Melanostoma apicale
| Melanostoma apicale | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Syrphidae |
| Genus: | Melanostoma |
| Species: | M. apicale |
| Binomial name | |
| Melanostoma apicale Bigot, 1884 | |
Melanostoma apicale is a species of hoverfly in the family Syrphidae. It was described by Jacques-Marie-Frangile Bigot in 1884.[1]
Description
Melanostoma apicale can be distinguished from the closely related Melanostoma univittatum by morphological characters including the male surstylus, which tapers to a slender, acute apex. In females, the frons is mainly shiny, with two large lateral pollinose maculae whose shiny areas reach the eye margin.[1]
Distribution
The species is recorded from New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.[1][2]
Taxonomy
Melanostoma apicale has historically been confused with Melanostoma univittatum. The latter name was applied to M. apicale in some earlier records, but modern taxonomic treatment distinguishes the two species.[1][3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Ramage, Thibault; Charlat, Sylvain; Mengual, Ximo (2018). "Flower flies (Diptera, Syrphidae) of French Polynesia, with the description of two new species". European Journal of Taxonomy (448): 1–37. doi:10.5852/ejt.2018.448.
- ↑ "Australasian/Oceanian Catalog of Diptera: Syrphidae". Bishop Museum.
- ↑ "Fiji Diptera Checklist". Bishop Museum.