The Musca sorbens complex: The relative status of the Australian and two African populations

Abstract

The work of the late F. van Emden (1939) suggested that a single species, M. sorbens, extended from the Southern Palaearctic Region, through the Ethiopian and Oriental Regions, to the Australasian Region. Morphological and distributional evidence is provided here to show that two forms are widespread in Africa, both of which would have been identified as M. sorbens by van Emden; one, characterized by a relatively narrow male frons, is morphologically very similar to the bushfly of Australia. However, the bushfly is largely reproductively isolated from both African forms under laboratory conditions. A detailed study using morphometric and genetical methods indicates that only a single form occurs in Australia. An assessment of available evidence pertinent to the problem indicates that the three forms so far distinguished are probably distinct biological species.