McEvey: Drosophila setifemur species group 
33 
Genus Drosophila Fallen, 1823 
Subgenus Sophophora Sturtevant, 1939 
Drosophila setifemur Malloch, 1924 
Drosophila setifemur Malloch, 1924, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 
49:351. Holotype 9 and 1 paratype $ in AMS, 2paratype 
$ $ in USNM; type locality Sydney, New South Wales, 
Australia. 
Not Drosophila setifemur sensu Clark, 1957, Aust. J. Zool. 
5: 216-222; Mather, Baimai & Bock, 1969: 72; Wilson 
etal. , 1969: 215-216. 
Not Drosophila sulfurigaster (Duda, 1923) Spinulophila, 
Annls hist.-nat. Mus. natn. hung. 20: 48; Wilson et al., 
1969: 215-216. 
Drosophila (Sophophora) dispar Mather, 1955, Aust. J. 
Zool. 3: 570 (and as redescribed by Bock, 1976: 19). 
Holotype S in AMS, 24 paratypes, ex type culture, in 
AMS (including specimens once in SPHTM), ANIC, 
BMNH, QM, USNM; type locality Samford, near 
Brisbane, Queensland. New synonym. 
Type material examined. Drosophila setifemur female 
holotype (AMS K50090, registered 20 September 1924) 
and one female paratype (also registered AMS K50090, 
but given a replacement number AMS K118452 in 2005) 
(two female paratypes in USNM [see Malloch, 1924; 
Lee et al., 1956] not examined). Drosophila dispar, 
holotype S, allotype, AS S and 4 $ $ paratypes (AMS 
K67819-K67824, K233649-K233652) (16 paratypes in the 
following museums [2 S S and 29 9 in each according to 
Mather, 1955: 547]: ANIC, USNM, QM, and BMNH not 
examined); all ex type culture, founded from one or several 
females collected at Samford, southern Queensland, 22 June 
1953, W.B. Mather. These are holotypes and paratypes (see 
statement in preamble of Mather, 1955: 547) not syntypes 
as indicated by Daniels (Daniels, 1978: 440). 
Other material examined. Numerous specimens of 
Drosophila setifemur (previously det. D. dispar by Mather, 
Bock, McEvey, Parsons, McAlpine), have been examined 
in the Australian Museum, the following is a list of 
1923-2008 collecting localities arranged from lowest to 
highest latitude along Australia’s east-coast, collectors 
include D. McAlpine, P. Parsons, C. Lambkin and S. 
McEvey: 12, Mt Bellenden Ker, 17.27°S (northern-most 
record); 2, Lake Eacham, 17.28°S; 3, The Crater NP, 
17.42°S; 1, Laceys Creek, 17.85°S; 5, Paluma, 19.01°S; 
1, Mt Dalrymple Rd, 21.13°S; 2, Mary Cairncross Park, 
26.80°S; 1, Bunya Mountains, 26.85°S; 9, Mt Glorious, 
27.33°S; 22, Samford, 27.37°S; 3, Joalah NP, 27.90°S; 1, 
Tamborine Mountain, 27.92°S; 3, Cunninghams Gap NP, 
28.05°S; 120, Lamington NP, 28.14°S; 3, Binna Burra NP, 
28.18°S; 1, Bilambil, 28.22°S; 3, Mt Warning NP, 28.40°S; 
6, Toonumbar SF, 28.47°S; Tooloom Range, 28.48°S; Dome 
Mountain, 28.48°S; 1, Huonbrook, 28.53°S; 1, Whian Whian 
SF, 28.60°S; 8, Terania Creek, 28.67°S; Richmond Range, 
28.81°S; Gibraltar Range, 29.47°S; Lowanna, 30.07°S; 1, 
Moonpar SF, 30.22°S; Bruxner Park, 30.24°S; 3, Dorrigo NP, 
30.33°S; 1, Dingo Tops FP, 31.65°S; 1, Upper Allyn River, 
32.13°S; Wootton, 32.31°S; 100+, Stroud garden, 32.41°S; 
2, Mungo Brush, 32.53°S; 1, Palm Grove, 33.33°S; 4, Mount 
Wilson, 33.50°S; 1, Kurrajong, 33.55°S; 1, Mt Boyce, 
33.62°S; 6, Springwood, 33.70°S; 3, Sydney, 33.88°S; 3, 
Palm Creek, 34.10°S; 5, Royal NP, 34.10°S; 1, Otford, 
34.22°S; 2, Mt Keira, 34.40°S; 6, Mt Saddleback, 34.68°S; 
3, Kangaroo Valley, 34.73°S; 1, Monga, 35.58°S; 10, Boyds 
Creek, 37.43°S; 1, Kinglake, 37.53°S; 1, Naghi SF, 37.55°S; 
1, Hurstbridge, 37.63°S; 1, The Narrows, 37.88°S 147.97°E; 
1, Ferntree Gully, 37.88°S 145.30°E (southern most 
Australian record, and western most Victorian record). 
Redescription (based on Drosophila setifemur —McEvey 
Reg 25302, AMS K259065 male). Carina prominent but 
relatively narrow, ridged (ridge narrower in males, slightly 
broader in females). Thorax uniformly mid to dark brown. 
Male fore-femur plump with dense brush of erect hairs 
below; fore-metatarsus with a single, short, weak, curved, 
apical tooth; second tarsal segment with a similar tooth. 
Female fore-femur lacking dense brush and not unusually 
swollen; fore-tarsi without apical teeth. Abdomen glossy, 
blackish-brown, pale basally becoming black apically. 
Body length, c. 2.5 mm. 
Head. Arista with 4-5 branches above and 3 below plus 
terminal fork. Front very slightly broader than long, 
shining yellowish-brown; third antennal segment brownish; 
periorbital bands enclosing orbital and vertical bristles 
darker; ocellar triangle darker. Facial carina sharp and high, 
not broadened nor flattened below, lowest between antennal 
segments, highest and slightly pointed, in middle of face. 
Lower part of face distinctly darker than gena. Gena linear, 
pale; greatest width 0.1 greatest diameter of eye. Vibrissae 
duplicated, second about 0.9 of first. Eyes with dense fine 
pile. Orbital bristles in ratio 4: 1:4; anterior reclinate fine, 
about equidistant between the proclinate and posterior 
reclinate, and slightly lateral to proclinate. 
Thorax. Uniformly mid to dark brown, not vittate; lower part 
of postpronotum slightly paler. Acrostichal hairs in 8 irregular 
rows in front of dorsocentral bristles, 4-6 rows between 
dorsocentrals. Ratio anterior to posterior dorsocentrals 
0.6. Prescutellars absent. Sterno-index 0.5-0.6. Legs pale 
yellowish-brown. Sex-comb of male consists only of 2 weak 
and slightly curved teeth, 1 apically on metatarsus, the second 
apically on 2nd tarsal segment (Bock, 1976: 19); because 
these teeth are so weakly developed, Mather (1955) is perhaps 
justified in describing this condition as “no sex comb”. Both 
Bock (1976: 19) and Mather (1955: 571) refer to preapical 
bristles being on all tibiae; and apicals only on the mid-tibia, 
but I can find no clearly differentiated preapical setae on the 
fore tibiae in any of the males examined in this study. 
Male fore-femur: plump, with numerous, fine, erect setulae 
brush-like on entire lower surface (Fig. 3); anteroventrally 
with no seriate spinescent setulae (cf. sulfurigaster males 
and females, compare Fig. 3 and Figs. 8, 11). 
Female fore-femur, posteroventrally with a row of setae 
in slightly more than apical half (Figs. 1 and 4), all setae 
subequal in length, evenly spaced and shorter than or equal 
to the femoral diameter. In describing the holotype female 
Malloch wrote (1924: 351), and it is here confirmed, that 
the “fore-femur [is] with short closely placed fine setulae 
on more than the apical half of posteroventral surface, the 
