Rhyncomya dasyops Bezzi, 1908

Thomas-Cabianca, Arianna, Villet, Martin H., Martinez-Sanchez, Anabel & Rojo, Santos, 2023, South African nose flies (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Rhiniinae): taxonomy, diversity, distribution and biology, Biodiversity Data Journal 11, pp. 72764-72764 : 72764

Rhyncomya dasyops Bezzi, 1908

= Rhyncomya dasyops Bezzi, 1908: 382. Type locality: Zaire [Democratic Republic of Congo], Haut-Congo [Oriental Province].

= Beria proxima Séguy, 1926: 12. Type locality: French Congo [Republic of Congo]. Remarks: Zumpt (1958) indicated that this species may be conspecific with R. dasyops , subsequently published as a synonym of R. dasyops by Pont (1980).

=? Rhyncomya rugosa Séguy, 1926: 12. Type locality: Mozambique, Vallée du Pungoué. Remarks: Zumpt (1958) indicated that the original description of this species is inadequate and it needs to be considered as a synonym of R. dasyops ; however, Pont (1980) considered the species as valid, but nowadays, the Systema dipterorum ( Evenhuis and Pape 2022) considered it as a synonym of R. dasyops . Without a formal revision of the type specimen, we consider the species as a synonym, as was also suggested by Zumpt (1958).

= Rhyncomya nigropilosa Villeneuve, 1927: 19. Type locality: Rhodesia mérdionale [Zimbabwe], Salisbury [Harare]; Chilanga [Zambia]; Nigeria septetrionale [Nigeria]; Uganda Prot. [Uganda], Mt. Elgon, 3,700-3,900 ft.; Congo Belge [Democratic Republic of Congo], Elisabethville [Lubumbashi]; Abyssinie [Ethiopia]; région du Cap [South Africa, Western Cape].

= Metallea pseudoinflata Peris, 1951: 240. Type locality: Anglo-Egipsian Sudan [Sudan], W. Darfur, S. Jebel Murrs, Kallikitting, 4,4450 ft.

Distribution

Afrotropical: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi*, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa (Fig. 76 ), Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Notes

Preferred environment: in Namibia, restricted to the Arid and Mesic Savannah Biomes ( Kurahashi and Kirk-Spriggs 2006). Recorded elevations: 556 m a.s.l. Seasonality: low numbers in November, December, January, April, May and July. In Namibia, low numbers too in October and December ( Kurahashi and Kirk-Spriggs 2006). Behaviour and ecology: a female collected as prey of a robber fly ( Asilidae ) in August 1938 in the Gota Gota camp, Zimbabwe. Cuthbertson (1939) recorded specimens on flowers in Urungwe, Lomagundi District. Life cycle and developmental stages: unknown. Collection methods: in Namibia, with pitfall and Malaise traps ( Kurahashi and Kirk-Spriggs 2006). Illustrations and photographs: male habitus as in Fig. 77 . Male terminalia as in fig. 41-right in Zumpt (1958).

Material examined: Suppl. materials 1, 2.

Figures

Figure 76. Rhyncomya dasyops occurrence map in South Africa, including eSwatini (eSw) and Lesotho (Le); horizontal axis longitude east and vertical axis latitude south.

Figure 77. Habitus, left lateral view of Rhyncomya dasyops male NMSA DIP 84128 from South Africa; scale bar = 2 mm.