Drosophila (Sophophora) novitskii Sulerud and Miller, 1966

Grimaldi, David A., 2024, The Drosophila (Sophophora) obscura species group in the Americas (Diptera: Drosophilidae): review, revisions, and three new species, American Museum Novitates 2024 (4015), pp. 1-44 : 30

Drosophila (Sophophora) novitskii Sulerud and Miller

Drosophila novitskii Sulerud and Miller, 1966: 470 .

DIAGNOSIS: Males very distinctive, sex comb on ta1 having 6–8 teeth and ta2 having none, length of ta1 1.2× that of ta2; surstylus unique among New World species in lacking row of prensisetae; testes short and elliptical (vs. coiled).

TYPE: Sulerud and Miller (1966) reported the only specimens, from the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, in Gothic , Gunnison Co., Colorado, which is at an elevation of ca. 2900 m. I am unaware of any specimens that exist for this species, including the ones reported by these authors .

SPECIMENS EXAMINED: None.

DISTRIBUTION: Known only from the type locality in Colorado .

COMMENTS: Drosophila alpina Burla , a Palearctic boreal-alpine species that was beautifully redescribed by Baechli et al. (2004), is another member of the obscura group that lacks a row of prensisetae on the surstylus. Drosophila alpina , however, has sex combs typical of the obscura subgroup , with ta1 and ta2 each having more than 10 teeth. Despite the unusual surstyli, D. novitskii and D. alpina are clearly unrelated.