A review of Afrotropical Porricondylinae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), with descriptions of five new species of Asynaptini from KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Abstract

Porricondylinae, a subfamily of gall midges (Cecidomyiidae) with mycophagous larvae, are poorly researched outside Europe. Twelve species were previously named from the entire Afrotropical Region, although 500+ species are likely to occur there. Here a fresh start is made to explore the taxonomic diversity of Afrotropical Porricondylinae using a more methodical approach than was done in the past. This first contribution focuses on several representatives of the tribe Asynaptini that occur in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province. Asycampta Mamaev & Zaitzev, stat. nov., previously a synonym of Pseudocamptomyia Parnell at the subgeneric level, is instated as a valid genus. The genera Asycampta (Afrotropical), Pseudocamptomyia (Nearctic) and Zadbimyia Jaschhof & Jaschhof (Neotropical) are redefined and hypothesized to form the Pseudocamptomyia group, a monophyletic subset of Asynaptini. Asycampta is shown to contain five species: two from Somalia, the type species A. palpata Mamaev & Zaitzev and A. africana (Mamaev & Zaitzev) comb. nov., and three from South Africa, A. karkloofensis Jaschhof & Jaschhof sp. nov., A. mpofana Jaschhof & Jaschhof sp. nov., and A. umngeni Jaschhof & Jaschhof sp. nov. The genus Camptomyia Kieffer is recorded for the first time from the Afrotropics, with two new species named C. mostovskii Jaschhof & Jaschhof sp. nov. and C. kwazulunatalensis Jaschhof & Jaschhof sp. nov. Our results show that all three large subgroups of Asynaptini, namely Asynapta Loew, Camptomyia, and the Pseudocamptomyia group of genera are Afrotropical. Clinophaena Kieffer, 1913 is recognized as a new junior synonym of Winnertzia Rondani, 1860 (a genus of the subfamily Winnertziinae), and Winnertzia mahensis (Kieffer), originally described in Holoneurus Kieffer and subsequently designated as the type species of Clinophaena, is a new combination.