Atrichops Verrall, 1909

Muller, Burgert S., Swart, Vaughn R. & Snyman, Louwrens P., 2023, Afrotropical Atrichops Verrall (Diptera, Athericidae) with description of a new species, African Invertebrates 64 (3), pp. 303-322 : 303

Atrichops Verrall, 1909

Atrichops Verrall, 1909: 291. Type-species: Atherix crassipes Meigen, 1820, by monotypy.

Atherix (Heterosuragina) Nagatomi, 1958: 61. Type-species: Atherix (Heterosuragina) fontinalis Nagatomi, 1958, by original designation; synonymised by Nagatomi (1964: 69).

Diagnosis.

Atrichops is similar in appearance to Suragina Walker, 1859 with elongated legs and hind coxa with a stout apical spine-like projection on its anteroventral surface. It is also haematophagous, with well-developed mandibles. It differs from Suragina by having a knob-like proepimeral process (also referred to as a ventrally projecting flap in non-Afrotropical species) (reduced in Afrotropical Atrichops species), antennal bases very close together (widely spaced in Suragina ), face narrower than the frons in female, and tibial spur ratio of 0:1:2 (0:2:2 in Suragina - some specimens of S. bivittata (Bezzi, 1926) with ratio 1:2:2). Atrichops also has a uniform coloured frons, without the characteristic contrasting black and silver-grey of Suragina . Atrichops can be identified and distinguished from other Afrotropical genera using the generic key in Woodley (2017: 887), which is currently the most up to date key for the family in the Afrotropics.