Drosophila (Sophophora) malagassya Tsacas & Rafael 1982

Drosophila (Sophophora) malagassya Tsacas & Rafael, 1982

Figs 1–2, 4 C–D, 5B, 6C–D

Drosophila (Sophophora) malagassya Tsacas & Rafael, 1982: 86.

Diagnosis

Male and female body pigmentation including halters and legs yellow (Fig. 4 C–D); male abdominal tergites T2, T5 and T6 completely black; T3 and T4 with a broad black stripes not expanding towards the margins (Fig. 4C); dorsalmost surstylus prensiseta on the same axis with remaining prensisetae; hypandrial median process strongly pointed; aedeagus spatulate (Fig. 5B); female T2 almost entirely black, T3 and T4 with a broad black stripe and an expanding grayish area on the margin, T5 with a black stripe but no grayish area (Fig. 4B); oviscapt fourth posterior peg-like outer ovisensillum on the same axis with the third and fifth ovisensilla (Fig. 6C), with anterior ovisensilla short and thick (Fig. 6D).

Type material

Holotype

MADAGASCAR • ♂; Antananarivo, Botanical and Zoological Garden of Tsimbazaza; 18°55′ S, 47°31′ E; Sep. 1980; D. Lachaise leg.; MNHN.

Other material examined

MADAGASCAR • 5 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; Andasibe; 17°20′ S, 48°54′ E; 16–17 Feb. 2008 (ex-laboratory strain Jul. 2014); J.R. David & A. Yassin leg.; ZUAC.

Description

As in Tsacas & Rafael (1982).

Distribution

Madagascar (endemic).

Remarks

The species was described from a laboratory strain collected from the Tsimbazaza Botanical Park in Antananarivo in 1980. With Jean R. David and Vincent Debat, we collected it in 2008 and 2010 from Andasibe, Mandraka and Ranomafana. Rafael (1984) showed that D. malagassya crossed readily with a Cameroonian strain attributed to D. bakoue, producing sterile F 1 males and females, and to a lesser degree with D. tsacasi, producing a few or unviable F1 flies. David et al. (2014) suggested the presence of D. malagassya on the island of Mayotte (Comoros archipelago), but the Mayotte strain turned out to be D. seguyi. The females of D. malagassya have two color morphs (Yassin et al. 2016).