Synolcus spinosus : Londt 1980
Creators: name: Londt, Jason G. H.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Asilidae
Synolcus
Synolcus spinosus

description: Synolcus spinosus Londt, 1980   
Figs 13, 67–71, 85, 91  
 Synolcus spinosus: Londt 1980: 37–38, figs 7 (wing), 31–33 (♂ gen.), 34 (♀ gen.); 1990: 2.   
Redescription:  
 Male.   
 Head: Dark red-brown to blackish, strongly gold-silver pruinose, white, pale-yellow and black setose. Antenna: Dark red­brown to blackish, fine silver­gray pruinose, scape and pedicel black setose, postpedicel with few yellowish setae dorsally; mean segmental ratios (n =2) 1:0.8:1.7:1.1 (0.1:0.9:0.1), i.e. pedicel shorter than scape, postpedicel more than 1.5 times length of scape, stylus about as long as scape. Face: Dark red-brown to blackish, strongly gold-silver pruinose. Mystax black dorsally, pale yellowish ventrally (and ventrolaterally), setae slightly better developed ventrally. Frons and vertex: Blackish, strongly silver and red-gold pruinose, black setose (including ocellar setae). Occiput: Blackish, strongly silver pruinose, black (dorsally and centrally) and white (centrally and ventrally) setose.   
 Thorax: Dark red-brown to blackish, silver, gold-silver and dark red-brown pruinose, black and pale yellowish setose. Prothorax: Dark red-brown to blackish, gold-silver pruinose, pale-yellow setose except for dark red-brown macrosetae. Mesonotum: Dark red-brown to blackish, silver to gold-silver pruinose with dark red-brown pruinose median band and lateral patches, macrosetae black, minor setae blackish (mainly anteriorly) and pale yellow-white (mainly posteriorly). Macrosetae: acr and dc moderately developed posterior of transverse suture, dc extending anterior of suture, 2 npl, 2 spal, 3 pal (1 weak). Scutellum: Dark red-brown to blackish, strongly silvery pruinose, disc pale yellow setose, 1 pair black apical macrosetae. Pleura: Dark red-brown to black, silver to gold-silver pruinose, weakly (except ktg) white to pale yellow setose. Legs: Cx dark red-brown to black, gold-silver pruinose, pale yellow setose; cx 3 with 2 lateral macrosetae. Tro dark red-brown, weakly pruinose, pale yellow setose. Fem uniform dark red-brown to black, major setae mixed black and pale yellow, minor setae pale yellow. Tib orange proximally, dark red-brown, distally, major and minor setae black and pale yellow. Tar dark red-brown, major and minor setae mixed black and pale yellow. Wing (Fig. 13): Veins mostly dark red-brown, anterior veins more orange-brown proximally, membrane transparent (slight yellow appearance due to microtrichiae). Cell sc lacking sc–r. Cells r 1 and r 2+3 considerably expanded and displaying corrugations. Wing length ×breadth (mean, n =2) 9.3 (8.0–10.4) × 3.8 (3.2– 4.5) mm. Haltere: Pale brown with darker distal and proximal ends.   
 Abdomen: Dark red-brown to black, strongly silver to gold-silver, pale yellowish setose. T1 fairly uniformly silver pruinose, c. 5 pale yellow macrosetae laterally accompanied by many setae. T2–8 strongly silver pruinose (reflective properties change with angle of view), pale yellowish setose (including c. 3 posteroventral macrosetae). S similar to T. Terminalia (Figs 67–71): Epand in lateral view (Fig. 67) fairly short (a little more than twice as long as deep), with broadly rounded, spinose distal end; epand lobes in dorsal view divergent proximally, becoming closely associated before curving outwards towards inwardly directed distal ends (Fig. 68). S8 unmodified, hind margin fairly straight to slightly medially indented. Hypd fairly well-developed with gently indented posterior margin (Figs 67, 69). Gonst in lateral view as in Fig. 70. Aed fairly stout with short U­shaped, filamentous tip (Fig. 71).   
 Female: Essentially similar to male. Wing length × breadth (mean, n=3) 9.3 (8.9–9.6) × 3.5 (3.4–3.8) mm (length and range almost identical to male but breadth narrower due to lack of expansion). Terminalia (Fig. 85): Ovipositor laterally compressed, fairly short (about 1.5 times as long as deep).   
Type material examined: SOUTH AFRICA: 1♂ holotype 2♀ paratypes ‘ Gladdespruit River / Headwaters at Kaapsehoop [25°35'22"S 30°46'12"E] / 2530 DB Transvaal 5000ft [1524m] / 23 Febr 71 Stuckenberg / Grassland & Gallery forest’; 1♂ paratype ‘ Gladdespruit River / Headwaters at Kaapsehoop / 2530 DB Transvaal 5000ft [1524m] / 3 xi 70 Stuckenberg / Grassland & Gallery forest’.  
Other material examined: SOUTH AFRICA: 1♀ Barberton, 2531CC, 8.xii.1986, Meakin.  
Distribution, phenology and biology: Known only from two localities in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa (Fig. 91), and collected in November and December (Table 1) from ‘grassland and gallery forest’. The label data suggest that the species inhabits forest and forest margins.
description: Published as part of Londt, Jason G. H., 2012, The genus Synolcus Loew, 1858, with descriptions of new species (Diptera: Asilidae), pp. 661 in African Invertebrates 53 (2) on pages 691-693, DOI: 10.5733/afin.053.0206, http://zenodo.org/record/7918573