Brachineura australis Skuse 1890

Brachineura australis (Skuse, 1890)

[Fig. 4]

Spaniocera australis Skuse, 1890: 385.

Brachineura australis, new combination by Gagné (1989b: 156).

Material studied. Holotype male holotype (ANIC 29-38480), “ Hogan’s Brush, Narara Creek, near Gosford, N.S.W. (Skuse). One specimen in August, in dense bush”. The mounted has retained most of one wing, the first two and three flagellomeres [remaining ones missing originally (Skuse 1890)], a shrivelled head with missing palpi, thorax with parts of legs including one entire foreleg, its claws partially obscured, and the substantially compressed abdomen and terminalia.

Description. Wing 1.4 mm long, 0.6 mm wide, R4+5 4/5 wing length, Cu simple, fading apically, wingfold not apparent. Antennal flagellomeres cylindrical, second 3x longer than wide, with short necks; circumfila appressed, consisting of a continuous sinuous band along length of flagellomere and a separate, apical transverse band. Claws on foreleg apparently simple, thin, curved near midlength, empodium shorter than claws. Last abdominal segments with scales, the sclerites obscured on mount. Terminalia: gonocoxite with acute apicoventral process; gonostylus wide and microtrichose on basal half, narrow and carinate on distal half, with comb-like tooth apically; aedeagus long, strongly recurved, tapering apically; cerci large, elliptical; hypoproct broad, slightly shorter than cerci, shallowly concave distally, with apical seta on each resulting lobe.

Remarks. The terminalia are distorted on the slide mount but are nevertheless tantalizingly odd. The curved, acute apex of the gonocoxite is reminiscent of the shape of the ventrodistal lobe in Epimyia. A generally similar, greatly recurved aedeagus is also found in Epimyia, but the cerci and hypoproct in the present species are shaped as in Brachineura. The bizarre shape of the terminalia in this species insures a species identification should another specimen become available. The tarsal claws appear to lack the basal tooth, but the acromere of the only available leg is not well displayed and partially obscured on the mount. If the claws are truly simple, this species will be the first to lack toothed claws in the genus.