Afroestricus sankofa, Scarbrough Table Of Contents, 2005

Scarbrough Table Of Contents, Aubrey G., 2005, Afroestricus, a new Afrotropical Ommatine (Diptera: Asilidae) genus with twenty species and two species groups, Zootaxa 1041 (1), pp. 1-76 : 47-49

Afroestricus sankofa , sp. n.

Figs. 121–130 , 195

Male. Body 12.2–14.2 mm; wing 7.8–8.8 mm. Head: Tomentum and setae mostly yellowish. Head: Face with six to eight black bristles, sometimes sparse black setae dorsally; FHWR 1.0:4.5–1.0:4.8. Antenna brownish­yellow, scape blackish, longest ventral seta as long as scape; flagellum long and narrow, 1.5X as long as scape; FWLR 1.0:3.0–1.0:3.8. Frons yellowish tomentose; setae slightly longer than scape. Occiput gray tomentose with white setae; seven to 12 strong postocular bristles present dorsally, bristles short, thick, and usually black, each slightly curved forward with tip before margin of eye anteriorly.

Thorax: Pronotum with black bristles and mixed black and yellow setae. Mesonotum with two narrow median brown tomentose stripes and two lateral spots, stripes separated by brownish­yellow tomentum, tomentum otherwise yellow to yellowish­gray; setae mostly black, abundant anteriorly, laterally, and between rows of dorsocentral bristles, anterior setae slightly longer than scape; row of six to seven long dorsocentral setae and bristles extending well before transverse suture, anterior setae shorter and much thinner, about 2/3 as long as bristles; five long, thick, bristles present laterally. Scutellum gray tomentose with yellow setae, black marginal bristles, and preapical groove. Pleuron mostly gray tomentose, anepisternite yellowish; setae mostly yellow; one black or yellow anepimeral bristle present. Halter yellow with a red knob.

Wing: As Fig. 3a except as follows. Crossvein r­m beyond middle of cell d, much longer than CuA 1 +M 3 when present, m­cu sometimes present. Cell m 1 WR 1.0:3.3:3.3– 1.0:3.9:1.0:4.0.

Leg: Coxae and trochanters black, former gray tomentose with abundant pale yellow vestiture. Femora yellow with stout black bristles; narrow apex of middle femur sometimes and hind femur always brown. Middle femur with one posteroventral bristle preapically. Hind femur with posteroventral row of bristles arched posteriorly; HFWLR 1.0:3.4–1.0:3.7. Tibiae yellow with mostly black bristles; apex of hind tibia brown. Tarsi yellow with mostly black bristles, apex of basal two tarsomeres of tarsi and at least apical 1/2 of apical three tarsomeres brown; fore and middle tarsi with sparse yellow bristles. Abdomen: Mostly gray tomentose, terga mostly brown tomentose; segments 7 and 8 reddish, sparse tomentose dorsally, dense laterally. Setae mostly white, sparse to abundant black setae present on apical three to four terga.

Terminalia ( Figs. 121–126 ): Yellowish­brown with yellow apical margins. Cerci short, slightly longer than wide. Epandrium apically slightly wider than basally, widest medially; apex with rounded in lateral view; dorsal margin notched medially; apical margin with long, dense, yellow setae. Gonostylus distinctive. Distiphallus horizontal, weakly undulant ventrally; epiphallus narrow dorsally. Gonocoxite narrow apically, pointed apex at apical margin of epandrium. Hypandrium round apically.

Female. Differs as follows: Body 11.6–14.2 mm; wing 7.8–9.3 mm; FHWR 1.0:3.8– 1.0:3.9; FWLR 1.0:3.5–1.0:4.4; m 1 WR 1.0:2.8:3.0–1.0:4.3:4.5; HFWLR 1.0:4.7–1.0:4.9. Head: Facial vestiture less dense. Thorax: Halter entirely yellow. Leg: Femora slender. Abdomen: Apical three to four segments with two to four bristles along apical margin; bristles unusually stout, black or yellow. Terminalia ( Figs. 127–130 ): Brown. Tergum 9 entirely sclerotized, about 1/2 as long as circus. Spermatheca smooth, slightly wider apically. Genital fork distinctive.

Type material. Holotype M, GHANA [=Gold Coast]: N. Territories, Yapi [Yapei? 9°09’58”N 1°09’27”W], ix–xi.1915, Dr. J.J. Simpson ( BMNH) . Paratypes: 4 M, 8 F, same data as holotype ( BMNH); 1 M, Gold Coast, N. Territories, xi.1915, Dr. J.J. Simpson [male terminalia, slide 52] ( BMNH) .

Etymology. Akan sankofa , noun in apposition, for a mythical bird that flies forward with its head turned posteriorly. The bird symbolizes the fact that the past serves as a guide for the future.

Distribution ( Tables 1, 2; Fig. 195). Known only from the type locality; collected from September to Novenber.

Remarks. Afroestricus sankofa is distinguished from congeners by the characters in the key and terminalia ( Figs. 121–130 ). It is most similar to A. vorax but lacks the dorsoapical notch on the epandrium.

Figures

FIGURES 121–130. Afroestricus sankofa, sp. n. Male terminalia: 121–123. Lateral, dorsal, and ventral views. 124. Gonostylus. 125–126. Aedeagus, dorsal and lateral views. Female terminalia: 127–128. Dorsal and ventral views. 129. Spermatheca. 130. Genital fork.

FIGURES 3–4. Character states of the wing and postocular bristles of the subgenus Afroestricus Scarbrough. 3a–b. Wing venation of the macroscelis and the minutus species groups. 4a–b. Short, erect and long, thin, postocular bristles bristles. Abbrevations: First radial cell=r1; fourth radial cell=r4; discal cell=d; radial­medial crossvein=r­m; first medial cell=m1; third medial cell=m3.