Mallota aperta
Creators: name: Meyer, Marc De
name: Goergen, Georg
name: Midgley, John
name: Jordaens, Kurt
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Mallota
Mallota aperta

description: Mallota aperta (Bezzi, 1912)
Figs 3, 13, 23, 27, 39, 49
Protylocera aperta Bezzi, 1912: 417.
Differential diagnosis
Belongs to the species of Mallota with bare eyes. It can be readily differentiated from any other Afrotropical Mallota by the presence of a large and distinct medial macula on the wing extending over the entire width of the wing (absent in other Mallota), and the apical margin of the marginated scutellum (rounded in other Mallota).
Type material
Holotype
GABON [as Congo Francese] • ♂; Fernand-Vaz; Sep.–Oct. 1902; L. Fea leg.; MCSNG.
Other material examined
CAMEROON • 1 ♂; 36 mi W of Bertoua; 5 Oct. 1966; E.S. Ross and K. Lorenzen leg.; CAS.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC CONGO • 1 ♂; Equateur, Bokuma; Mar. 1952; R.P. Lootens leg.; RMCA, RMCA ENT 000039659 • 1 ♀; Tshuapa, Bokuma; Jan.–Mar. 1954; R.P. Lootens leg.; RMCA • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Bolingo, rives Busira; 23 Jun. 1936; J. Ghesquière leg.; RBINS • 1 ♂; same data as for preceding; 24 Jun. 1936; RBINS • 1 ♀; Eala, 10–20 Mar. 1914; R. Mayné leg.; RMCA • 2 ♂♂; Eala; Aug. 1935; J. Ghesquière leg.; RBINS • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; 22 Aug. 1935; RBINS • 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀; same data as for preceding; Mar. 1936; RBINS • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; 5 Oct. 1936; RBINS • 1 ♀; Eala, Boyeka; 30 Nov. 1929; H.J. Brédo leg.; RMCA, RMCA ENT 000039657 • 1 ♀; Eala-Bokatola-Bikoro; Sep.–Oct. 1930; P. Staner leg.; RMCA • 2 ♀♀; Haut-Lopori; May–Jun. 1927; J. Ghesquière leg.; RMCA, RMCA ENT 000039660, RMCA ENT 000039662 • 1 ♀; Malela; 1 Jul. 1915; Lang and Chapin leg.; AMNH • 1 ♀; Salonga, Simba; May 1927; J. Ghesquière leg.; RMCA, RMCA ENT 000039661 • 1 ♀; Ubangi, Nzali; 3–4 Feb. 1932; H.J. Brédo leg.; RMCA, RMCA ENT 000039658.
Description
Body length: 10.5–13.5 mm. Wing length: 7.5–9.5 mm.
Male
HEAD (Fig. 13). Eye bare; holoptic, eye contiguity for distance slightly longer than length of ocellar triangle, ommatidia equal in size; sometimes trace of maculae. Frons distinctly protruding, in lateral view equal to or slightly beyond facial tubercle; with medial protuberance, ground colour brown (holotype) to almost black; largely shining, dark brown pollinosity in dorsal third; with medium long dispersed black pile, dorsally somewhat longer. Ocellar triangle with short black pile. Face ground colour brown, along gena slightly darker (holotype) to almost black; shining except ventral of antennae where slight greyish pollinosity; along dorsolateral margins with dispersed long pale orange pile, otherwise bare; facial tubercle distinctly pronounced. Antennal segments brown (holotype) to black, postpedicel orange (holotype) to brown; arista missing in holotype, bare, dark orange in non-type material; postpedicel slightly longer than wide.
THORAX (Fig. 3). Scutum subshining black; rufous pollinosity; with short rufous pile, postalar callus with longer pile. Scutellum as scutum, anterior margin pile somewhat longer; marginated along posterior margin (Fig. 23). Pleura ground colour black, posterior anepisternum with dispersed long rufous pile, katepisternum more pale rufous pile, anterior anepimeron dorsally predominantly black, ventrally predominantly pale rufous; otherwise pleura bare. Non-type material pollinosity and pilosity sometimes darker golden brown.
LEGS. All femora dark brown (holotype) to almost black, with short dense rufous (holotype) to dark brown pile; pro- and mesofemur posteriorly and metafemur anterodorsally with longer black pile. Metafemur (Fig. 27) thickened. Tibiae and tarsal segments orange-brown (holotype) to dark brown; with short dense rufous (holotype) to black pile; metatibia curved, along anterior and posterior margins with row of dense medium long pile.
WING (Fig. 39). Largely dark black-brown coloured; in medial part, distally, along posterior margin less so, sometimes some central parts of cells also with less dark brown colouration; microtrichose, more densely so along anterior margin; in distal half with darker fascia from anterior to posterior margin. Stigmal cross-vein absent. Vein R 4+5 sinuate, with short appendix.
ABDOMEN (Fig. 49). Mainly dark brown subshining, with brownish pollinosity, holotype tergum 2 with pair of orange-red triangular shaped lateral maculae, and tergum 3 with pair of orange-red more square shaped lateral maculae; these absent in non-type material. Tergum 4 along anterior two-thirds with more conspicuous grey-brown pollinosity. All terga with short rufous pile (darker in non-type specimens), lateral margins longer pile, posterior margins with short black pile. Sterna black-brown to black, sterna 1–3 with very long dispersed pale yellow pile; sterna 4–5 with dispersed black pile.
Female
As male except for the following character states. Head with eyes dichoptic. Frons subshining black to black-brown; in dorsal half with pale brown pollinosity; with short rufous pile. Legs, paler brown; predominantly rufous pile. Wing less dark brown, with more hyaline maculae. Abdomen, abdominal terga sometimes paler brown, with rufous maculae; subshining maculae sometimes more extensive and more pronounced.
Distribution
Cameroon, Democratic Republic Congo, Gabon. Also reported from Kenya (De Meyer 2001).
Comments
This species was initially placed in Protylocera, which is considered an unnecessary replacement name for Senaspis (see De Meyer et al. 2020b). It is unclear who transferred it to Mallota but it is listed as such by Smith & Vockeroth (1980). It shares some characteristics with species of Senaspis like the wing pattern, similar to what is observed in e.g., S. haemorrhoa (Gerstaecker, 1871), and the marginated apical margin of the scutellum. Some specimens also have slightly maculated eyes, although the maculae are hardly discernible. It differs mainly from species of Senaspis by the distinctly open wing cell r 1 (closed and petiolate in Senaspis, rarely shortly open). No recent material could be obtained in order to include it in the molecular analysis. We propose to leave it in the genus Mallota pending availability of additional material. In addition to the type, there is a long series from D.R. Congo some of which have a much darker appearance, but otherwise they appear to correspond with the type. No DNA barcodes were obtained.
description: Published as part of Meyer, Marc De, Goergen, Georg, Midgley, John & Jordaens, Kurt, 2024, On the identity of the Afrotropical species of Mallota Meigen (Diptera: Syrphidae), pp. 242-290 in European Journal of Taxonomy 958 (1) on pages 253-256, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.958.2675, http://zenodo.org/record/13914492