Ommatius latus, Scarbrough, 2010

Scarbrough, A. G., 2010, An overview of the Afrotropical Ommatiinae (Diptera: Asilidae) with a key to genera, Zootaxa 2540, pp. 1-47 : 26-28

Ommatius latus n. sp.

Figs. 67–72

Description, male. Brown. Body 10.3–11.3 mm; wing 7.1–7.9 mm. Head: Face yellowish-gray or gray tomentose, mystax scattered, mostly white vestiture with 5–6 bristles medially, 4–13 brown bristles dorsally; FHWR 1.0:6.7–1.0:6.9. Proboscis and palpus pale yellow setose. Antenna, frons, and ocellar tubercle brown setose. Flagellum brown, scape brownish-yellow, scape and pedicel together slightly longer than flagellum; FWLR 1.0:1.8–2.0. Frons brownish tomentose. Occiput yellowish-gray or gray tomentose with pale yellow and white setae; 5–6 brown postocular bristles with apex of longest bristle about 1/3 distance toward ocellar tubercle.

Thorax: Pronotum brown or brownish-yellow tomentose, vestiture white or pale yellowish. Mesonotum brown with yellowish or grayish tomentum; postalar callus yellowish laterally; wide brown stripe and 2 lateral spots brown tomentose, striped divided medially and grooves between brown spots brownish-gray; setae brown medially, yellowish laterally; 4 dorsocentral and 5–6 lateral bristles blackish. Scutellum brownishyellow or grayish tomentose, setae scattered, usually whitish, sometimes with sparse brown setae; 2 black marginal bristles. Pleuron yellowish-gray or gray tomentose, vestiture yellowish or white, anepimeral bristle brown; anepisternum with long whitish vestiture posteriorly; katatergite, metepimeron, and metacoxa usually yellowish. Wing ( Fig. 67): Hyaline with weak ripples anteriorly; microtrichia present from apex to r-m crossvein and narrowly along posterior margin to anal cell. Cell r 4 sigmoid, base just beyond apex of cell d; R 4 joins costa at wing apex. Crossvein r-m at middle of cell d, about as long as CuA 1 +M 3. Cell m 1 wide beyond narrow base; vein M 1 strongly arched basally; m 1 WR 1.0:2.4:1.8–1.0:2.8:2.0. Legs: Coxae mostly yellow; narrow base of pro-, meso- anteriorly, and metathoracic coxa apically brownish; pro- and mesothoracic trochanters yellow ventrally, narrow apical margins black; metathoracic trochanter brownish. pro- and mesothoracic femora yellow, brown anteriorly and dorsally, yellow on ventral 1/3 or 1/2 anteriorly; apex of mesothoracic femur brown posteriorly; metathoracic femur mostly brown, narrow base or basal 1/2 yellow ventrally. Prothoracic femur posteriorly and ventrally with abundant, long, yellowish wavy setae; basal 1/3 of prothoracic femur posteriorly with 2–3 whitish or brownish bristles. Mesothoracic femur anteriorly with sparse, long, wavy setae and 3 long bristles; anteroventral and posteroventral rows with only very long, thin setae, slightly wavy apically; preapical posterodorsal bristle brown. Metathoracic femur with mostly yellowish or brown setae ventrally; basal 3–5 posteroventral setae longer, thicker than anteroventral setae; MFWLR 1.0:6.5–1.0:6.7. Tibiae mostly yellow, narrow apices of meso- and metathoracic tibiae brown; prothoracic tibia fringed laterally with numerous long yellowish setae, longest wavy apically, and 3–4 long whitish bristles; mesothoracic tibia with scattered long setae and whitish bristles; metathoracic tibia with only brown bristles. Tarsi mostly brown with brown bristles; basal tarsomeres yellow, narrow apices brown; basal tarsomere of prothoracic tarsus fringed with long setae and yellowish bristles laterally.

Abdomen: Brown; apical margins of segments 1–5 or 6 yellowish; tomentum grayish to brownish-gray tomentose; tergites 7–8 thinly tomentose, surface subshiny; tergite 2 medially and tergites 3–8 brown setose, tergites 1–7 laterally and sternites 1–7 entirely pale yellow setose, sternite 8 with only brown vestiture; apical margin of tergites with thin bristles. Terminalia ( Figs. 68–72): Dark brown, slightly longer than and as wide as segments 7–8. Epandrium wide and slightly pointed apically, somewhat angular in dorsal view. Hypandrium angular apically; setae short, stout.

Female unknown.

Types. MALAWI: Viphya Mtns, Chikangawa [11 o 52’S 33 o 48’E] 1133 Dd / 5–8.xii.1980 1700 m / Stuckenberg & Londt / Forest edge in grass / (holotype ♂, NMSA). Paratype , MALAWI: Ntchisi Forest Reserve [13 o 18’S 34 o 03’E] 1334 Ac 1500 m / Londt & Stuckenberg / 3–4.xii.1980 Montane / forest & woodland (1 ♂, NMSA) .

Etymology. Latin latus for wide referring to the diameter of the apex of epandrium in dorsal view. Gender feminine.

Distribution. Collected in forest edges in grass during December in montane Malawi.

Remarks. Ommatius latus , similar to O. prolixus and O. coperitus in the long fringed setae of the legs and sparse mystax, but is distinguished by the shapes of the epandrium and gonostylus ( Figs. 67–72) and the brown metathoracic femur with only a narrow yellow base. The hind femur of the other two congeners is largely yellow.