Paragus (Serratoparagus) capricorni Stuckenberg 1954

Subgenus Serratoparagus:
The Paragus serratus-group was defined by Stuckenberg (1954), and was erected as the subgenus Paragus (Serratoparagus) by Vujic et al. (2008).
Diagnosis: eyes with vertical vittae of pile; face with distinct facial tubercle; scutum usually with long, submedian pollinose vittae reaching the posterior margin; scutellum with conspicuous teeth on posterior margin; spurious vein ending before meeting point of vein M1 with DM; abdomen short and elliptical; tergum 1 large, longer than distance between its posterior margin and the posterior margin of tergum 2; terga 1–5 completely fused, at least laterally; the posterior margins of terga 3 (female) and 4 (in both sexes) visible except laterally.

Paragus (Serratoparagus) capricorni:
Stripes of hair on eyes moderately distinct, and each outer stripe broadly interrupted in the middle.
The thorax is dull black, generally lacks coloured reflections, and is quite heavily punctate.
Scutellum fusoous on basal half, slightly paler medially, and with apical half of the same yellow aa the face. Fourteen yellowish-brown, prominent scutellar teeth present, each tipped with brown
Abdomen broad, uniformly red-brown except for the shoulders which are piceous, sometimes the fourth segment is a little dark, rarely the whole abdomen black, never with a distinct patch of lighter colour over the second and third segments. The three pairs of white vittae distinct, and not meeting in the median line.

Original description & illustrations in:
Stuckenberg, B.R. 1954. The Paragus serratus complex, with descriptions of new species (Diptera: Syrphidae). Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 105.
https://sci-hub.st/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.1954.tb00770.x

Distribution Afrotropical, type locality: Zimbabwe.

iNat observation:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/199481237

Posted on 17 February, 2024 10:58 by traianbertau