Suragina nigromaculata
Creators: name: Muller, Burgert S.
name: Swart, Vaughn R.
name: Snyman, Louwrens P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Athericidae
Suragina
Suragina nigromaculata

description: Suragina nigromaculata (Brunetti, 1929)
Figs 31, 51
Atrichops nigromaculata Brunetti, 1929: 1.
Suragina nigromaculata: Stuckenberg 1960: 293, fig. 87; Stuckenberg 1980: 313.
Type material examined.
[from digital photographs] Holotype: Zimbabwe • 1 ♂ Sawmills, S. Rhodesia; 26 Dec. 1919; [19°34.998'S 28°01.986'E, 1059 masl] Rhodesia Museum; Presented by the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, British Museum 1929–48; Atrichops nigromaculata Brun Type ♂, det. E. Brunetti 1926; Holotype Atrichops nigromaculata Brunetti det. J. E. Chainey 1981 (NHMUK 014064156).
Diagnosis.
The male (Fig. 31) of the species has a general orange-yellow appearance with darker pleura and scutum (female unknown). The abdomen is mostly orange-yellow, however, tergites 1 and 2 have dark brown median vittae, with tergites 2 and 3 with lateral markings as well. The species is most similar so S. binominata (see S. binominata diagnosis) and, to a lesser extent, S. monogramma (see below).
Remarks.
The original description of the male by Brunetti (1929: 1) is brief, and the description was published posthumously along with other species found in his manuscript papers. The original description also lacks certain key characters, such as the presence of a presutural spot. This led to Stuckenberg (1960: 293) proposing that should the male have this spot, then S. nigromaculata may in fact be a synonym of S. monogramma.
Upon examination of the provided male type photographs during the current revision, it was found that the type does not have the aforementioned presutural spot in the notopleural area; additionally, several characters not mentioned in the original description easily distinguish it from the male of S. monogramma (see diagnosis), and the species is here regarded as valid. A redescription of the male type from Saw-Mills, Zimbabwe follows, based on digital photographs provided by the NHMUK.
Description.
Male (Fig. 36).
Measurements (n = 1): Wing span: 5.2 mm; body length: 7.2 mm; wing span to body length ratio: 0.72.
Redescription.
(Based on digital photographs of ♂ Holotype).
Head: Brown colour, with silver-white pruinosity on majority of head; eye bare; holoptic; ommatidia of similar size; lateral edge of eye with slight indentation; ocellar tubercle slightly more elevated than frons, black in colour with some short pale setulae; vertex silver-white pruinose, apparently rubbed bare; anterior ocellus larger than posterior pair; ocellar tubercle in front of dorsal margin of eye (♀ unknown); dorsal inner edge of eye without discernible paired dark markings; occiput with same silver-white pruinosity as rest of head, except for paired narrow subtriangular dark brown, almost black markings with pale setulae on upper occiput, abutting posterior margin of eyes, flanking vertex; upper occiput with short pale setulae on dorsal margin and on rest of upper surface, lower occiput with long pale setulae, these continue ventrally on head to mouthparts that have similar pale ventral setulae; frons silver-white up to narrow area before eyes touch when viewed dorsally, dark velvety-brown when viewed anteriorly; frons at narrowest ca 0.5 × width of anterior ocellus, widening towards antennal base; frons bare; face and gena silver-white with pale setulae, clypeus dark brown with silver-white pruinosity, bare; face separated from clypeus by a prominent, deep suture on anterior and lateral edges; face not appearing to bulge laterally when viewed in profile; clypeus visible in profile, face not; antennal bases separated ca 1 × width of scape, with slight longitudinal groove; scape, pedicel, 1 st flagellomere orange-yellow, 2 nd flagellomere brownish; 1 st flagellomere reniform, only slightly larger than pedicel and scape; 2 nd flagellomere arista-like; scape and pedicel with dark dorsal and ventral setulae of similar size, palpus orange-yellow, well-developed, ca 0.5 × length of proboscis; proboscis orange-yellow with long pale setulae, some long dark setulae ventrally; some scattered small dark setulae on proboscis and palpus.
Thorax: Orange-yellow ground colour; median dorsal surface of scutum and scutellum with short pale setulae, remainder of thorax with longer pale setulae, especially on pleura and lateral surface of scutellum; postsutural setulae similar to presutural setulae, except for longer prescutellar setulae; postpronotal lobe orange-yellow with long pale setulae; scutum mostly dark brown with slight median greyish pruinosity; postalar wall and callus appearing orange-yellow; scutellum almost entirely orange-yellow except for darker basal margin; pleura brown in colour in colour except for posterior of anepisternum that is orange-yellow; anepisternum, katepisternum and katatergite lightly silver-white dusted; notopleuron orange-yellow with long pale setulae; anterior spiracle bare posteriorly; area surrounding posterior spiracle brown, postspiracular scale brown, similar to majority of pleura; proepisternum, pronotum brownish; proepimeron, proepisternum with pale setulae, anepisternum with pale setulae; katatergite with pale setulae; rest of pleura bare.
Legs: Coxae orange-yellow; fore and mid coxae with long pale setulae on surface, hind coxa with long pale setulae on anterior and lateral apical edges, and with well-developed anterior apical point; all trochanters same orange-yellow colour as rest of body with some scattered short pale setulae; all femora uniformly orange-yellow; mid and hind femora with small anterior apical dark mark; fore tibia and tarsi reddish-brown, mid and hind tibiae orange-yellow; mid and hind tarsi orange-yellow; terminal fore tarsi missing; fore and mid femora covered with pale setulae on all surfaces except for dorso-apical surface with short dark setulae, hind femur with mixed long pale and dark setulae on dorsal and ventral surfaces, basally with long pale setulae, anteriorly with short setulae and posteriorly with longer setulae; hind leg overall stouter than remaining legs; remaining fore tarsi covered with long sensory setulae along antero- and posteroventral surfaces, sensory setulae ca 2 × as long as tarsal segment is wide; fore and mid tibiae covered in short dark setulae, hind tibia with longer dark setulae; combined length of hind tarsal segments subequal to hind tibia; tibial spur formula 0: 2: 2.
Wing (Fig. 51): Overall slight light brown suffused appearance; with a slightly yellow-brown stigma over area of veins R 1 and R 2 + 3 and cell r 1; veins light brown; costa without distinct downward flexure over stigma; cell cua closed a short distance from wing margin; cell m 3 open, veins M 1, M 2, M 3 present; haltere orange-yellow, slightly infuscated apically, with very short dark setulae.
Abdomen: Overall orange-yellow colour; tergites 1 and 2 with broad dark brown median vittae, tergite 3 with dark marking on anterior two-thirds; tergite 2 additionally with dark brown lateral markings; tergites with short black setulae on medial-dorsal surfaces, laterally with longer dark setulae; sternites orange-yellow with dark markings and with pale setulae; tergite 1 with weak median longitudinal suture.
Terminalia: Entirely orange-yellow in colour; epandrium (damaged) and cercus with dark setulae, hypandrium with dark setulae; terminalia not dissected.
Female. Unknown.
Distribution.
Zimbabwe.
description: Published as part of Muller, Burgert S., Swart, Vaughn R. & Snyman, Louwrens P., 2024, Revision of Afrotropical Suragina Walker, 1859 (Diptera, Athericidae), pp. 247-327 in African Invertebrates 65 (2) on pages 247-327, DOI: 10.3897/afrinvertebr.65.140524