart, 1838) , comb. n.

Notiolaphria dimidiatifemur ( Oldroyd, 1960) , comb. n.

Notiolaphria rufitibia ( Oldroyd, 1960) , comb. n.

Notiolaphria stuckenbergi ( Oldroyd, 1960) , comb. n.

Notiolaphria submetallica (Macquart, 1838) , comb. n.

These proposals, being accepted, bring the number of species to 10. This number will, however, require adjustment following observations reported below. It should be noted that Laphria atomentosa Oldroyd, 1960 is excluded from the list above as it is clearly digeneric and belongs to an undescribed genus named later in this publication.

It should be noted that a number of factors have contributed to making this study of Notiolaphria difficult. Although fairly large collections have been made available, along with some photographs of type specimens, few actual types have been available for detailed study. However, one of the biggest challenges has been to make sense of the considerable variation that appears to exist. Not only can there be considerable variation in the size of specimens, even within samples collected at the same place on the same day, but there are also variations in morphological characteristics (some probably corresponding to differences in size). This being true, I believe it is sensible to take a fairly conservative approach to species identification. The following six species are here recognised as distinctive.