Psilota femoralis Schiner. Scale 1868
Creators: name: Young, Andrew D.
name: Skevington, Jeffrey H.
name: Steenis, Wouter Van
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Psilota
Psilota femoralis

description: Psilota femoralis Schiner, 1868
(Species plate: Fig. 19; Genitalia: Fig. 42 G–H; Map: Fig. 56B)
Psilota femoralis Schiner, 1868: 369. Type locality: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Diagnosis: Face black, densely grey pollinose, with white pile. Thorax black. Hind femur with a distinct rounded apicoventral setulose carina. Hind tibia with basoventral spur. Calypter with dark brown border. Halter dark brown. Abdomen black. Outer lobe of surstylus sharply hooked back towards base of surstylus at apex. Body length: 7.9–13.6 mm.
Description: MALE: Head: Head black, face densely grey pollinose. Face white pilose, frons and vertex black pilose. Scape and pedicel orange-brown, postpedicel brown. Postpedicel oval, approximately 1.5 times as long as wide. Eye densely white pilose. Thorax: Thorax black. Legs mostly black, with extreme apices of femora and most of tibiae orange-brown. Hind femur with a distinct rounded apicoventral setulose carina. Hind tibia with a basoventral spur. Pleuron densely grey pollinose. Pile on pleuron white. Pile on scutum and scutellum mostly black, with some shorter yellow hairs on the scutum. Wing colourless, bare on anterior half of cells bm and cua. Cells c, dm, r 1 with small bare patches at base. Alula completely microtrichose. Halter dark brown. Calypter with border dark brown. Abdomen: Abdomen black. Tergite 2 mostly white pilose, with posterior 1/5th black pilose. Tergite 3 white pilose anteriorly, black pilose posteriorly. Tergite 4 with mixed black and white pile. Sternites black, and white pilose. Genitalia: Epandrium compact, about as long as tall. Cercus approximately triangular, slightly elongate. Outer lobe of surstylus inserted near top of inner lobe, curved downwards slightly on apical one-third, with apex of lobe thickened and hooked sharply downwards and backwards towards base of surstylus at a 90° angle. Inner lobe of surstylus broadening over entire length, with a slight ventral excavation at one-third its total length, rounded at apex. Ejaculatory apodeme with small ventral projection. Gonostylus not darkened.
FEMALE: Identical except for normal sexual dimorphism.
Specimens examined: AUSTRALIA: New South Wales: 24 km W of South Grafton, -29.687439 152.692319, 3.x.1985, R. Eastwood, GDCBReg_19564; GDCBReg_19566 (2♂♂, GDCB); 5 km East of Bilpin, Blue Moun- tains, -33.462750 150.572836, 22.ix.1977, N.W. Rodd, AustralianMuseumK410292 (1♀, AM); Blue Mtn., 40km ENE Glen Innes, -29.641186 152.109278, 15.xii.1984, D.K. Yeates, UQIC_Reg94570-94571 (2♂♂, QM); Broad- water N. N.S.W., -29.050325 153.427539, 22.viii.1981, D. Yeates, UQIC_Reg94584 (1♂, QM); Broadwater Nat. Pk., -29.050325 153.427539, 6.ix.1981; 26.viii.1984, G. Daniels; D.K. Yeates, GDCBReg_19654; UQIC_ Reg94580–94581; UQIC_Reg94583; UQIC_Reg94587 (5♂♂, QM, GDCB); Broadwater, -29.050325 153.427539, 22.viii.1981, D. Yeates, UQIC_Reg94585 (1♂, QM); French’s Forest, -33.749000 151.233100, 9.ii.1936, D.F. Wa- terhouse, ANIC29034913 (1♂, ANIC); Gibraltar Ra. N.P., Waratah track, -29.548814 152.286936, on Leptospermum sp. blossom, 10–12.xi.1984, D.K. Yeates, UQIC_Reg94566–94567 (2♂♂, QM); Goonderra Ridge, Royal Na- tional Park, -34.114342 151.046586, 29.i.1979; 2.x.1978; 21.iii.1979; 22.viii.1976; 24.x.1976; 28.ix.1975; 4.x.1978; 6.x.1975; 2.x.1978; 28.ix.1975; 6.x.1975, G. and A. Daniels, GDCBReg_19682; GDCBReg_19672–19674; GDC- BReg_19701–19702; GDCBReg_19706; GDCBReg_19708–19711; GDCBReg_19750–19758; GDCBReg_19761; GDCBReg_19747–19748; GDCBReg_19648–19652 (21♂♂, 7♀♀, GDCB); Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park near Sydney, -33.637567 151.233900, 26.ix.1971, G. Daniels, GDCBReg_19640 (1♂, GDCB); Ku-ring-gai, Chase Na- tional Park, -33.637567 151.233900, 2.x.1972, G. and A. Daniels, GDCBReg_19727 (1♀, GDCB); Lawson, Blue Mtns., -33.716667 150.433333, 23.x.1976, G. Daniels, G. Daniels Collection, GDCBReg_19765 (1♂, GDCB); Mount Boyce, Blue Mts., -33.615789 150.266597, 30.xi.1975, G. Daniels, G. Daniels Collection, GDCBReg_19723 (1♂, GDCB); Mt. Kuring-Gai, -33.645433 151.131150, 27.ix.1950, B. McMillan, UQIC_Reg94666 (1♂, QM); Mt. Westmacott nr. Waterfall, -34.138853 150.980736, 24.iii.1979, G. Daniels, GDCBReg_19722 (1♂, GDCB); Mt. Westmacott, nr Waterfall, -34.138853 150.980736, 24.iii.1979, G. Daniels, GDCBReg_19657–19659 (3♂♂, GDCB); Royal National Park, -34.114342 151.046586, 29.viii.1976; 6.x.1975, G. and A. Daniels, GDCBReg_ 19745–19746 (2♂♂, GDCB); Stanwell Tops, -34.219903 150.991808, 5.ii.1978; 9.x.1977, G. Daniels, GDCBReg_ 19742–19743; GDCBReg_19661–19662; GDCBReg_19717–19718 (6♂♂, GDCB); Queensland: Blue Mtn., 4km NE Stanthorpe, SE Qld., -28.631058 151.985794, 977m, summit, 28.ix.1987, D.K. Yeates, UQIC_Reg94569 (1♂, QM); Brisbane, Mount Coot-tha, -27.487778 152.950558, 170m, hilltop, 7.iii.1998; 13.iv.1997, J. & A. Skevington, UQIC_Reg94602; UQIC_Reg94551 (2♂♂, QM); Brisbane, -27.526975 153.040322, 11.x.1958; 7.ix.1927, M. Permiakoff; J. Mann, UQIC_Reg94708; UQIC_Reg94823 (2♂♂, QM); Brown Lake, N. Stradbroke Is., S.E.Q., -27.490108 153.432378, on Leptospermum flavescens blossom, 21–24.ix.1984, D.K. Yeates & R. de Keyzer; D.K. Yeates, UQIC_Reg94575–94578 (4♂♂, QM); Moreton Island, Mount Tempest, -27.149989 153.399994, 285m, hilltopping, 20.ix.1997, J. & A. Skevington, UQIC_Reg94727–94729 (3♂♂, QM); Mount Moffatt, Mt. Moffatt sect., Carnarvon Nat. Pk., -25.165167 147.840419, 26.ix.1986, D.K. Yeates, UQIC_Reg94572–94573 (1♂, QM); Mount Tinbeerwah, nr Cooroy, -29.950000 152.433333, 29.ix.1985; 6.ix.1980; 24.viii.1980; 6.ix.1980, G. and A. Daniels, GDCBReg_19555–19556; GDCBReg_19558; GDCBReg_19665; GDCBReg_19675–19676; GDC- BReg_19677 (6♂♂, 1♀, QM; GDCB); Mt. Marlay, near Stanthorpe, S.E.Q., -28.653583 151.946908, 6–9.xi.1984, D.K. Yeates; Noosa, -26.364544 152.967669, 27.viii.1959, F.A. Perkins, UQIC_Reg94718 (1♂, QM); Tin Can B., -25.919297 153.003278, Leptospermum + shrubs, 21.viii.1957, F.A. Perkins, sweeping, UQIC_Reg94719 (1♀, QM); Wild Horse Mountain near Beerburrum, -26.916667 152.150000, 28.ix.1985; 16–17.ix.1985, G. and A. Daniels; R. Eastwood, GDCBReg_19547; GDCBReg_19553–19554 (3♂♂, GDCB); Sunnybank, 18.ix.1927, UQIC_Reg94683 (1♂, QM); Gordonvaie, summit of Walsh Pyramid, -17.130158 145.800111, 13.vi.1998, M. Polak, CNC_ Diptera 255047 (1♀, CNC); Brisbane, Mount Coot-tha, -27.483333 152.950000, 170m, hill- top, 19.ix.2014; 9.ix.1972; 10.viii.1997, J.H., A.M. and A.W. Skevington; A.M. Hemmingsen; J. & A. Skevington & S. Winterton, hand collected, UQIC_Reg94552 (1♂, QM); Jeff_Skevington_Specimen26984 (1♂, CNC); Moreton Island, Mount Tempest, -27.150000 153.400086, 285m, hilltopping, 21.ix.1997, J.&A. Skevington, CNC483880 (1♂, CNC); Tasmania: Flinders Island: Wingaroo flats: dragon lagoon, -39.869400 147.967000, on flowering Leptospermum, 26.iii.2014, S. Grove, CNC_ Diptera 253751; CNC_ Diptera 253754 (1♂, 1♀, TMAG).
Discussion: Psilota femoralis displays more divergence in COI sequences than other Psilota and may represent a species complex. However, no morphological characters could be found to distinguish specimens that were more similar based on COI than others, and it was therefore treated as a single species. This species has been collected on Leptospermum blossoms. The holotype of this species was unavailable for study but identified material from various collections from across Australia match the original description well.
description: Published as part of Young, Andrew D., Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Steenis, Wouter Van, 2020, Revision of the Psilota Meigen, 1822 flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Australia, pp. 1-127 in Zootaxa 4737 (1) on pages 49-51, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4737.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3669490