Chonocephalus bentacaisei (Santos Abreu)

Disney, R. H. L., Prescher, S. & Ashmole, N. P., 2010, Scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) of the Canary Islands, Journal of Natural History 44 (3 - 4), pp. 107-218 : 110-113

Chonocephalus bentacaisei (Santos Abreu)

( Figures 1–3 )

Heterophora bentacaisei Santos Abreu, 1921 (male only). Paulian, 1958 (female). Chonocephalus bentaicasei (Santos Abreu) . Smith, 1977. Lapse.

Chonocephalus bentacasei (Santos Abreu) . Disney, 2002b. Lapse.

Chonocephalus madagascariensis Paulian, 1958: 12 . Disney, 2008c.

With all the species of this genus reported from the Palaearctic region being accidental introductions by man the possibility of further additions is likely because the genus is rich in species in the tropics and subtropics, with a number of tramp species that are now widely distributed and some more of which may turn up in these islands. The details of the male hypopygium ( Figure 1A ) are the principal means of distinguishing the species. Specimens differing from Figure 2 should be referred to the keys in Disney (2002b). A female described from Madeira ( Disney and Aguiar 2008) is probably the female of this species, whose original description by Paulian (1958) was inadequate to allow its distinction from several other species. Indeed, he failed to recognize that the male he described from Madagascar was the same as this species (Disney 2008c), which is now known from the Nearctic region as well (Disney and Brown 2009). In the key to the females of species recorded from the Holarctic region ( Disney 2002b) it runs to couplet 4, lead 2 to C. depressus Meijere. Although it closely resembles this species it differs in the more complete development of abdominal tergite 8 and the larger spermatheca and the paler and less defined furca. The similarity tends to reinforce the inference that these two species are closely related, as is suggested by the similarity of their male hypopygia in such details as both having the left gonopod reduced to a small lobe bearing a pair of hairs.

Previous records

La Palma, Tenerife ( Disney 2002b).

New record

One male, La Palma: Parc National de la Caldera de Taburiente , Roque de la Cumbrecita, 1377 m, 25 August 1999 ( T. Domingo-Quero, CUMZ - 19-150) .

Figures

Figure 1. Chonocephalus males. (A) Hypopygium, diagrammatic ventral view of a generalized species. A, anal tube (with median hypoproct and paired cerci); E, epandrium; H, hypandrium; X, penis complex (simplified); a, p, anterior and posterior processes (probably = subepandrial sclerites) of epandrium; l, lobe(s) of hypandrium; g, gonopod; b, bridge (probably = sternite 10); c, left surstylus (clasper); s, spine (modified bristle) of epandrium. (B) Conocephalus heymonsi right wing.

Figure 2. Chonocephalus bentacaisei male, details of hypopygium. (A) Left face of epandrium from below. (B) Right gonopod. (C) Right process of epandrium.(D) Left gonopod. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

Figure 3. Chonocephalus sp. (possibly C. bentacaisei) female. (A) Abdominal sternite 8 (S8), furca (f) and spermatheca (Sp). (B) Tergite 8. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.