Friday, November 17, 2023

[Entomology • 2023] Conosiphon ianus • A New Species of the Genus Conosiphon Becker, 1923 (Diptera: Asilidae) and the first records of this genus for Europe


Conosiphon ianus Álvarez Fidalgo & van den Broek, 

in van den Broek, Álvarez Fidalgo & Smit, 2023.

Abstract
A new species of Conosiphon Becker, 1923, Conosiphon ianus Álvarez Fidalgo & van den Broek, sp. nov., is described from Spain, representing the first record of this genus for Europe. It is illustrated in high-resolution photographs and the first ecological information is provided, as well as a key to all species tentatively placed in this genus.

Key words: Almería, Asilinae, endemic, Iberian Peninsula, identification key, Spain

Conosiphon ianus Álvarez Fidalgo & van den Broek, sp. nov. 
Female in its natural habitat, Aguadulce (Roquetas de Mar), Almería, Spain, 7-XII-2015.
Photograph: Piluca Álvarez Fidalgo.

Conosiphon ianus Álvarez Fidalgo & van den Broek, sp. nov.
Male (dark-winged form) in its natural habitat, Aguadulce (Roquetas de Mar), Almería, Spain, 7-XII-2015.
Photograph: Piluca Álvarez Fidalgo.

 Conosiphon ianus Álvarez Fidalgo & van den Broek, sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Head proportionally large; facial protuberance strong and prominent, occupying most of the face, its upper margin very well developed, more than in any other species of Conosiphon; ventral macrosetae of fore femora absent, only long and thin setae present; macrosetae of mystax very dense and at least as long as the antennae, or longer; legs entirely dark, only basal part of the tibiae narrowly pale coloured; acrostichal macrosetae long and abundant. Hypopygium with a small and pointy epandrial lobe on the dorsal inner side, just before the apex. Hypandrium with a blunt projection on hind margin.

Etymology: The new species is named after the Roman deity Janus for two reasons: on the one hand, because Janus gives the name to the month of January, the peculiar flight period (mainly December and January) of this robber fly, and on the other hand, because Janus is represented showing two faces, expressed in C. ianus by the presence of two colour forms (clear-winged and dark-winged). The name ianus should be treated as a noun in apposition (ICZN 1999).


Reinoud van den Broek, Piluca Álvarez Fidalgo and John Smit. 2023. A New Species of the Genus Conosiphon Becker, 1923 and the first records of this genus for Europe (Diptera, Asilidae). ZooKeys. 1181: 59-79. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1181.105663