Discovery of Setihercostomus Zhang et Yang in the Afrotropical Region <br />(Diptera: Dolichopodidae)

Abstract

Setihercostomus Zhang et Yang, 2005 is separated from the genus Hercostomus Loew, 1857, by the following combination of characters: clypeus short and narrow, not reaching lower margin of eyes, bearing one pair of strong bristles in both sexes; pteropleuron (= anepimeron) with group of fine hairs in front of posterior spiracle; male cercus large and thick, nearly as long as epandrium (Zhang & Yang 2005). Prior to this study, the genus has been recorded from the Palaearctic and Oriental regions (Zhang & Yang 2005; Yang et al. 2011), with two species from Oriental China, one known from both Palaearctic and Oriental China, one from Taiwan, and one from the Far East of Russia (Primorskii Territory). A female specimen of Setihercostomus has been recorded from Slovakia (Pollet 2009), which may be conspecific with S. setifacies (Stackelberg 1933) from the Russian Far East. Recently the senior author examined new material from Tanzania in the collection of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen (ZMUC). A male of Hercostomus scharffi Grichanov, 1999, was found, bearing characters not listed in the original description (setose clypeus and haired anepimeron), but fully corresponding with the generic diagnosis of Setihercostomus (Yang et al. 2011). Therefore, we propose a new generic combination for this species and consequently Setihercostomus is newly reported from the Afrotropical Region. Setihercostomus scharffi (Grichanov), comb. nov.

New species of Hercostomus Loew, 1857 from Afrotropics (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) and key to Afrotropical fauna

“…Later Grichanov (2010) separated one of those groups as a new genus, Afrohercostomus Grichanov, 2010, and another species group as a new genus, Neohercostomus Grichanov, 2011 (Grichanov, 2011a). Hercostomus scharffi Grichanov, 1999 was transferred to the genus Setihercostomus Zhang & Yang, 2005(Grichanov et al, 2014. Presently 23 (excluding three doubtful) species of Hercostomus, 14 species of Afrohercostomus, 21 species of Neohercostomus and one species of Setihercostomus are known from the Afrotropics (Grichanov 2018;this paper).…”