66 
Records of the Australian Museum (2012) Vol. 64 
Description (male). Resembling H. bickeli in most 
characters except as indicated below. Females may agree in 
general characters, which may not be absolutely diagnostic. 
Coloration. Antennal segment 3 orange-tawny, with 
small, diffuse brown dorsal zone not extending to apex, more 
developed than in H. bickeli , less so than in H. obliqua and 
H. macalpinei. Fore femur with largely tawny-orange ground 
colour, its anterior surface with large dark brown apical 
zone and broad brown sub-basal zone usually incompletely 
separated from apical zone, posterior surface with variable 
coverage of grey pruinescence and usually only indistinct 
brownish apical spot; fore tarsus with segment 3 dark brown 
on at least distal half, segments 4 and 5 entirely dark brown; 
hind tibia with sub-basal slightly diffuse brown zone. 
Head. Height of cheek c. 0.26-0.35 of height of eye. 
Thorax. Pteropleuron and hypopleuron without setulae. 
Wing essentially as described for H. bickeli. 
Abdomen. Pleural membrane without setulae in region 
of spiracle 1; sternite 1 vestigial, without setulae; stemite 
5 resembling that of H. bickeli ; surstylus shaped somewhat 
as in H. bickeli , but broader, less strongly narrowed near 
mid-length, more rounded distally, with similar sub-basal 
posterior marginal tubercle more deeply inset from outer 
surface of surstylus. 
Dimensions. Total length 4.8-5.9 mm; length of thorax 
2.3-3.2 mm; length of wing, 5.0-6.9 mm. 
Distribution. New South Wales: highlands from Boyd 
Plateau southwards. Australian Capital Territory: Canberra 
district. Victoria: perhaps widely distributed (few records). 
Tasmania: apparently widely distributed. 
Notes 
Helosciomyza steyskali is one of those species of the 
fuscinevris group having no setulae on the pteropleuron, 
hypopleuron, and abdominal sternite 1. Within this category, 
it differs rather markedly from H. obliqua, H. macalpinei 
and H. australica in the only slightly developed dark zone 
on antennal segment 3, but is less clearly differentiated 
from H. subacuta. Helosciomyza steyskali can usually be 
distinguished from H. subacuta by the broad brown sub-basal 
zone on the anterior surface of the fore femur, but the sharpest 
difference is in the shape of the surstylus of the male (Fig. 
23). Helosciomyza steyskali differs from H. bickeli (with 
which it has been confused under the erroneous name H. 
ferruginea) in the absence of setulae on the hypopleuron 
and stemite 1, in the broad brown anterior zone extending 
near the base on the fore femur, and in the broader surstylus 
with an extensive tract of microtrichia. 
Three of the paratypes from Boyd River vicinity are 
labelled “Nr dead chook” (i.e. domestic fowl). 
The specific epithet refers to George C. Steyskal, who first 
accurately characterized and delimited the helosciomyzids 
(at subfamily level, 1965) and made the first review of the 
Australian species (1979, with L. Knutson). 
Helosciomyza obliqua n.sp. 
Fig. 24 
Type material. Holotype S- New South Wales: Boyd River 
[Morong Creek] crossing, Kanangra-Boyd National Park, 
2-4.iv.2002, B.J.D., D.K.M. (AM K263399); mounted on 
micro-pin through polypoms, postabdomen in micro-vial 
on main pin. Paratypes. New South Wales: 1$, same data 
as holotype (AM); 1$, Wright’s Lookout, New England 
National Park, March 1961, D.K.M. (AM); 1$, Wentworth 
Falls, Blue Mountains, Jan. 1963, D.K.M. (AM, erroneously 
determined as paratype of H. macalpinei by G. Steyskal). 
Victoria: 2$$, Mount Donna Buang, near summit, 
Warburton district, April 2003, B.J.D., D.K.M. (AM, MV). 
Description (male, female). Resembling H. macalpinei 
and H. bickeli, agreeing with description of latter except as 
indicated below. 
Coloration. Antennal segment 3 in large part dark brown 
to blackish (unfaded specimens), on outer lateral surface 
with ventrobasal tawny-orange zone, on medial surface with 
tawny-orange zone restricted to c. basal third. Mesopleuron 
with tawny-orange mark of very variable extent. Fore 
femur on anterior surface with extensive sub-basal brown 
zone, distally narrowly or incompletely separated from 
apical brown zone, on posterior surface largely mid-grey 
(colour resulting from pale grey pruinescence over darker 
brown cuticle), darker just before apex, or with posterior 
surface paler yellow grey with darker subapical zone, or, 
in one specimen with nebulous mid grey zone on basal 
half separated from distal grey zone by yellow-grey zone, 
approximately as in typical specimens of H. macalpinei; fore 
tarsus with segment 3 dark brown on distal part. 
Head. Cheek c. 0.28-0.37 as high as eye. 
Thorax. Hypopleuron without setulae; proepimeral bristle 
present, minute, in all available males. Mid femur with comb 
of posteroventral setulae weakly developed; hind basitarsus 
lacking basal ventral cluster of short black setulae. 
Abdomen. Sternite 1 much reduced, without setulae; 
sternite 5 of male with paired zones of dense, thick setulae 
broader than in H. bickeli and H. macalpinei, often more or 
less meeting on median line. Male postabdomen: epandrium 
with posterior margin broadly subangularly prominent 
above and behind articulation with surstylus; surstylus (Fig. 
24) with oblique basal articular margin, without sub-basal 
posterior process and noticeable excision of inner basal 
margin, almost parallel-sided beyond base, distal margin 
indistinctly toothed, oblique so as to be more prominent 
(though rounded) anterodistally (in contrast to H. subacuta ), 
not or very obtusely angular posterodistally. 
Dimensions. Total length, S —no available measurement 
(all males having abdomen dissected), fijj 5.1 mm; length of 
thorax, S 2.2-3.0 mm, $ 2.7 mm; length of wing, S 5.4-6.6 
mm, $ 5.8 mm. 
Distribution. New South Wales and Victoria: cooler areas 
from New England National Park to Warburton district. 
Records few and scattered. 
Notes 
Among the species of th e fuscinevris group with extensively 
darkened antennal segment 3, males of H. obliqua are most 
readily distinguished by the shape of the epandrium and 
surstylus (see details above and Fig. 24). Also H. obliqua 
generally has a proepimeral bristle or setula (often minute), 
which is usually absent in H. macalpinei but may be present 
or absent in H. australica. Coloration of the posterior surface 
of the fore femur is variable in H. obliqua, but the separate 
distinct posterodorsal dark grey mark generally present in H. 
macalpinei is usually less distinct or absent in H. obliqua; 
on the often concealed anterior surface the extensive brown 
