Paramimegralla nigra Barraclough

Marshall, Stephen A., 2017, Micropezidae (Insecta, Diptera, Acalyptratae) of Madagascar and a revision of the genus Paramimegralla Hennig, Zootaxa 4290 (2), pp. 244-280 : 260-263

Paramimegralla nigra Barraclough

Figs 40 ̄48

Paramimegralla nigra Barraclough, 1992: 7

Paramimegralla stuckenbergi Barraclough 1992: 8 , New synonym

Redescription. Length 10̄ 15 mm. Ground colour dull black, densely microsetulose; male with face, antennae, clypeus and palpus contrastingly bright orange; female with face, antennae, clypeus and palpus brown.

Head with frons broad, faintly ridged longitudinally, uniformly microsetulose including ocellar triangle and most of epicephalon; frontal vitta broad but weakly differentiated anterior to ocelli, abruptly tapered to a thin groove posteriorly. Head chaetotaxy complete, with 2 frontal setae. Palpus broad, ventral and distal margin golden microsetulose. Occipital suture shining brown. Clypeus microsetulose, shorter than face plus lunule, dorsal margin straight. Length of first flagellomere 1.5X maximum width in female, 1.2X in male.

Thorax with scutellum silvery, scutum with faint pattern of alternating light and dark longitudinal lines and a transverse silver strip extending from lateral third of suture to a diagonal silver strip running from suture down across the posterior margin of the anepisternum and down the katepisternum just in front of the katepisternal seta row. Proepisternum with short, inconspicuous ventral setae. Proepisternum microsetulose, proepimeron shining posteriorly, area behind coxae shining. Anepisternum silvery microsetulose on posterodorsal corner only, otherwise shining with fine microsculpture. Legs black except as follows: Fore femur brown, reddish at apex, fore tarsus of female with distal half of tarsomere 1, all of tarsomere 2, and basal half of tarsomere 3 white; fore tarsus of male with tarsomere 5 white; hind trochanter yellow; male tarsomere one expanded, cultriform. Mid and hind femora with a broad brown preapical band narrowly separated from apex, hind femur of female and both mid and hind femora of males and some females also with a broad brown band near middle. Hind trochanter pale brown to yellow. Hind femur slightly flattened, outer surface sulcate.

Wing black except base and clear basal and distal margins of the large discal band (ie, with broad basal and discal bands and an infuscated apex). Anal cell bare, CuA2 straight and distal to dm̄cu, distal angle 45 °.

Abdomen: Pleural membrane black with an almost vertical, (male)or diagonal (female) white band on P3. Female abdomen: Oviscape black with orange apex. Spermathecae on two ducts of similar length, thinner duct leading to very small spermatheca, thicker duct distally expanded and branching into two short–cylindrical spermathecae on broad and densely convoluted stems. Male abdomen: P4 black and expanded laterally and ventrally ( Fig. 40 ). Epandrium pale brown; with genital fork (S5) with long parallel-sided, distally rounded, slightly incurved arms with inner margins densely packed with short, stout setae; base of fork with a shallow broad cleft. Distiphallus sinuate, ending in a very large and dense phallic bulb. Blade of ejaculatory apodeme small, much smaller than epandrium and slightly smaller than sperm pump ( Fig. 44 ).

Type material. Holotype (♀, USNM) and paratype (♀, USNM) Fianarantsoa, Ranomafana National Park, 1110m, Malaise , 8̄ 21.Oct.1988, W. Steiner ; paratype, same locality but 15̄ 24.Sept.1988, C. Kremen (1♀, USNM) .

Holotype of P. stuckenbergi (♂, NMSA, photographs examined) and paratype (♂, NMSA) Perinet, Dec. 1955, B. Stuckenberg.

Other material examined. Pinned specimens: Madagascar. Moramanga district, Tamatave , Torotorofotsy , 22km N Andasibe. 18°46.25', 48°25.93’, 23̄25.2014, S.A. Marshall (3♂ 4♀, sequences MYCRO 042 ̄15, 221̄15); Fianarantsoa, Ranomafana National Park , Vohiparara at broken bridge, 1110m, Malaise, 22̄ 29.Apr.2002, R. Harin'Hala (2♀, CAS); Ranomafana National Park, Sahamalaotra, 21°14.44’ 47°23.67’, 16.x . 2014, 650m, S.A. Marshall (2♂ sequences MYCRO211̄15, MYCRO 219̄15, 7♀, sequence MYCRO209̄15) Ranomafana National Park, Talatakely, Malaise, 16̄ 19.x. 2014, 610m, A. Kirk–Spriggs (2♀,NMB). Specimens in alcohol: (17 ♀, 5 ♂ CAS, all from Malaise traps) most from Ranomafana but 4 ♀ specimens from: Fianarantsoa, Mandritsara Forest , 40 km S. Ambositra.

Comments. Males of P. nigra , previously treated as P. stuckenbergi , are distinctive for the orange antenna, palpus and face that contrast with the black frons. The flattened and expanded tarsomere one of the male foreleg is also unique in the genus. Females look so different from males it would have been difficult to match up the sexes of this species without sequence data, and in fact prior to sequencing the males of P. zarpa were thought to be the probable males of P. nigra . But all five (two male " stuckenbergi " and three female nigra ) sequenced specimens here treated as P. nigra had essentially identical CO1 (barcode) sequences. Females differ from males in color and dimensions of the fore tarsus, colour of the anterior part of the head, colour of the mid tibia, and orientation of the white pleural band.

Figures

FIGURES 40 – 41. Paramimegralla nigra Barraclough. 40. Male; 41. Female.

FIGURES 42 – 48. Paramimegralla nigra Barraclough. 42. Male terminalia, left lateral; 43. Male S 5 with genital fork; 44. Male abdomen with terminalia removed; 45. Spermathecae lateral, showing ventral receptacle; 46. Spermathecae dorsal; 47. Male fore tarsus; 48. Female. Abbreviations: aa, phallapodeme; bd, basal distiphallus; c, cercus; e, epandrium; ea, ejaculatory apodeme; ed, ejaculatory duct; h, hypandrium; pb, phallic bulb; vr, ventral receptacle.