© The Author, 2009. Journal compilation © Australian Museum, Sydney, 2009 
Records of the Australian Museum (2009) Vol. 61: 31-38. ISSN 0067-1975 
doi: 10.3853/j.0067-1975.61.2009.1517 
Taxonomic Review of the Australian 
Drosophila setifemur Species Group, a New Name for the 
D. dispar Species Group (Diptera: Drosophilidae) 
Shane F. McEvey 
Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia 
Shane.McEvey@austmus.gov.au 
Abstract. Examination of the holotype and a paratype of Drosophila setifemur Malloch, 1924 in the 
Australian Museum has resulted in the discovery that it is not a synonym of D. sulfurigaster as had 
previously been assumed. Instead, D. setifemur is a senior synonym of the widespread eastern Australian 
species D. dispar Mather, 1955. The so-called Drosophila dispar species group is renamed the Drosophila 
setifemur species group and Drosophila unguicula is removed from it. An illustrated key to Australian 
drosophilids with spinescent fore-femora is provided. 
McEvey, Shane F., 2009. Taxonomic review of the Australian Drosophila setifemur species group, a new name for 
the D. dispar species group (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Records of the Australian Museum 61(1): 31-38. 
The genus Drosophila accommodates a great range of 
drosophilids, with numerous aggregations at various 
levels between genus and species (viz. subgenus, species 
group, subgroup, complex, etc.). A rapidly growing body 
of knowledge is allowing us to know with ever increasing 
certainty the true genetic relationship between species. But 
ultimately, even when the tree that relates every lab strain 
and every field-sampled specimen is known with a high 
level of confidence, there will remain the task of affixing the 
taxonomically valid names to each of those samples and to 
biological species. 
Drosophila currently has c. 1,600 described species; c. 
350 are classified with D. melanogaster in the subgenus 
Sophophora, and another c. 730 species are treated as 
Drosophila s.str. Nearly all are attracted to fruit baits and can 
be established as cultures in the laboratory. The following 
synonymy involves Drosophila dispar Mather, 1955: 570 
(a species in the dispar species group of the Drosophila 
subgenus Sophophora) and D. setifemur Malloch, 1924: 
351 (a species incorrectly classified as synonymous with 
D. sulfurigaster (Duda, 1923: 48) in the nasuta subgroup, 
immigrans species group of Drosophila s.str.). 
Removing D. setifemur from synonymy with D. sulfuri¬ 
gaster and placing it in synonymy with D. dispar leads 
to a need to rename the Drosophila dispar species group 
(established by Mather, 1955). 
Historical overview 
When Malloch examined four specimens collected in 
Sydney, he found they were members of a new species 
which he named Drosophila setifemur —a fly with distinctive 
setation on both the posterior and anterior faces of the fore¬ 
femur. They were all females and the importance of this 
will become apparent below because there is marked sexual 
dimorphism in this species. In 1942, Patterson & Wheeler 
described D. spinofemora from a live culture originating 
from Honolulu, they used spinofemora as a name to denote 
distinctive but very short femoral spines. Yet another 
species, the widespread, peridomestic species D. immigrans 
Sturtevant, 1921: 83 also has a distinctive series of closely 
spaced femoral spines—seriate spinescent setulae. Patterson 
& Wheeler (1949) placed D. spinofemora , together with D. 
setifemur and 16 other species, in the immigrans species 
