Afroholopogon africanus ( Ricardo, 1925 )

Londt, Jason G. H., 2005, A review of afrotropical Afroholopogon Londt, 1994 with the description of a new genus and new species (Diptera: Asilidae: Stenopogoninae), African Invertebrates 46 (1937), pp. 203-252 : 208-209

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.7666864
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/CF1787E3-FFC8-FFDB-EBD6-FF6DFC49E37F
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Afroholopogon africanus ( Ricardo, 1925 )
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Afroholopogon africanus ( Ricardo, 1925)

Figs 7–9 View Figs 7–19 , 77 View Fig

Cyrtopogon africanus Ricardo, 1925: 275–6 View in CoL ; Oldroyd 1974: 34; 1980: 360 (catalogue). Type locality: South

Africa.

Afroholopogon africanus: Londt 1994: 64 , figs 14–16 ơ genitalia.

Redescription: Based on holotype.

Head:Antenna: Dark red-brown, scape largely apruinose rest fine gold pruinose, strongly black setose; segmental formula 1.0:0.9:3.4:0.3:0.9. Face dark red-brown, silver pruinose except area of mystax, mystax black, few yellow setae ventrally, covers lower threequarters of face. Face width:head width ratio 1.0:4.6. Frons and vertex dark red-brown, mostly shiny apruinose, fine dark red-brown setose. Occiput dark red-brown, silver pruinose, yellow-orange (golden) setose. Proboscis dark red-brown, yellow-orange setose. Palpi dark red-brown, yellow-brown setose (few black setae on plp 2).

Thorax: Mesonotum black, shiny apruinose except for silver-gold lateral and posterior bands. Setation: ac – fine dark red-brown anteriorly, longer orange posteriorly; dc – fine orange; npl – 5–6 orange-yellow; sa – fine long orange; pa – 6 fine long setae. Scutellum dark red-brown, largely shiny apruinose but weakly silver-gold anterolaterally, disc asetose, margin with 7 long thin orange setae. Pleura dark red-brown, red-gold pruinose except for large apruinose parts of meron and katepistenum, orange setose. Wing 8.2 x 3.3 mm, pale orange-brown (appears stained), microtrichia orange-brown, extensively covering membrane, basal angle of r 4 19°. Halter pale brown with yellowwhite knob. Legs: cx dark red-brown, silver-gold pruinose, orange setose except cx 1 being predominantly black setose (few orange distally); trochanters dark red-brown; fem orange, mainly dark red-brown setose (some fine orange setae); tib as fem; tar similar to fem but all minor setae black.

Abdomen:Terga black, shiny apruinose except for narrow gold lateral margins, setae orange, short dorsally, long laterally. Sterna black, gold pruinose (difficult to see through setae), numerous long fine orange setose. Genitalia: Holotype not dissected, another ơ illustrated ( Figs 7–9 View Figs 7–19 ): Hypopygium darkly sclerotised (requiring to be bleached for illustration), rotated between 90–180°; epand (in dorsal view) deeply incised medially to form two acutely pointed lobes joined narrowly basally; goncx externally distally bilobed, lobes of distinctive shape; hypd (in lateral view) projecting distally beyond level attained by goncx, gradually tapering (in ventral view) to a single fairly broad medial process.

Variation: Sexes similar. A species displaying little variation. Setae described as being orange in the holotype may be pale yellow in some specimens.

Type specimens (seen): SOUTH AFRICA: ơ holotype ‘ Cape Colony / French Hoek [Franschhoek 3355S 1907E] / Jan. 1917 ’ ~ ‘K.H. Barnard’, ‘ Cyrtopogon / africanus n. sp. / Ricardo’, ‘Type / M’, ‘Holo- / type.’ [orange] (SAMC); 1^ paratype ‘Para / Type / ^’, ‘Gt. Wind-hoek / Tulbagh [3317S 1909E] / 4.500 ft’ ~ ‘ Nov. 1916 / Lightfoot’ (SAMC); 1^ paratype ‘Para- / type’ [yellow-bordered circular], ‘Gt. Wint-hoek / Tulbagh / 4.500 ft. ’ ~ ‘ov. 1916 / ghtfoot’ [trimmed to exclude full data i.e. N ov. & Li ghtfoot], ‘Pres. by / South African / Museum. / 10-iii-1924.’, ‘ Paratype / Cyrtopogon / africanus Ricardo / det. J.E. Chainey, 1983’, ‘ Afroholopogon / africanus / ( Ricardo, 1925) / Det. J.G.H. Londt’ (BMNH).

Note: Other specimens with identical locality labels to those of the holotype and paratypes are found in SAMC. It is not certain that Ricardo studied these specimens and so they are excluded from the type series and listed below .

Other material studied: SOUTH AFRICA: 1ơ 2^, ‘Paleisheuwel [3228S 1843E] / C.P.’ ~ ‘Mus., Exp. / Nov. 1948 ’ ( SAMC); 5ơ 2^, ‘ South Africa , W Cape. / 4 miles E. of Citrusdal [3235S 1901E] / October 1969. / S.A. Museum ºExpedition’ ( SAMC); 6ơ 6^, ‘ S Africa: Cape #61 / 33 km N Op Die Berg /

32°42'S: 19°13'E 800 m / Date: 31.x.1991 / Coll: J.G.H. Londt / Sandy area; flowers’; 1^, ‘ Stellenbosch [3356S 1851E] / C.P.’ ~ ‘ R. F. Lawrence / Nov. 1930 ’ ( SAMC); 3ơ 3^ 1?, ‘ Gt. Wind-hoek / Tulbagh [3317S 1909E] / 4.500 ft’ ~ ‘ Nov. 1916 / Lightfoot’ ( SAMC); 1?, ‘Ceres Div. / Matroosberg [3323S 1940E] / 3.500 ft’ ~ ‘Lightfoot / Jan 1917 ’ ( SAMC); 9ơ 10^ 1?, Wit River Valley / Bains Kloof [3337S 1906E] / C.P.’ ~ ‘Mus. Exp. / Dec. 1949 ’ ( SAMC); 2ơ, ‘ Cape Colony / French Hoek [3355S 1907E] / Jan. 1917 ’ ~ ‘ K.H. Barnard’ ( SAMC); 1^, ‘ Sth Africa : W Cape / Theewaters Nat. Res. / Franschhoek Pass / 33°55'30''S 19°09'37''E / 544 m 13.xii.2004 / J. & A. Londt Fynbos’; 2ơ, ‘ S Africa: W Cape #2 / 11 km SE Franschhoek / 10.i.1983 3419 Cc [sic, should be 3319 CC] / P. Stabbins & R. Miller / DuToits River bridge’; 1ơ, ‘ Sth Afr. Western Cape / Fernkloof Nature Reserve / Hermanus 16–17.xii.2000 / 34°23'40''S: 19°15'58''E / JGH Londt 90 m Natural / bush with many flowers’ .

Other recorded material: The BMNH database records 1^, S.Africa, Cape Province , Ceres, 1500 ft, xii.1920, R. E. Turner; 1^, S. Africa, Cape Province , Ceres, 1–12.xi.1924, R. E. Turner. Oldroyd (1974) gives ‘ Ceres; Tulbagh, 1370 m; S.W. AFRICA: Windhoek. ’ and so it is assumed that the databased material is that recorded by Oldroyd. I have not located his ‘ Tulbagh’ and ‘ Windhoek’ material, although he may have been recording the information found on paratype labels and somehow mistaken the ‘ Wind-hoek’ (a mountain near Tulbagh ) for Windhoek (capital city of Namibia). The species is unlikely to occur in Namibia .

Distribution (Table 1), phenology (Table 2) and biology: Confined to the fynbos biome of Western Cape Province ( Fig. 77 View Fig ). The species flies from October to March (no February records exist). Specimens collected north of Op Die Berg were resting on vegetation. There is one prey record; an Op Die Berg female was collected with a small coleopteran ( Curculionidae ).

Similar species: A. capensis and peregrinus , but also melas (see discussion).