Ommatius neotenellus Bromley, 1936: 128

Scarbrough, A. G., 2010, An overview of the Afrotropical Ommatiinae (Diptera: Asilidae) with a key to genera, Zootaxa 2540, pp. 1-47 : 28-33

Ommatius neotenellus Bromley, 1936: 128 ; Hull 1962: 436; Oldroyd 1980: 347.

Figs. 73–82

Description, male. Body 10.0 mm; wing 7.7 mm. Head: Mostly white setose, white tomentose. Face with 4 long, thin, brown bristles present; mystax dense, flattened cluster of long setae; FHWR 1.0:7.1. Antenna and ocellar tubercle black setose, latter with 2 setae longer than pedicel and scape combined. Flagellum subequal to scape and pedicel combined; FWLR 1.0:1.3. Occiput with numerous postocular bristles, dorsal 5–6 black, longest with apex just beyond posterior margin of eye.

Thorax: Blackish, tomentum mostly brownish dorsally. Pronotum with white or yellowish vestiture. Mesonotum with wide longitudinally brown tomentose stripe and 2 spots laterally, medially divided stripe and grooves laterally brownish-gray, sides gray or yellowish tomentose; vestiture mostly blackish, 5–6 dorsocentral and lateral bristles present. Scutellum slightly brownish-gray tomentose with white setae and black marginal bristles, preapical groove absent. Pleuron slightly yellowish-gray or gray, vestiture whitish; anepisternum with thin, long, setae posteriorly; anepimeral bristle long, thin, seta-like, easily missed or broken. Halter yellow. Metacoxa brown. Wing ( Fig. 73): Hyaline with dense microtrichia from apex to crossvein r-m, extending into anal cell apically. Cell r 4 wide, slightly sigmoid, base beyond apex of cell d. Crossvein r-m before middle of cell d, longer than CuA 1 +M 3. Cell m 1 with narrow base, abruptly wider with M 1 strongly arched basally; cell constricted medially; m 1 WR 1.0:2.6:2.3. Legs: Coxae brownish, prothoracic coxa paler; tomentum grayish with white vestiture. Trochanter yellowish-brown to brown. Femora yellow, narrow apices brown; brown or brownish-yellow dorsally extending anteriorly and posteriorly to middle; yellowish band preapically; vestiture weak, mostly white or yellow, sparse brown bristles anteriorly; prothoracic femur with only short setae posteriorly; MFWLR 1.0:6.0. Tibiae yellow, apices brownish, bristles mostly brown; prothoracic tibia with dense fringe of short whitish setae and sparse long white bristles laterally; basal tarsomere of prothoracic tarsus fringed laterally. Tarsi mostly brown; basal tarsomeres yellowish; bristles black.

Abdomen: Brown, segments with narrow apical margin pale yellow, tomentum grayish basally, narrow lateral margins of tergites and sternites entirely with thin white tomentum and vestiture. Tergites 2–8 dorsally with thin brown tomentum and black setae. Terminalia ( Figs. 74–78): Brown, slightly longer than combined length of segments 7–8, about as wide as segment 8. Epandrium narrow, abruptly angled apically, apex pointed in dorsal view. Gonostylus subrectangular and concave, dorsal corner short, abruptly narrow and pointed, much wider basally and flared, ventral corner projecting, wide process. Aedeagal sheath (epiphallus) membranous, inflated dorsally; distiphallus tubular, slightly sigmoid, apex just beyond sheath. Gonocoxite fused with hypandrium basally, admedial process narrow, elongate, pointed with 2 setae. Hypandrium with apical margin broadly rounded and short, transverse band of brown setae and scattered setae posteriorly.

Female. Body 11–12.0 mm, wing 6.6–9.3 mm; FHWR 1.0:6.0–1.0:6.1; FWLR 1.0:1.8; m 1 WR 1.0:2.2:2.1–1.0:3.8:2.2; HFWR 1.0:6.6–1.0:6.7. Head: Face with 9 or 10 black bristles; mystax sparse with black and whitish vestiture. Proclinate postocular bristles with apices about 1/2 distance toward ocellar tubercle. Wing: Crossvein r-m about as long as CuA 1 +M 3. Legs: Prothoracic coxa brownish-yellow. Prothoracic leg sparsely setose laterally, dense fringe of whitish setae absent. Metathoracic femur mostly yellow, brown pale and less extensive anteriorly and posteriorly. Abdomen: Sternites 7–8 with black vestiture. Terminalia ( Figs. 79–82): Tergite 9 narrow medially, about 1/2 as long as laterally. Sternite 8 with minute notch apically, surface smooth. Genital fork with deep basal apically. Spermathecae recurved medially, carrotshaped with wide base, narrowed apically, apex pointed; valves about 1.5 as long as wide.

Type examined. SOUTH AFRICA: Transvaal , Dec. 12. 1920, P.P. Rust [= Piet Potgietersrust, Potgietersrus=Mokopane, 24 o 10’S 29 o 03’E] (holotype ♀, NMSA) . Other material examined. SOUTH AFRICA 2428BC / Transvaal ex malaise / trap at Naboomspruit [24 o 31’S 28 o 41’E] / 29–31.i.1970 J. Londt / Bush at Koggie base (1 ♀, NMSA) ; Uitkomst [32 o 45’S 24 o 39’E, 473 m] So. Afri. / no. 777 / 3.xi.1963 / A.L. Moore (1 ♂, USNM) . ZIMBABWE: Mazoe [30 55' E 17 28' S] / xi.62 (1 ♀, NMSA) .

Distribution. Collected from November through January in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Remarks. Ommatius neotenellus differs from congeners by the combined characters of the terminalia ( Figs. 74–82), especially the apically angular epandrium. The male is further distinguished by the dense drooping facial setae.

The female holotype lacks the antenna and mesothoracic leg but is otherwise in good condition. Data labels include: 1) [red label] Ommatius neotenellus Bromley [in script], Holotype; 2) [white label] Ommatius neotenellus Bromley [in script], det. S.W. Bromley 1934 [type set, black ink]; 3) [white label] AC. P. 2219 [type set]; 4) [white label] Ommatius neotenellus Bromley , Holotype # 133 [red ink]; 5) [white label, green borders] P.P. Rust [=Piet Potgietersrust], Transvaal, Dec. 12, 1920.