Diptera.info

Posted by Jan Willem on 28-07-2018 14:12

This Scathophagidae was collected at light in "De Kaaistoep" (Tilburg, the Netherlands) on July 14th.
It is a specimen in 70% ethanol.

Could this be Saziphora?

Posted by johnes81 on 28-07-2018 19:30

Ozerov has a document about this genus:

http://zmmu.msu.r...20Inet.pdf

the acute apex of the antennae, bare arista and spatulate palpi match the description. Dr. Ozerov says only one strong katepisternal is present. I see a second bristle but i can't tell where it is coming from.

Anyway, only Spaziphora hydromyzina is recorded for Germany and the surstyli don't match the photo in Ozerov's work. The surstyli look more like S. cincta but they are missing the curve. Maybe you find a new species.

I can write to Ozerov and ask him to look at this post for you.

Posted by Jan Willem on 29-07-2018 04:46

Thank you for your response and for the PDF of the paper of Ozerov. It would be great if you could ask Dr. Ozerov to have a look at this post!
The difference in shape of the surstyli might also be caused by a different angle under which the picture has been taken.
This is the first time I have seen a specimen of this genus, so I'm not at all familiar.

Posted by johnes81 on 29-07-2018 10:00

Hello Jan,

I have sent an email to Dr. Ozerov. I've asked him to look at this thread. I know he is busy, so we will wait. I've told him that i suspect Spaziphora cincta male.

I have no experience with Spaziphora. I've never seen one before. I have alot of experience with various genitalia. I know most of the quirks and i've learned alot about matching genitalia to drawings. Sometimes drawings are made while the genitalia is still attached to the abdomen and sometimes drawings are made after dissection. Sometimes dissection alters the physics of the genitalia, thus creating a curve or otherwise different perspective. I often ask an expert in such situations just to be sure that i am correct. Sometimes a curve is important and it isn't angle.

I am aware that it is possible to discover a new species from this genus. Anyway, if it is S. cincta, then it should be a first record for you. I know that it isn't recorded for Germany.

Best wishes,
John

Posted by Jan Willem on 29-07-2018 10:24

Thank you John,

As far as I can judge it does seem to be closer to S. hydromyzina. Furthermore, S. cincta is a species with a Nearctic distribution. But let's wait and see what Dr. Ozerov has to say about it.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Jan Willem

Edited by Jan Willem on 29-07-2018 10:24

Posted by johnes81 on 29-07-2018 10:52

Hello Jan,

S. hydromyzina is the only one recorded for our area. I don't have the specimen, which complicates the matter for me. The distribution of hairs match S. hydromyzina but the overall appearance is off. Dr. Ozerov has a perfect lateral view, so perhaps it is just a matter of angle and not being dissected. We will see what he has to say. I always dissect genitalia and sometimes it looks completely different after dissection.