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Excuse the blue area on the abdomen - it was blue-black, but Olympus lenses have that magical capacity for outlining burnt-out areas in blue...

On the basis of the previously lamented (in the Syrphidae forum) Picker, Griffiths and Weaving field guide, I'm tentatively suggesting Elassogaster for this one. Very tentatively, seeing as it's the only Sepsid I've ever looked at, and so I haven't any real idea of how much variation they show. If it is a Sepsid.

EDIT - PS, other angles available if helpful

EDIT 2 - Details:

Forgot these:

Place: Chongwe District, Lusaka Province, Zambia
Habitat: Mammal Feces (Probably monkey)
Date: 03.11.2011
Size:6-9mm, probably 7mm.

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It doesn't look like a Sepsidae to me. Perhaps rather an Ulidiidae, but I am not very familiar with the African fauna.

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You're still probably a better judge than I am, so I'm updating the title to indicate an uncertainty.

Thanks.

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at least, Tephritoidea superfamily it is. I agree with Ulidiidae, not sure... but Valery/Elena can confirm this.

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Thanks, title updated to reflect broader query.

Would image from above help?

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I would like to see this fly in other angles, I never saw one like this. But for Tephritoidea nothing like having the opinion of Valery/Elena. :) I have sure about the superfamily 100%. Not so sure about the family of this one.

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Back view, if it will upload this time...

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You are right Jorge, it is a Ulidiidae.
It reminds me of an Euxesta, but apparently the only thing similar having been recorded on the outskirts of Africa is the genus Pseudeuxesta from the Seychelles. So that´s unlikely. Than the only thing remaining is the Acrosticta apicalis, which is the only species recorded from Africa and with a circumtropic distribution. I know something similar to or perhaps the real A. apicalis from South America and bith are similar, however the abdomen of your specimen seem rather elongate and slender.
So in short a preliminary id woould be Acrosticta cf apicalis, based on the catalogue of afrotropical flies published in 1980. I haven't looked for more recent literature (yet). Lets see what Valery has to say about it.
You haven´t by any chance colleted the specimen Will, have you?

Cheers,
John

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Thanks! Updating title for certainty of family and potential species. It's probably just me being amateur, but the image of [i]Elassogaster sp[i](Sepsidae) in Picker, Griffiths and weaving still seems to me to almost match it.


Sorry, I didn't collect.

Realised this shot, although not from a different angle, does show a little more of the troublesome abdomen:

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Hi Will,

I am not familiar with the fieldguide you refer to, but identifying small insects with a general fieldguide is always tricky mainly due to the small porportion that's depicted. The genus Elassogaster you refer to turns out to be a Platystomatidae. I don't know this genus, neither can I tell from this picture whether it is a Ulidiidae or a Platystomatidae. To me it looks strikingly like the genus Euxesta, both Acrosticta and Euxesta are not well separated at this moment. Anyways, perhaps Valery has more experience with the African fauna and if it turns out to be a Platystomatidae then Andrew Whittington should be able to at least id the genus,

John

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Having looked at Euxesta, and around it, and I can see what you mean. Thanks.

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Update: more recent images of very-probably-the-same-fly pointed out to be Platystomatidae, in the general area of Elassogaster, by Nosferatumyia.

Title updated as such.

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Will, the main argument that this is an Elassogaster or near, is the bcu cell, typically blunt in Platystomatidae. Also, the abdomen of your male fly is cylindrical (not in Euxesta-Acrosticta).