Paramimegralla stiltoides, Marshall, Stephen A., 2017

Marshall, Stephen A., 2017, Micropezidae (Insecta, Diptera, Acalyptratae) of Madagascar and a revision of the genus Paramimegralla Hennig, Zootaxa 4290 (2), pp. 244-280 : 267-268

Paramimegralla stiltoides new species

Figs 61 ̄68

Description. Length 14̄ 15 mm. Ground colour dull black to dark brown, mostly microsetulose.

Head with frons broad, ridged longitudinally with parafacial and central furrows, microsetulose except for shining lower epicephalon; frontal vitta broad but weakly differentiated anterior to ocelli, broad and almost parallel-sided posteriorly. Head chaetotaxy complete, with 2 small frontal setae. Palpus broad, parallel-sided, brown, golden microsetulose with scattered black setulae. Occipital suture shining brown. Clypeus brown, microsetulose, shorter than face plus lunule, with a small peak at middle of upper margin. Face and parafacial densely microsetulose, face yellow at middle, brown below and between antennae. Antenna mostly brown, first flagellomere orange at base. Length of first flagellomere 1.3X maximum width.

Thorax with scutellum silvery, scutum evenly microsetulose except for a transverse silver strip extending from lateral quarter 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 ventral setae subequal in length to proepisternum. Pleuron entirely microsetulose, without shining areas. Legs brown except as follows: fore femur pale at apex, fore tarsus with tarsomeres 1̄3 white. Mid and hind femora with a pale band near middle and a pale apex. Hind femur cylindrical, hind tibia with outer surface indistinctly sulcate on basal quarter. Hind trochanter pale brown.

Wing with broad basal, discal and preapical black bands, basal band incomplete anteriorly, preapical band continuous with an anteriorly infuscated wing apex. Anal cell bare, CuA2 sinuate, proximal to bm̄cu, distal angle 45 °.

Abdominal syntergite 1+2 bluish metallic, distinctly humped and bare at junction between T1 and T2, otherwise pruinose; T1 setose, with posteriormost row of setae longest; T2, T3 and T4 silvery anteriorly and posteriorly; male pleural membrane brown with an almost vertical narrow white band on the anterior margin of P3 and P4; female P3 with a broad white vertical band. Oviscape brown with slightly paler apex. Spermathecae on two long, narrow ducts of similar length, thinner duct leading to a single well–developed spermatheca similar in shape to but about a third as large as paired spermathecae; thicker duct distally expanded and branching into two short cylindrical, apically invaginated, spermathecae on broad and densely convoluted stems. Ventral receptacle not visible on the only available female. Male with epandrium unusually short, length along dorsal margin half as long as height and half as long s length along ventral margin; cercus very large. Genital fork (S5) with stout distally incurved arms with inner margins densely packed with short, stout setae, base of fork with a deep, narrow cleft. Distiphallus broad, ending in a dense phallic bulb. Blade of ejaculatory apodeme small, much smaller than epandrium and slightly smaller than sperm pump.

Type material. Holotype (♂, TAU) Andasibe , 950m, Analamazaotra Forest, 31.x ̄ 4.xi. 200, L. Friedman . Paratypes: same data as holotype but collected by A. Freidberg (1♂, TAU) and L. Gahanama (1♂, TAU, sequence MYCRO 207 ̄15).

Comments. The unusual phallus of P. stiltoides , which ends in the phallic bulb and lacks a distal distiphallus, suggests a close relationship to P. vadoni and the previous Stiltissima species ( P. steineri and P. volcanica ). The distal distiphallus is also absent in P. nigra , but otherwise the structure of the distiphallus of P. nigra (long and sinuate basal part, very large distal bulb) is distinct from P. stiltoides and relatives.

Etymology. The relatively long legs of this species give it a superficial similarity to the species previously treated as the genus Stiltissima , a similarity reflected in the species name " stiltoides ".

Figures

FIGURES 61 – 68. Paramimegralla stiltOides sp. nov., 61. Male, left lateral; 62. Male abdomen, right lateral; 31. Male S 5 with genital fork; 64. Male, dorsolateral; 65. Male terminalia, left lateral; 66. Head, dorsolateral; 67. Paired spermathecae; 68. Spermathecae and associated structures.