Ptecticus australis

Rozkošný, Rudolf & Hauser, Martin, 2009, Species groups of Oriental Ptecticus Loew including descriptions of ten new species with a revised identification key to the Oriental species (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), Zootaxa 2034, pp. 1-30 : 19

2. P . australis group

Species: P. annulipes , P. artocarpophilus sp. nov., P. australis , P. fukienensis sp. nov., P. kubani sp. nov., P. srilankai , P. semimetallicus sp.nov., P. subaustralis , P. vulpianus .

Characteristics: (1) Upper frons, vertex and median occipital sclerite black; (2) scutum uniformly yellow, sometimes with a metallic shine, rarely black and metallic blue; (3) wings usually hyaline, rarely with darkened apex; (4) R2+3 nearly twice as long as Rs, parallel to R1 and radial triangle (r2+3) thus virtually replaced by long and narrow, distally opened cell ( Figs 36–37 ), crossvein M-Cu usually indistinct but well visible in P. fukienensis sp. nov.; (5) M3 straight, parallel to M2 and postcubitus (CuP) unpigmented, hyaline, often indistinct; (6) male epandrium with surstyli or without them, genital capsule subquadrate or more rounded, usually notched in middle of posterior margin, rarely with medial process, posterior inner gonocoxal projection usually developed, aedeagal complex often only flat, bipartite or tripartite apically, sometimes partly reduced.

Remarks: The wing venation is of an apomorphic type though not as specialised as in P. shirakii . Species of this group may be divided according to the presence or absence of the surstyli on the epandrium. The surstyli are well developed in P. artocarpophilus sp. nov., P. australis , P. fukienensis sp. nov. and P. srilankai . P. okinawaensis Ôuchi, 1940 is probably a synonym of P. vulpianus (see Rozkošný & De Jong 2001) and the East Palaearctic P. matsumurae Lindner, 1936 with the virtually identical male terminalia seems to be also closely related to this species. P. semimetallicus sp. nov. with vein R2+3 arising slightly beyond crosvein R-M is preliminarily treated here though its male genitalia are unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 34 – 41. 34 – 35. Ptecticus aurifer (Walker), right wing (34) and medial part of costal margin (35). Scale: 5 mm (34); 1 mm (35). 36 – 37. Ptecticus australis Schiner, right wing (36) and medial part of costal margin (37). Scale: 5 mm (36). 38 – 39. Ptecticus cingulatus Loew, right wing (38) and medial part of costal margin (39). Scale: 5 mm (38); 1 mm (39). 40 – 41. Ptecticus proximus Rozkošný & Kovac (histrio group), right wing (40) and medial part of costal margin (41). Scale: 5 mm (40); 0.5 mm (41). See introduction for abbreviations.