Ommatius (Pygommatius) caligula : Oldroyd 1980
Creators: name: Scarbrough, Aubrey G.
name: Marascia, Claudio G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2003
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Asilidae
Ommatius
Ommatius caligula

description: Ommatius (Pygommatius) caligula Oldroyd
Figs. 86­93
Ommatius caligula Oldroyd, 1970, 24: 324.
Ommatius caligula: Oldroyd, 1980: 347 (Afrotropical catalogue).
Redescription, male. As O. bingeri except as follows. Length, body 7.0­9.0 mm; wing 6.0­ 6.8 mm. Mostly yellow to yellowish­brown tomentose. Head: Mostly yellow tomentose and setose. Face with scattered, mostly brown, setae dorsally; 1.0:4.5­1.0:4.7. Pedicel ventrally with 1 stout yellow seta, apex just beyond flagellum. Frons with setae longer than pedicel and scape combined. Occiput with 3­8 thin, brown, postocular bristles. Thorax: Mesonotum with setae most abundant medially and anteriorly, shorter, less abundant setae on the mesonotal slopes. Scutellum with 2­3 thick, marginal bristles. Wing: As bingeri (Fig. 3). Leg: Fore and middle femora posteriorly with abundant, erect setae of different lengths, fringe­like; fore femur basally with 3­4 long, yellow, ventral bristles. Hind femur with only 2­3 anteroventral bristles apically; posteroventral bristles present, most short, basal 3 contrastingly long; HFWLR 1.0:5.3­1.0:6.3. Fore and middle tibiae with long, erect setae laterally, fringe­like. Abdomen: Sternites 3­5 at least medially shiny, with stout, erect, yellow bristles. Sternites 6­8 black bristly setose, apical margin with 6­7 black bristles.
Terminalia (Figs. 86­90): Epandrium 3 branched; dorsal branch narrow; median branch wide, apex only slightly pointer; ventral branch flat, longer and wider than dorsal process, apex setose. Gonostylus flat, strongly angular basally, narrow, podiform dorsally. Distiphallus tube­like, ruguose apically. Hypandrium with a row of short bristles along apical margin.
Female. Differs from male as follows. Length, 7.5­7.7, wing 6.9­7.0 mm. Head: Face often brown­yellow tomentose; FHWR 1.0:3.4. Thorax: Mesonotum with sparse, short setae, anterior setae about as long as pedicel and scape combined. Leg: Fore and middle legs sparse setose. Hind tarsus with only black bristles; HFWLR 1.0:5.3. Abdomen: Mostly yellow to yellowish­gray tomentose with yellow vestiture, tergites mostly brown dorsally. Sternites 1­2 with sparse, thin setae, sternites 3­5 with only thin ventral bristles, sides of segments 6 and 7 parallel, base and apex about same width; tergites 3­7 apically with 2­3 yellow bristles of increasing thickness, those in apical tergites thickest. Tergite 9 long laterally, deep emarginations anteriorly and posteriorly, medially third to half as long laterally. Sternites 3­6 with few to several long, yellow, erect bristly setae; sternites 7­8 with several, stout, black bristles. Terminalia (Figs. 91­93): Two spermathecae present, moderately wide apically, apex round; base with duct laterally. Sternite 8 with apical fourth angled dorsally, posterior surface anteriorly W­shaped with corners raised and stout black vestiture; apical margin of sternite 8 nearly truncate in dry specimens, slightly Vshaped when treated in KOH.
SPECIMENS EXAMINED. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Holotype ♂, Congo Belge P.N.G. [= Garamba National Park] / Miss H. De Saeger / Ndelelele /4 18.vi.52 / H. De Saeger 3678 (MARC); 1 ♂, 3 ♀ paratypes, same data (MRAC); 1 ♂ paratype, same data (BMNH); 1 ♀ paratype, same data except Inimvua 20.v.1952 / H. De Saeger 3488 (BMNH); 3 ♀ Paratypes, same data as holotype (ISNB); 1 ♂ paratype same data as holotype except Pp.K /55, 26.x.1951, 2680 (ISNB). NAMIBIA: 1 ♂, West Caprivi Park, SE 1722 DC, 05.iv.1990, E. Marais (NMWN).
Distribution. Captured during May, June and October in forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia.
Remarks. In addition to the characters in the key, O. caligula differs from O. bingeri and O. digittatus in the presence of stout, marginal, scutellar bristles. The shorter, less abundant setae on the mesonotal slopes of the male and shape of the two spermathecae further distinguish this species.
The type series are in poor condition with several parts missing. The right flagellum/ style, right wing, right hind leg and left hind tarsi are missing from the holotype. The remaining four paratypes at MARC are as following: One female paratype glued on its side with head and left leg glued separately; the pedicel/flagellum and apical four tarsomeres are absent, respectively. The right flagellum/scape, right fore tarsus, right middle tibia/tarsus, right hind leg, apex of right wing are missing from a second female paratype. The left hind leg is glued to a label of a third female paratype. The right and left flagellum/ scape, right hind tarsus, left hind leg, left wing, and terminalia are missing from a male paratype. The terminalia are missing from the paratype male at ISNB. The terminalia of the two paratypes in the BMNH have been removed for study and placed in microvials below the specimens but they are otherwise in good condition.
description: Published as part of Scarbrough, Aubrey G. & Marascia, Claudio G., 2003, Revision of Ommatius Wiedemann (Diptera: Asilidae). IV. Pygommatius subgen. nov. with twenty-five Afrotropical species, pp. 1-94 in Zootaxa 228 (1) on pages 24-25, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.228.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5019043