Phasia argentifrons
Creators: name: Sun, Xuekui
name: Marshall, Stephen A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2003
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tachinidae
Phasia
Phasia argentifrons

description: 3.2. The Phasia argentifrons species­group  
 The Phasia argentifrons species­group includes all species previously placed in the subgenus Mormonomya Brauer and Bergenstamm (Crosskey 1973, 1984, Cantrell and Crosskey 1989), the genus Epaulophasia Townsend (Townsend 1934, Guimarães 1971) and the genus Campbellia Miller (Miller 1932, Dugdale 1969, Cantrell and Crosskey 1989). 
 Diagnosis: Head compressed anteriorly or spherical; fronto­orbital plate entirely bare laterally, not swollen; dorsal facets of eyes larger than ventral ones; inner margins of eye divergent. Parafacial bare; lower margin of face strongly projecting, almost forming a right angle with face. Sublunular bulla spherical or knob­like; first flagellomere short. Length of oral opening more than 2.5 times width; occipital hairs white. Thorax black; scale­like setae sometimes present in male; scutellum black; subscutellum exceptionally prominent. M meeting R 4+5 at right angle. Abdomen subovate. Male surstylus longer than cercus; phallus short, haired or bare; apex of pregonite broad; postgonite well developed. Key to species of the Phasia argentifrons species­group 
 (The males of Phasia jeanneli, Phasia furcata and Phasia nigromaculata and the females of Phasia distincta and Phasia brachyptera are unknown. Unrevised [Neotropical] species are marked with an asterisk) 
1. Female....................................................................................................................... 2 
­ Male........................................................................................................................ 10 
2. Apex of sternite VII bent or directed ventrally......................................................... 3 
­ Apex of sternite VII straight or directed dorsally..................................................... 8 
3. Sternite VII broad, strongly bent downward posteriorly.......................................... 4 
­ Sternite VII narrow, only slightly bent downward.................................................... 6 
 4. Lower margin of face orange yellow; posterior margin of sternite VII almost spherical, with a shallow median notch.............................  P. argentifrons Walker, 1849 ♀ 
­ Lower margin of face brown, or black; posterior margin of sternite VII not as above.................................................................................................................................... 5 
 5. Sternite VII branched................................................  P. furcata Sun, new species ♀ 
 ­ Sternite VII pointed (Fig. I­32.1).............................  P. lepidofera (Malloch, 1929) ♀ 
 6. Sternite VII laterally flattened in apical half, narrowest at middle in profile (Fig. I­13.6)......................................................................................  P. campbelli (Miller, 1923) ♀ 
­ Sternite VII not as above........................................................................................... 7 
 7. Apex of sternite VII distinctly knobbed in profile (Fig. I­39.7).............................................................................................................................  P. nasuta (Loew, 1852) ♀ 
 ­ Apex of sternite VII straight in profile (Fig. I­27.3).....  P. jeanneli (Mesnil, 1953) ♀ 
 8. Sternite VII arrow shaped in ventral view (as in Fig. I­42.6)................................................................................................................... *  P. officialis (Townsend, 1934) ♀ 
 ­ Sternite VII broadened near apex, with a straight posterior margin in ventral view (Fig. I­34.6)....................................................  P. nigromaculata Sun, new species ♀ 
­ Sternite VII tapered in ventral view.......................................................................... 9 
 9. Sternite VII slightly flattened at base (Afrotropical).......................................................................................................................  P. nigrofimbriata (Villeneuve, 1935) ♀ 
 ­ Sternite VII not flattened (Australasian and Pacific)....  P. sensua (Curran, 1927) ♀ 
 ­ Sternite VII flattened in apical half (Neotropical)..................................................................................................................................... *  P. capitata (Townsend, 1927) ♀ 
10. Lower margin of face orange yellow...................................................................... 11 
­ Lower margin of face brown to black..................................................................... 12 
 11. Distiphallus well sclerotized; phallus not haired; syncercus deeply notched posteriorly (Fig. I­6.3­4).....................................................  P. argentifrons Walker, 1849 ♂ 
 ­ Distiphallus membranous; phallus sparsely haired dorsally; syncercus with a shallow notch posteriorly (Fig. I­13.4­5)..........................  P. campbelli (Miller, 1923) ♂ 
 12. Parafacial 2.8 times as wide as first flagellomere; both basiphallus and distiphallus well sclerotized (Fig. I­15.6); wing base and hind femur with scale­like setae........... ..................................................................................  P. distincta Sun , new species ♂ 
­ Parafacial less than 2.0 times as wide as first flagellomere; basiphallus usually membranous; wing base and hind femur with or without scale­like setae..................... 13 
 13. Abdomen with yellow spot or area laterally; ejaculatory apodeme fan­like (Fig. I­12.4)............................................................................  P. brachyptera Sun, new species ♂ 
­ Abdomen black; ejaculatory apodeme not fan­like............................................... 14 
14. Phallus haired dorsally............................................................................................ 15 
­ Phallus not haired.................................................................................................... 16 
 15. Syncercus slender, with a deep U­shaped notch posteriorly; surstylus strongly arched ........................................................................................ P. sensua (Curran, 1927) ♂ 
 ­ Syncercus broad and short, with a V­shaped notch posteriorly; surstylus slightly arched.................................................................................  P. lepidofera (Malloch, 1929) ♂ 
16. Syncercus with a pair of teeth posteriorly, phallapodeme not strongly arched....... 17 
­ Syncercus usually without teeth posteriorly; if teeth present, phallapodeme strongly arched............................................................................................................... 18 
 17. Teeth of syncercus situated in the middle of notch; distiphallus partly sclerotized.....................................................................................*  P. capitata (Townsend, 1927) ♂ 
 ­ Teeth of syncercus situated at posterior margin of notch; distiphallus membranous (Fig. I­39.3­4)....................................................................  P. nasuta (Loew, 1852) ♂ 
 18. Phallapodeme strongly arched; notch of syncercus trapezoid, with two small teeth in middle (Fig. I­41.3­4)...................................  P. nigrofimbriata (Villeneuve, 1935) ♂ 
 ­ Phallapodeme less arched; notch of syncercus funnel­shaped, without teeth............................................................................................ *  P. officialis (Townsend, 1934) ♂
description: Published as part of Sun, Xuekui & Marshall, Stephen A., 2003, Systematics of Phasia Latreille (Diptera: Tachinidae), pp. 1-320 in Zootaxa 276 (1) on pages 22-24, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.276.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5019510