Meoneura yodai, Stuke, 2016

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2016, Carnidae (Diptera) in the Canadian National Collection of Insects (Ottawa), with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 4084 (4) : -

Meoneura yodai spec. nov.

(figures 22–25)

Holotype ♂: (1) "North Fork Pass / Ogilvie Mts. Y. T. / 4100' 12.VI.1962 / R. E. Leech"; (2) " CNC / 9159"; (3) Holotype / Meoneura yodai / spec. nov. ♂ / det. Stuke, 2015 ".

Holotype is deposited in the CNC. Abdomen dissected, macerated and stored in glycerine in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen. The remaining specimen is glued to the needle, the hind legs are missing and otherwise the specimen is in good condition.

Paratypes: CANADA: 1♂, 16.vi.1954, Quebec, Baie Comeau, leg. M. Giglioli ; 1♂, 7.vii.1987, Ontario, Troquois Falls , leg. J. R. Vockeroth. One paratype is deposited in the CNC and the other in the PJHS .

Description of holotype (male). Length about 1.7 mm. Wing length = 1.5 mm. Head height = 0.4 mm. Head completely black. Antenna black. Arista without pubescence. Eye without ommatrichia. Maximum eye length: maximum eye height = 0.8. Posteroventral margin of gena closest to eye margin: maximum eye height = 0.3. Frons slightly microtomentose. Frontal triangle indistinct, reaching anteriorly slightly more than half distance from anterior ocellus to frontal margin. Face slightly microtomentose. Carina narrow. Postcranium slightly microtomentose. Prementum longer and wider than labellum. Palpus brown, slightly longer than half of the haustellum. 1 pair of distinct ocellar setae. Supralunular setae cruciate. 4 fronto-orbital setae, two anterior mesoclinate, two posterior lateroclinate. 2 vertical setae. Postorbital setae parallel. 1 strong vibrissal seta. 2 supravibrissal setae, the ventral one distinctly smaller. 3 strong genal setae.

Scutum completely microtomentose and covered with black setulae. Scutellum slightly microtomentose. Pleura completely slightly microtomentose. Scutum with 1 long and obvious dorsocentral seta, additional dorsocentral setae cannot be picked out from among the scattered black setulae on the scutum. 1 long and 1 small seta on postpronotum; 1 presutural seta; 2 notopleural setae; at least 1 supraalar seta (other supralar seta or postalar seta cannot be seen due to the preparation of the specimens); 1 prescutellar seta; 1 apical and 1 lateral scutellar seta. 1 seta at posterior margin of anepisternum. 1 dorsal seta and 1 ventral seta on katepisternum. Wing completely covered with microtrichia. Costa without obvious setae beyond radial vein R1. Wing hyaline, veins light brown to white yellow. Knob of haltere whitish yellow, base of haltere light brown. Legs brown to yellow brown. Fore femur apically with 1 strong posteroventral seta. Hind femur (of paratype) apically with 1 strong anteroventral seta. Fore and middle coxae each with one strong seta.

Tergites without obvious depressions or setulae tufts. Abdominal pleura with few scattered setae on segments 4–5. Segments 1–4 narrow, width of tergite 3: length of tergite 3 = 4.0. Segment 5 longer than segment 4. Tergites 3–4 each with a short lateral seta at the posterior margin, tergite 5 with several longer setae laterally and in addition with three pairs of submedian long setae at the posterior margin. Sternite 5 hardly widened posteriorly, distinctly longer than broad. Sternite 5 with several a few long setae at the posterior margin ( Fig. 25 ). No midventral tergite 7 developed. Protandrium rudimentary, much shorter than epandrium and about 1/15 of length of tergite 5 and can be invisible in specimens that are nor macerated. Epandrium with a few setae but no outstanding strong seta ( Fig. 22 ). Maximum length dorsally in the middle of epandrium: maximum width of epandrium = 0.5. Cercus distinct, projecting beyond margin of epandrium, and with several long setulae. Subepandrial sclerites slightly sclerotized, completely fused with each other and with the hypoproct to a subepandrial plate. Subepandrial sclerites without any setulae. Hypoproct distinctly sclerotized and therefore easy to recognise; projecting laterally out of the epandrium between surstylus and cercus; with several small setulae on the laterally projecting parts. In the middle of subepandrial plate a distinct small tooth. Surstylus as figs. 22 + 23 elongated, with a slightly smaller base and rounded apically. Surstylus with several long setulae and apically with a few long setae. No lamella. Postgonite as Fig. 24 : slightly sclerotized, with a broad base, elongated, pointed, apically bent like a hook. Distiphallus elongated, longer than maximum length of epandrium. Distiphallus with dense brown setulae but no sclerotization could be found.

Variability. While the holotype has a more faded brownish appearance the paratypes are more blackish. The cercus is protruded in the holotype but less so in the paratypes.

Diagnosis. Meoneura yodai is easily recognised by the elongated surstylus with several long, anteriorly directed setae (figs. 22 + 23). The species keys out with Sabrosky (1959) to couplet 8 and could be misidentified as Meoneura vagans . Both species share the long setulose cercus ("anal lamella" sensu Sabrosky 1959) that may be protuding. However the shape of the surstylus and the setae on the surstylus of these two species are different. Due to the long setae on sternite 5 ( Fig. 25 ), the rudimentary protandrium, and the laterally protruding hypoproct ( Fig. 22 ) Meoneura yodai is close to Meoneura tinkerbellae . These two species are easily distinguished by the shape of the surstlus and the different setae on the surstylus.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Grand Master Yoda, the smallest Jedi of the Star Wars space opera. Distribution. So far Meoneura yodai is only known from Canada (Ontario, Quebec, Yukon Teritory).

Figures

FIGURES 22 – 25. Meoneura yodai spec. nov. (drawn from the paratype from Baie Comeau). 22. Lateral view of epandrium and surstylus. 23. Lateral view of surstylus. 24. Lateral view of postgonite. 25. Ventral view of sternite 4 (left) and sternite 5 (right). hp—hypoproct as part of the subepandrial plate.