Paramimegralla anchivitta, 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 : 252-254

Paramimegralla anchivitta new species

Figs 14̄18

Description. Length 13̄ 15 mm. Ground colour dull black, densely microsetulose.

Head entirely black and almost entirely microsetulose; frons broad, faintly ridged longitudinally, uniformly microsetulose except for shining brown ocellar triangle, occipital suture and narrow shining areas along eye; frontal vitta broad but weakly differentiated and hard to distinguish from the orbital strips, anteriorly broad, raised and with a central groove anteriorly; very broad and diffuse posteriorly. Head chaetotaxy complete, with 2 frontal setae. Palpus broad, black, distal and ventral margin silvery microsetulose. Occipital suture shining brown. Clypeus conspicuously microsetulose, shorter than face plus lunule, upper margin slightly curved. Length of first flagellomere 1.5X width.

Thorax black except for a diagonal silvery band extending across the pleuron from lateral portions of transverse suture to mid coxa; scutum and scutellum black with silvery microsetulosity. Proepisternum with long, conspicuous ventral setae as long as ventral margin of proepisternum. Pleuron entirely microsetulose, neither propleuron nor mesopleuron with shining areas. Legs black except as follows: fore tarsomeres 1̄3 white; mid femur with apex yellow; hind femur with yellow base, apex and middle band; tarsomere one of hind leg white. Hind femur slightly curved and flattened on basal half, hind tibia not sulcate.

Wing with broad rounded discal band and broad basal and preapical bands, preapical band continued along anterior margin and weakly differentiated from the mostly clear wing apex. Anal cell bare, CuA2 sinuate and distal to dm̄cu, distal angle 40 °.

Abdominal tergites black with indistinct silvery pruinosity (microsetulose areas), syntergite 1+2 broad and separated by a shallow groove, T1 with about 12 loose transverse rows of long golden setulae at middle; pleural membrane in both sexes black with an almost vertical, narrow, parallel-sided white band on anterior margin of P3. Oviscape black with orange apex, distal third shining and bare. Spermathecae on two ducts of similar length; thinner duct expanding in apical fifth leading to very small spermatheca, thicker duct also distally expanded and branching into two short cylindrical spermathecae on broad and densely convoluted stems. Male with genital fork (S5) unusually distinctive, with two stout, pointed, distally pale posteroventral process arising at base of fork. Internal genitalia not examined on the male holotype (no other male specimens are available).

Type material. Holotype (♀, CAS) Fianarantsoa, Ranomafana National Park, 12kmW, Sahamalaotra , 21°14.44’ 47°23.67’, 16.x. 2014, 650m, S.A. Marshall.

Paratypes: Fianarantsoa, 12kmW, Ranomafana National Park, Sahamalaotra , 21°14.44’, 47°23.67’, 16.x. 2014, 650m, S.A. Marshall (1♂, 1♀ pinned, DEBU); (1♀, sequence MYCRO 217–15 , in alcohol).

Comments. Several features render this species distinctive, especially the colour pattern, the unusually diffuse and broad frontal vitta, the very long proepisternal seta, and the distinctive processes at the base of the male genital fork

Etymology. The specific name refers to the broad, diffuse frontal vitta.