Psilota auricauda Curran. A 1926
Creators: name: Young, Andrew D.
name: Skevington, Jeffrey H.
name: Steenis, Wouter Van
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Psilota
Psilota auricauda

description: Psilota auricauda Curran, 1926
(Species plate: Figs. 8–9; Genitalia: Fig. 40 E–F; Map: Fig. 51B)
Diagnosis: Sexually dimorphic. Both sexes with cuticle entirely shining black, scutum and pleuron with faint blue sheen. Scutellum densely white pilose, with at most a few scattered dark pile on the apical rim. Halter orange. Calypter pale, with brown rim, calypter pile pale. Hind leg simple. Female only with bright yellow pile on tergites 3, 4 and 5. Yellow pile on apical half of tergite 4 long and dense. Body length: 12.0– 15.4 mm.
Description: MALE: Head: Head black, white pollinose. Face white pilose, frons and vertex black pilose. Antenna brown, postpedicel oval, approximately 1.5 times as long as wide. Eye densely pilose, pile white on lower half and dull orange to brown on upper half. Thorax: Thorax black, faintly reflective blue. Femora dark brown, tibiae and tarsi dull orange to brown. Hind femur unmodified, with only a few weak, black setulae apicoventrally. Pleuron white pollinose. Pile on pleuron and scutellum entirely pale, with at most a few black pile on apical rim of scutellum. Pile on scutum mixed black and pale yellow. Wing mostly colourless, with only stigma and cell sc brown. Cells bc, c, and bm entirely bare. Anterior half of cells br, cua, m 4, and dm bare. Alula entirely microtrichose. Halter orange. Calypter pale with a dark brown border. Abdomen: Abdomen black. Tergite 2 mostly pale pilose. Tergite 3 with some dark pile, mostly pale pile laterally. Tergite 4 mostly dark pilose. Genitalia: Epandrium compact, about as long as tall. Cercus approximately triangular. Outer lobe of surstylus inserted near the top of the inner lobe, thin, and abruptly curved downwards at about one-third its length. Inner lobe of surstylus long, thin, and straight, approximately 5 times as long as wide (at base), slightly swollen at base, otherwise parallel sided over entire length, somewhat blunt tipped. Phallapodeme with a small, downward facing spur on ventral side. Postgonite slightly darkened.
FEMALE: Similar to male, differing as follows: Abdomen: Tergites 3, 4 and 5 bright yellowish-orange pilose. Pile of tergite 3 and anterior half of tergite 4 sparse. Pile on posterior half of tergite 4 and all of tergite 5 long and dense.
Specimens examined: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Brisbane, -27.527 153.040, 15.ix.1915, D.H. Colless, ANIC29014845 (1♀, ANIC); Other material: Australian Capital Territory: Canberra, -35.282000 149.128686, 23.xi.1959, K.R. Norris, ANIC29034797 (1♀, ANIC); New South Wales: Sydney, -33.868819 151.168819, 14.x.1915, Jeff _ Skevington _ Specimen 30411 (1♀, MCZ); Cheltenham, -33.758389 151.075689, xixii.1949, N.W. Rodd, AustralianMuseumK407023 (1♀, AM); Dorrigo, -30.365542 152.738950, W. Heron, Jeff_ Skevington_Specimen45813 (1♀, USNM); Gibraltar Ra. N.P., Waratah track, -29.5 152.333333, on Leptospermum sp. Blossom, 10-12.xi.1984, D.K. Yeates, UQIC_Reg94618 (1♀, QM); Queensland: 8 km West of Tyalgum, -28.369994 153.208767, 24.ix.1983, N.W. Rodd, AustralianMuseumK407296 (1♀, AM); Amiens State Forest near. Stanthorpe, -28.600522 151.799608, 24-26.xi.1981, UQIC_Reg94619 (1♀, QM); Beerburrum, -26.970639 152.968256, 16.ix.1971, E.C. Dahms, QM _ REG._NO._T223163 (1♀, QM); Brisbane, -27.526975 153.040322, 15.ix.1915, D.H. Colless, ANIC29014845 (1♀, ANIC); 23.x.1911, H. Hacker, ANIC29034792 (1♀, ANIC); 24.ix.1914, H. Hacker, QM _ REG._NO._T223161 (1♀, QM); 25.ix.1911, H. Hacker, QM _ REG._NO._T223159 (1♀, QM); 25.ix.1916, H. Hacker, QM _ REG._NO._T223160 (1♀, QM); 25.ix.1919, H. Hacker, CNC _ Diptera 255064 (1♀, ANIC); 7.ix.1927, J. Mann, UQIC_ Reg 94822 (1♀, QM); 7.ix.1941, C.F. Ashby, ANIC29034790 (1♀, ANIC); ix.1929, G.H. Hardy, AustralianMuseumK407241, K410316 (1♂, 1♀, AM); xi.1928, G.H. Hardy, ANIC29034795, UQIC_ Reg 94810 (1♂, UQIC, 1♀, ANIC); Camira near Ipswich, -27.634853 152.915925, 12.ix.1981, G. Daniels, GDCBReg_19612 (1♀, GDCB); Canungra, -28.017142 153.164708, 30.iii.1937, R.F. Langdon, UQIC_ Reg 94620 (1♀, QM); Cimara, nr. Ipswich, -27.493986 152.944925, 12.ix.1981, G. Daniels, GDCBReg_19613 (1♀, QM); Clarence, Blue Mountains, -33.482308 150.224264, 21.xi.1977, N.W. Rodd, AustralianMuseumK407297 (1♀, AM); Cleveland, -27.533333 153.266667, viii.1924, G.H. Hardy, ANIC29034796 (1♀, ANIC); Dayboro, 0.5 km South, -27.200000 152.816667, 18-19.ix.1999, S.G. Evans, QM _ REG._NO._T223162 (1♀, QM); Lansdowne, - 31.758753 152.534258, Dry sclerophyll, 19.i.1981, G. Williams, AustralianMuseumK407022 (1♀, AM); Mt. Marlay, near Stanthorpe, S.E.Q., -28.655786 151.947126, 6.xi.1984, D.K. Yeates, UQIC_Reg94621 (1♂, QM); Mt. Tinbeerwah near Cooroy, -26.384206 152.966639, 6.ix.1980, G. Daniels, GDCBReg_19610-19611 (2♀♀, GDCB); One Tree Hill, Brisbane, -27.526975 153.040322, 12.xii.1925, A. Musgrave, AustralianMuseumK407024 (1♀, AM); Rockpool Gorge Mt. Walsh Nat. Park, Biggenden, -25.605889 152.027519, 4.x.1976, H. Frauca, CNC _ Diptera 253687 (1♂, ANIC); Rockpool Gorge, Mount Walsh National Park, Biggenden, -25.605889 152.027519, 4.x.1976, H. Frauca, ANIC29034794, CNC _ Diptera 255065-255066, USNM _ ENT249821-249822 (1♂, 4♀♀, ANIC); S.Q., on Leptospermum, 21.ix.1959, Mackerras, UQIC_ Reg 94564 (1♂, QM); Stanthorpe, -28.657928 151.930344, 1924, Date is ambiguous reads ”1.10.24”, ANIC29034791 (1♀, ANIC); Stockyard Creek, SE of Ca- palaba, -27.550000 153.166667, 27°33’S 153°10’E 22.ix.1985, G. and A. Daniels, GDCBReg_19561 (1♂, QM); Sunnybank, -27.578997 153.059006, 27.viii.1950, I.M. Mackerras, ANIC29034793 (1♀, ANIC); The Blunder, Brisbane, -27.526975 153.040322, 18.ix.1966, C.F. Ashby, CNC _ Diptera 255062 (1♀, ANIC); 2.x.1966, C.F. Ashby, CNC _ Diptera 255061 (1♂, ANIC); 8.ix.1962, C.F. Ashby, CNC _ Diptera 255063 (1♀, ANIC); 26.ix.1966, C.F. Ashby, ANIC29034788 (1♀, ANIC); 4.x.1968, C.F. Ashby, ANIC29034787 (1♀, ANIC); Bluff Range S. [South] Slope, Biggenden, -25.600000 152.050000, 1000m, 15.viii.1973, H. Frauca, ANIC29034789 (1♀, ANIC).
Discussion: This is the first time the male of this species has been described, as the original description by Curran was from female specimens only.
description: Published as part of Young, Andrew D., Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Steenis, Wouter Van, 2020, Revision of the Psilota Meigen, 1822 flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Australia, pp. 1-127 in Zootaxa 4737 (1) on pages 26-29, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4737.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3669490