Review of the Middle Eastern species of Sphecapatodes Villeneuve, 1912 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) with the description of a new species

Abstract

Sphecapatodes freidbergi Verves & Khrokalo, sp. n. is described based on 16 male specimens from Israel. A short characterisation of the genus Sphecapatodes and of the monotypic subtribe Arabiscina, a key, comments on the two Middle Eastern species (S. freidbergi and S. ornata Villeneuve, 1912), and a list of all seven known species are given. All species of the genus are distributed in the Palaearctic region, mainly in desert areas. A review of the larval trophic connections of species of the tribe Phyllotelini is also given.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:433F0F29-B6AF-4D92-9F53-F6BBE970C6B8

Keywords:

• Sarcophagidae
• Sphecapatodes
• new species
• Middle East
• identification key

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgements

We are most grateful to Prof. Krzystof Szpila, Instytut Ekologii i Ochrony Srodowiska, Torun, Poland, for kindly preparing all the photos and for permission to publish them. Thanks are also due to Prof. Amnon Freidberg (TAU) and Mr. Nigel Wyatt (NHMUK) for their kindness in sending material, and special thanks to Mr. Andrian Pont (Oxford University, England) for linguistic support.