Suragina Walker 1859

Suragina Walker, 1859 Suragina Walker, 1859: 110. Type species. Suragina illucens Walker, 1859 by monotypy. Diagnosis. Suragina is most similar to the genus Atrichops with which it shares elongated legs and the hind coxa with a stout apical point or spine-like projection on its anteroventral surface. Similarly, Atrichops is also haematophagous, with well-developed mandibles. However, Atrichops has a knoblike proepimeral process (somewhat reduced in Afrotropical species) that is absent in Suragina. Additionally, Suragina has its frons usually contrasting velvety-black on the upper half and silvery-grey on the lower half (especially evident in ♀), whereas the frons in Atrichops is more concolorous. The antennal bases are comparatively widely separated in Suragina, and close together in Atrichops. Suragina typically has a tibial spur ratio of 0: 2: 2 (1: 2: 2 in some specimens of S. binominata (Bequaert, 1921)), while Atrichops has a ratio of 0: 1: 2. There is also a substantial difference in the morphology of the male terminalia, with Suragina having the gonostylus inserted apically and the parameral sheath simple apically, compared to Atrichops having the gonostylus inserted subapically, sometimes even medially on the gonocoxite (e. g. Atrichops intermedius Muller, 2023 in Muller et al. 2023) and the parameral sheath ending with outward projections. Woodley (2017: 887) provided a key to the known genera of Afrotropical Athericidae. Key to the Afrotropical species of Suragina Walker (excluding S. disciclara and S. pilitarsis)