NOTES ON THE DROSOPHILIDAE (DIPTERA) OF TOWNSVILLE, QUEENSLAND, INCLUDING FOUR NEW AUSTRALIAN SPECIES RECORDS

In an investigation of the urban drosophilid fauna of Townsville, Queensland, 18 species were collected, 16 of them at household refuse heaps effectively acting as baits. Four of the baited species ( Drosophila bipectinata Duda, D. kikkawai Burla,.1). sp. ef. jambulina Parshad and Paika, Sphaerogastrella javana (de Meijere)) are new records for Australia. The Townsville fauna is to some extent similar in species composition to that of the north Queensland rain forests, although some species abundant in Townsville are considerably rarer in the undisturbed natural forests and, conversely, a few of the most common forest species were not detected in the city. The Townsville urban drosophilid fauna differs substantially from that of southern Australia.