Taxonomic revision of the Afrotropical genus Megatrigon Johnson, 1898 (Diptera: Syrphidae)

  • Dieter Doczkal Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich
  • Snežana Radenković University of Novi Sad, Department of Biology and Ecology, Trg Dositeja Obradovica 2, 21000 Novi Sad
  • Leif Lyneborg Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen
  • Thomas Pape Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2016.238
Keywords: Afrotropical, Megatrigon, Merodontini, Syrphidae, taxonomy

Abstract

The genus-group taxon Megatrigon Johnson, 1898, stat. nov., is revised and treated as a valid genus within the Merodontini (= Eumerini). Extensive diagnoses are given for the genus and for its three constituent species groups: argenteus group [11 spp.], nivalis group [monotypic], sexfasciatus group [3 spp.]. Five new generic combinations are proposed within Megatrigon: M. argenteus (Walker, 1852) comb. nov., M. flavimarginatus (Hull, 1964) comb. nov., M. jacobi (Hervé-Bazin, 1913) comb. nov., M. nivalis (Hull, 1964) comb. nov. and M. ochreatus (Hull, 1964) comb. nov. All species of the argenteus group are revised and nine new species are described: Megatrigon apiformis sp. nov., M. argentifrons sp. nov., M. argentimaculatus sp. nov., M. cooksoni sp. nov., M. immaculatus sp. nov., M. magnicornis sp. nov., M. natalensis sp. nov., M. sexmaculatus sp. nov., M. tabanoides sp. nov. Within the sexfasciatus group, M. jacobi (Hervé-Bazin, 1913) comb. nov. is treated as a senior synonym of Eumerus connexus Hull, 1964 syn. nov., but no further work is done at the species level due to insufficient material.

References

Doczkal D. & Pape T. 2009. Lyneborgimyia magnifica gen. et sp. n. (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Tanzania, with a phylogenetic analysis of the Eumerini using new morphological characters. Systematic Entomology 34: 559–573. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.2009.00478.x

Hippa H. & Ståhls G. 2005. Morphological characters of adult Syrphidae: descriptions and phylogenetic utility. Acta Zoologica Fennica 215: 1–72.

Hull F.M. 1964. Diptera (Brachycera): Syrphidae. South African Animal Life 10: 443–496.

Johnson C.W. 1898. Diptera collected by Dr. A. Donaldson Smith in Somaliland, eastern Africa. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia 50: 157–164. Available from http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26368835 [accessed 6 Sep. 2016]

Macquart P.-J.-M. 1855. Diptères exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus. 5.e supplément. N.E. Roret, Paris. Available from http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35274626 [accessed 14 Oct. 2016]

Manning J.C., Goldblatt P. & Snijman D. 2002. The Color Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs. Timber press, Cambridge, UK.

McAlpine J.F. 1981. Morphology and Terminology – Adults. In: McAlpine J.F., Peterson B.V., Shewell G.E., Teskey H.J., Vockeroth J.R. & Wood D.M. (eds) Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Vol. 1: 9–63. Monograph No. 27, Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa.

Pape T. & Thompson F.C. (eds) 2010. Systema Dipterorum, version 1.5. Available from http://www.diptera.org [accessed 21 June 2015].

Ricarte A., Marcos-García M.Á. & Rotheray G.E. 2008. The early stages and life histories of three Eumerus and two Merodon species (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the Mediterranean region. Entomologica Fennica 19: 129–141.

Rotheray G.E. & Gilbert F.S. 2011. The natural history of hoverflies. Forrest Text, Tresaith, Wales, UK.

Shannon R.C. (1927) A new genus and five new species of Syrphidae from Australia (Diptera). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 29: 82–87. Available from http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16195913 [accessed 17 Oct. 2016]

Sinclair B.J. 2000. Morphology and terminology of Diptera male terminalia. In: Papp L. & Darvas B. (eds) Contributions to a manual of Palaearctic Diptera (with special reference to flies of economic importance), Vol. 1: 53–74. Science Herald Press, Budapest.

Smith K.G.V. & Vockeroth J.R. 1980. Family Syrphidae. In: Crosskey R.W. (ed.) Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afrotropical Region: 488–510. British Museum (Natural History), London.

Speight M.C.D. 1987. External morphology of adult Syrphidae (Diptera). Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 130: 141–175.

Speight M.C.D. 2014. Species accounts of European Syrphidae (Diptera), 2014. Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae, vol. 78, Syrph the Net publications, Dublin.

Ssymank A., Kearns C.A., Pape T. & Thomson F.C. 2008. Pollinating flies (Diptera): A major contribution to plant diversity and agricultural production. Tropical Conservancy 9: 86–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14888386.2008.9712892

Stuckenberg B.R. 1999. Antennal evolution in the Brachycera (Diptera), with a reassessment of the terminology relating to the flagellum. Studia dipterologica 6: 33–48.

Walker F. 1852. Diptera. Part III. In: Insecta Saundersiana: or Characters of Undescribed Insects in the Collection of William Wilson Saunders, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. Vol. 1: 157–252. Van Voorst, London. http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.5112

Published
2016-10-20
How to Cite
Doczkal, D., Radenković, S., Lyneborg, L., & Pape, T. (2016). Taxonomic revision of the Afrotropical genus Megatrigon Johnson, 1898 (Diptera: Syrphidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, (238). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2016.238
Issue
No. 238 (2016): Taxonomic revision of the Afrotropical genus Megatrigon Johnson, 1898 (Diptera: Syrphidae)
Section
Entomology
Copyright (c) 2016 Dieter Doczkal, Snežana Radenković, Leif Lyneborg, Thomas Pape

Creative Commons Copyright Notices

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are NOT ALLOWED TO post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to taxonomic issues.