Protypusia tewfiki ( Efflatoun, 1945 ) Gibbs, 2023

Gibbs, David, 2023, A world review of the bee fly tribe Usiini (Diptera, Bombyliidae) - Part 3: Parageron Paramonov s. lat., European Journal of Taxonomy 863 (1), pp. 1-162 : 112-114

Protypusia tewfiki ( Efflatoun, 1945) gen. et comb. nov.

Fig. 57

Usia tewfiki Efflatoun, 1945: 230 .

Etymology

Named after the collector of the three type specimens, Mohamed Tewfik Effendi.

Type material (not examined)

Two female syntypes in ESEC and one in EFC, all three at least partially present, two appearing intact from available photos. No specimens examined but photographs of the syntype in EFC was made available by Professor Magdi El-Hawagry.

Syntypes

EGYPT • 2 ♀♀; “ Bir Abrag , between Km-Ombo and Bir Shalatein, Red Sea Coast and Wadi Ibib 50 km SE of latter locality”; ESEC • 1 ♀; “same data”; EFC .

Redescription

Male

Unknown.

Female (based on Efflatoun (1945), Smithsonian Archives plate, and photographs of EFC specimen) A small species readily identified (in female at least) by the unique abdominal pattern, tergite dark with whitish-grey dusted longitudinal stripe medially and laterally, the latter just visible dorsally at least on basal tergites.

MEASUREMENTS. Body length: 2.6–3.2 mm.

HEAD. Dark in ground colour obscured by dense glistening whitish dust, this colour extending down the gena as a very narrow dusted strip, much narrower than the more shining, and yellowish mouth margin that is rather protuberant (from EFC specimen). Frons about one third head width at the vertex, lateral ocelli rather distant from eye margin, approximately two and a half to three times ocellar diameter (from EFC specimen). Frons medially with a distinct brownish tinge to the dusting, centrally with a small shining black spot where cuticle shows through. Pubescence of frons sparse, the hairs very short, whitish and scattered along the eye margins. Ocellar tubercle and occiput dusted as frons with short pale-yellowish hairs, the occiput rather densely punctured, hairs on jowls sparse, soft, short and white. Antennae black, scape and pedicel paler due to white dust more conspicuous than on postpedicel. Postpedicel relatively robust, evenly convex ventrally, less strongly convex dorsally up to subapical sulcus, a little less than twice the length of scape and pedicel combined. Antennae sparsely white haired above, especially on scape and pedicel. Palps yellow and apparently glabrous. Proboscis fairly long, more than twice as long as head (including antennae), black except for the yellow baso-ventral membrane.

THORAX. Dark ground colour obscured by dense whitish dust conferring its overall greyish-white appearance. Mesonotum with relatively poorly defined darker paramedian vittae from anterior slope to rear third, acrostichal grey stripe about twice as wide as darker paramedian vittae. Antehumeral vittae are less well defined but similar colour, interrupted at thoracic suture, rather narrow and parallel sided both anterior to and behind thoracic suture. Mesonotal dusting faintly but distinctly brownish on disc, the EFC specimens shows a small, round dark spot between wing base and antehumeral vittae. Mesonotum covered with short, sparse, pale yellowish hairs arising from fine punctures. Scutellum uniformly grey as mesonotum, the hairs rather longer pale yellowish. Dusting on pleura rather thinner and so a little darker than on mesonotum, anepisternum with short, erect, soft, glistening whitish hairs.

WING. Membrane hyaline, the veins pale yellow-brown. Crossvein r-m at or before basal third of the discal cell, m-m cross-vein not straight, feebly bent (looks almost straight in EFC specimen). Anal cell with relatively long petiole, approximately equalling r-m. Anal lobe broad with conspicuously convex margin wider than anal cell. Squamae with a pale yellow margin and short whitish fringe.

HALTERE. Very pale ivory yellow to light ochraceous-buff, base of stem obscure brownish-black.

LEGS. Coxae blackish, dusted as pleura. Femora, tibia and tarsi, very dark reddish-brown, almost blackish with tips of femora and narrow bases yellowish-red, tips of tibia and extreme base of basitarsi brownishred. Legs covered with minute, adpressed, sparse and glistening white hairs.

ABDOMEN. Dull brownish-black with somewhat dense white dusting along a fairly broad mid-dorsal longitudinal stripe and laterally extending onto recurved sides of tergites. Tergite one more generally grey dusted, darker areas only indicated laterally. Each tergite with well demarcated but narrow, very pale cream apical margins. Sternites similar with light cream-buff apical margins. Tergites and sternites covered with short, not dense, very pale yellowish hairs, appearing longer and more conspicuous laterally and towards the tip of the abdomen (EFC specimen).

GENITALIA. Ovipositor (apical sternite?) pale yellowish with short erect pale yellowish hairs.

Remarks

Efflatoun (1945) keyed this species next to A. minusculus which can be assigned to Apolysis with confidence. Oddly, Efflatoun (1945) makes no mention in his key or the diagnosis section of the type description of the unique abdominal pattern that distinguishes this species from all other Parageron s. lat. In his type description he describes this feature, but does not suggest it is variable, and it is quite obvious in the photographs of the EFC specimen and in the Smithsonian archives plate. Although this is a tiny species it has the general appearance of Parageron s. lat., notably wing venation, the short robust postpedicel and the illustrations in Efflatoun (1945: pl. 21 fig. 355) which shows no sign of the arista diagnostic of Apolysis . Professor Magdi El-Hawagry has confirmed that it lacks the apical arista of Apolysini and belongs in Usiini .

It is impossible to be confident of the affinities of this species without examination of the genitalia, including those of the unknown male. The unique abdominal pattern suggests that it could be a taxonomically isolated species, but almost certainly within Protypusia gen. nov.

Distribution

Egypt (Bir Abrag, between Km-Ombo and Bir Shalatein, Red Sea Coast and Wadi Ibib 50 km SE of latter locality).

Figures

Fig. 57. Protypusia tewfiki (Efflatoun, 1945) gen. et comb. nov., habitus, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Image SIA2012-7892.