Drosophilidae (Insecta: Diptera) of Three Torres Strait Islands, With Description of a New Species of Drosophila.

Abstract

Drosophilidae were collected from three Torres Strait islands: Thursday, Moa and Mount Adolphus. A total of 17 species of the six genera Drosophila, Mycodrosophila, Lissocephala, Sphaerogastrella, Microdrosophila and Leucophenga were collected, the largest island having the most diverse fauna. The new Torres Strait records given here extend the known distributions of several Australian species and link the ranges of other species found in Australia with south-east Asian records. A new species of the subgenus Scaptodrosophila, Drosophila moana, is described. An unidentified taxon of the south-east Asian nmuta subgroup, possessing entire frontal pollinosity, is also recorded.