Melanostoma bituberculatum ( Loew, 1858 )

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Al-Dhafer, Hathal & Turner, James, 2020, An overview of the Syrphidae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia, Zootaxa 4855 (1), pp. 1-69 : 38-39

Melanostoma bituberculatum ( Loew, 1858)

( Fig. 43 )

Syrphus bituberculatum Loew, 1858: 379 .

Examined specimens. 1♂, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub ( Abha Farm Centre), 20.iv.2013, Malaise trap, H.A. Dawah ( CERS) ; 1♂, 2♀, same locality but 1–25.v.2013 ( CERS) ; 1♀, Al-Baha, W. Turubah, sweeping, 14.x.2010, H. Al Dhafer ( KSMA) .

Distribution. This is the first record from Saudi Arabia. It was described from South Africa and is further recorded from Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zaire and Zimbabwe ( Smith & Vockeroth 1980; Whittington 2003). Within the Arabian Peninsula previously known only from Yemen ( Smit et al. 2017).

Remarks. Kassebeer (2000: 174) provided features of the male and female abdomen, inner and outer postgonite of M. bituberculatum .

Genus Monoceromyia Shannon

The genus Monoceromyia contains 73 species and is found in all regions ( Thompson 2013). See above under Ceriana Rafinesque for more information.

Figures

FIGURE 43. Habitus of Melanostoma bituberculatum (Loew, 1858). Female, lateral view.