Taxonomic study of the Drosophila auraria species complex (Diptera: Drosophilidae) with description of a new species

The Drosophila auraria species complex, especially from the Ryukyu archipelago and Taiwan, was reviewed. A new species, D. neoasahinai Watada and Kondo, sp. nov., was described from Okinawa-jima and surrounding islands. Two synonymies were proposed on the basis of the present and previous morphological comparisons and cross experiments: (i) D. yuwanensis Kim and Okada, 1988 as a junior synonym of D. asahinai Okada, 1964; and (ii) D. quadraria Bock and Wheeler, 1972 as a junior synonym of D. triauraria Bock and Wheeler, 1972. A laboratory stock (no. 14020–0011.01) maintained in the Drosophila Species Stock Center at the University of California, San Diego and so far designated as D. rufa Kikkawa and Peng, 1938 was identified as D. tani Cheng and Okada, 1985, based on morphology.