Philoliche (Philoliche) formosa ( Austen, 1920 )

Morita, Shelah, 2008, A revision of the Philoliche aethiopica species complex (Diptera: Tabanidae), African Invertebrates 49 (1), pp. 129-158 : 150

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5733/afin.049.0105
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7649419
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/B17087D2-593E-FFF1-30AD-FE5FFB81FA17
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Philoliche (Philoliche) formosa ( Austen, 1920 )
status

Treatment

Philoliche (Philoliche) formosa ( Austen, 1920) View in CoL

Corizoneura formosa Austen, 1920: 142 View in CoL . Cape Province, South Africa (BMNH).

Philoliche (Philoliche) formosa (Austen) View in CoL : Oldroyd 1957: 334.

Diagnosis: P. formosa is distinguished from all species in the rondani species group as follows: ♂ eye facets of similar size; longer lappets with the dorsal process of tarsomere 2 extending beyond proximal margin of tarsomere 4. P. formosa is similar to P. aethiopica , but is differentiated by having a pair of narrow, grey sublateral stripes on the scutum.

Description (only male known): Similar to Philoliche aethiopica except:

Thorax: With pair of narrow, grey sublateral stripes on the scutum.

Abdomen: Posterior margin of segment 4 has a spot or widening of white hairs in the centre.

Variation: In some specimens, dark hairs along the posterior margin flank the white spot on segment 4.

Type material examined: Corizoneura formosa Austen Paratype: 1 ♂ SOUTH AFRICA: Northern Cape: Deelfontein [SW of De Aar], Colonel Sloggett , 7.xii.1902, #242038 ( BMNH) .

Additional material examined (all NMSA): SOUTH AFRICA: Limopopo: 1 ♂ Entabeni, Soutpansberg, xi. 1931, G. van Son; 1 ♂ ix.1952 [collector unknown]. KwaZulu-Natal : 1 ♂ Hluhluwe G.R. [Game Reserve] (28°05'S: 32°04'E), [ Zumpt ]. Eastern Cape GoogleMaps : 1 ♂ Malowi [Malowe] Umzimkulu (30°18'S: 29°50'E), 9.xii.1968.

Distribution: South Africa GoogleMaps : Northern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape.

Remarks: C. formosa was described based on four male specimens with distinct longitudinal sublateral stripes on the thorax. Oldroyd (1957: 334) reclassified it as Philoliche (Philoliche) and surmised that it might be a “mere local race of aethiopica ”. However, he was not confident enough to synonymise these species, due to the small number of specimens available. Very few specimens of this species have ever been collected, and based on the variation in thoracic stripes present within P. (P.) aethiopica , P. (P.) formosa may be a variant of P. (P.) aethiopica . However, the sublateral stripes in the few existing specimens, that I have seen, are quite distinct. I contend that more collections are required to make a definitive decision on this issue (see discussion).