Paramixogaster piptotus Reemer

Reemer, Menno & Stahls, Gunilla, 2013, Generic revision and species classification of the Microdontinae (Diptera, Syrphidae), ZooKeys 288, pp. 1-213 : 109-110

Paramixogaster piptotus Reemer sp. n. Figs 272-275

Type specimens.

HOLOTYPE. Female. Label 1: "Madagascar / Bekily / Reg sud de l’ile”; label 2 (blue): "Museum Paris / I.37 / A. Seyrig"; label 3: "Ceratrichomyia / behara type du genre [female sign] Séguy 1950". Coll. MNHN. [this specimen is one of the paralectotypes of Ceratrichomyia behara ; see redescription of that species above]

Diagnosis.

This is the only known species of Paramixogaster with a pair of submedian vittae of golden pilosity on the posterior half of the mesoscutum.

Description (based on holotype).

Adult female. Body size: 7 mm.

Head. Face occupying about 3/5 of head width in frontal view; yellow; entirely yellow pilose. Gena yellow. Lateral oral margins very slightly produced. Frons and vertex yellow; yellow pilose. Occiput yellow; dorsally wide and yellow pilose, ventrally narrow and whitish pilose. Eye bare. Antennal fossa about as wide as high. Antenna orange; antennal ratio approximately as 1:0,25:6. Basflagellomere elongate; with sensory pit at apical 1/7. Arista yellow, about 2/5 of length of basoflagellomere.

Thorax. Postpronotum yellow; bare. Mesoscutum reddish brown; short yellow pilose, with lateral fasciae of dense golden pile along transverse suture and with two vittae of dense golden pile on posterior half. Postalar callus and scutellum reddish brown; short yellow pilose. Scutellum without calcars. Pleuron reddish brown. Anepisternum with deep sulcus separating anterior and posterior part; white pilose, except with golden pilosity along posterior margin, as an extension of the golden fascia from the mesonotal transverse suture. Anepimeron entirely white pilose. Katepisternum white pilose dorsally; bare ventrally. Katatergum long microtrichose, anatergum short microtrichose. Other pleurites bare. Calypter and halter yellow.

Wing: hyaline; microtrichose, except bare on cell bc, basal 1/2 of cell c, basally on cell r1 along vein Rs, almost entirely on on cells R, BM andl CuP, on alula except along margins.

Legs: Yellow, except: front femur brownish on basal half, middle and hind femur dark brown on basal 4/5. Legs entirely pale pilose. Coxae and trochanters brown; pale pilose.

Abdomen. Constricted at 2nd segment, narrowest at anterior margin of tergite 2, widest at tergite 3 (slightly wider than thorax). Ratio of tergal lengths approximately as 1:4:3:3:3. Tergite 1 dark brown; pale pilose. Tergite 2 dorsoventrally flattened, dark brown with large, oblique yellow maculae over entire length, which are interconnected anteriorly, leaving anterolateral corners and a large posteriomedian triangle dark brown; yellow pilose. Tergite 3 and 4 dark brown and short yellow pilose; with fasciae of golden pile along posterior margins; tergite 4 also with posterolateral margins yellow in ground colour. Tergite 5 brown with posterior 2/5 and median part yellow; yellow pilose. Sternite 1 dark brown; bare. Sternite 2 yellow; yellow pilose. Other sternites brown; yellow pilose.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology.

The specific epithet (adjective) is derived from the Greek word piptotos (that which has fallen). This name refers to the fact that this species ‘fell’ out of the genus Ceratrichomyia , for the holotype is also part of the paratype series of Ceratrichomyia behara Séguy, 1951.

Notes.

This description is based on the female paratype of Ceratrichomyia behara . For discussion see genus account of Ceratrichomyia .