Sternobrithes, Loew

Hauser, Martin, Woodley, Norman E. & Fachin, Diego A., 2017, Taxonomic changes in African Stratiomyidae (Diptera), Zootaxa 4263 (1) : -

Genus STERNOBRITHES Loew

Sternobrithes Loew, 1857: 264 . Type species, Sternobrithes tumidus Loew, 1857 , by monotypy. Stenobrithes: Kertész, 1908: 347. Incorrect subsequent spelling. Attributed to Loew.

Sternobrites: Séguy, 1953: 152. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Gobertina Bigot, 1879a: 87 . Type species, Gobertina picticornis Bigot, 1879b , by designation of Brauer (1882: 87). Syn. nov.

Sternobrithes mercurialis (Lindner) . Comb. nov.

Gobertina mercurialis Lindner, 1938: 28 . HT ♂ [ MRAC]: Zaire: Bas-Uelé.

Sternobrithes picticornis (Bigot) . Comb. nov.

Gobertina picticornis Bigot, 1879a: 87 . Nomen nudum.

Gobertina argentata Bigot, 1879a: 87 . Nomen nudum.

Gobertina picticornis Bigot, 1879b: 192 . ST 2 ♂, 6 ♀ [ BMNH]: Sierra Leone . Gobertina argentea Bigot, 1879b: 193 . ST 3 ♂, 1 ♀ [ BMNH]: Sierra Leone .

There has been a lot of confusion about the identity of the widespread, closely related group of genera close to Sternobrithes (see under Argyrobrithes ). Part of the confusion started with the description(s) of Sternobrithes Loew (1857, 1860 ), in which the color of the last antennal flagellomere was not described. Gobertina picticornis Bigot was synonymized with Sternobrithes tumidus Loew by Kertész (1908: 347) but then Lindner (1935: 294) indicated that these are good species, without having studied the Loew material. Three syntypes of Sternobrithes tumidus from Guinea (which are deposited in ZMHU, not NHRS, as stated in Woodley 2001: 142), were examined by Jenny Pohl [ ZMHU] (and by N. Woodley in 2010) and have a white last antennal segment. The female syntype from South Africa was neither in ZMHU (J. Pohl pers. com.) or in NRS (Y. Brodin & K. Holston, pers. com.). We agree with Kertész (1908) that Sternobrithes and Gobertina are congeneric, but do not follow Kertész in synonymizing the species picticornis with tumidus , before the genus is revised carefully.

Next to Sternobrithes picticornis (Bigot) and S. tumidus Loew is a third valid species, S. mercurialis (Lindner) ( Fig. 12 ), all of which have the last antennal segment white (with an orange base) and the last antennal segment is much shorter than the rest of the flagellomere. We have seen specimens of an undescribed species, which is very similar to S. picticornis / tumidus , but with the last antennal segment completely black. The generic limits of Sternobrithes and Argyrobrithes need to be reevaluated, including species from Madagascar and the Oriental Region, as well as other closely related genera and it could be that the two genera should be combined under Sternobrithes .

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 12. Stratiomyidae habitus. 7. Neopachygaster stigma Lindner, female syntype [IRSNB]. 8. Platyna hastata (Fabricius), male abdomen. 9. Platyna hastata (Fabricius), female abdomen. 10. Brachyphleps tristis Lindner, male holotype [IRSNB]. 11. Psapharomydops procera Lindner, female holotype [MRAC]. 12. Gobertina mercurialis Lindner, male holotype [MRAC].