Tomosvaryella saudiensis Motamedinia & Skevington

Motamedinia, Behnam, Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Kelso, Scott, 2021, Revision of Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera: Pipunculidae) in the Middle East, with description of 19 new species, Zootaxa 5002 (1), pp. 1-103 : 62-65

Tomosvaryella saudiensis Motamedinia & Skevington sp. nov.

Figs 35A–E , 46C , 54 , 69A–B

Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by one distinct thorn-like projection and two small ones on the hind trochanter ( Fig. 46C ); elongated surstyli, broadened in basal two thirds in dorsal view ( Fig. 35A ), rather curved in lateral view ( Fig. 35D–E ); long phallic guide; phallus with three ejaculatory ducts, one with a downward projection in lateral view ( Fig. 35D–E ).

Description: MALE: Body length (excluding antennae): 2.7 mm. Head. Face dark, light pollinose. Scape and pedicel dark; pedicel with a pair of short upper setae; flagellum light brown, tip paler than base, tapering and gray-light brown pollinose (LF:WF = 2.4); arista dark brown, with thickened base. Eyes meeting for a distance of 6–7 facets. Frons dark, light brown pollinose, vertex dark, lacking pollinosity, bearing an elevated ocellar triangle; vertex dark, lacking pollinosity; occiput dark, gray pollinose with scattered short dark setae. Thorax. Pleura, prescutum, scutum and scutellum brown. Pleura gray pollinose. Postpronotal lobe yellow, weakly gray pollinose and with 2–3 light brown along upper margin. Prescutum and scutum narrowly light brown pollinose, with some setae along anterior margin of prescutum area and some supra-alar setae. Scutellum light brown pollinose on anterior margin, with about 2–3 thin short setae along posterior margin (up to 0.03 mm). Subscutellum gray pollinose. Wing. Length: 2.1 mm. LW:MWW = 3.6. Wing almost entirely covered in microtrichia. M 1 gently undulating. Halter length: 0.25 mm. Base brown, knob paler than base. Legs. Coxae dark brown, gray pollinose. Mid coxa with 2–3 light brown setae on apical margin. Trochanters dark, gray pollinose. Hind trochanter with a long (0.08 mm) thorn-like projection on basal margin and two smaller one on apical margin ( Fig. 46C ). Femora dark brown, slightly light brown at apex, gray pollinose. Hind femur with one wrinkled indentation in basal. Tibiae light brown, distinctly dark brown in middle, gray pollinose with one wrinkled indentation in middle. Tarsi light brown and paler than tibiae, gray pollinose, with some light brown setae dorsally. Pulvilli yellow. Claws light brown with black tips. Abdomen. Ground color dark brown, light brown pollinose. Tergite 1 with three to four strong lateral setae. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium brown, slightly longer than wide (MLE:MWE = 1.1). Surstyli brown and rather symmetrical, elongated and rather broadened in basal two thirds, curved to each other at apex ( Fig. 35A ). Genital capsule in ventral view: gonopods equal in height, right broader than left one ( Fig. 35B ); subepandrial sclerite elongated, rather rectangular-shaped ( Fig. 35B ). Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli weakly concave ( Fig. 35D–E ); phallic guide thin and long, ( Fig. 35D–E ); phallus with three ejaculatory ducts, one with a downward projection ( Fig. 35D–E ). Ejaculatory apodeme cylindrical-shaped ( Fig. 35C ). FEMALE: unknown.

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to Saudi Arabia, from where the specimen was collected.

Specimen examined: HOLOTYPE: SAUDI ARABIA: Hada Al Asham Valle , ~ 125 km Northeast of Jeddah, 22°22’N, 40°01’E, viii-ix.2000, ex. cultivated Alfalfa, CNCD147709 (1♂, CNC).

Distribution: Saudi Arabia ( Fig. 54 ).

Note: Based on DNA barcodes, this species is genetically most similar to T. jubata , differing by 4.0% (pairwise divergence) (Supplementary Table 1).

Figures

FIGURE 35. Male genitalia of Tomosvaryella saudiensis sp. nov., holotype (CNCD147709, CNC) A) dorsal view, B) ventral view, C) ejaculatory apodeme, D, E) lateral view.

FIGURE 46. Hind leg of Tomosvaryella species in lateral view A) T. acantha sp. nov., holotype (JSS51689, TAU), B) T. littoralis (CNCD214212, CNC), C) T. saudiensis sp. nov., holotype (CNCD147709, CNC), D) T. subvirescens (JSS52318, CNC).

FIGURE 54. Distribution of Tomosvaryella freidbergi, T. saudiensis sp. nov., T. subtransvaalensis sp. nov. in the Middle East.

FIGURE 69. Male habitus of Tomosvaryella species A–B) T. saudiensis sp. nov., holotype (CNCD147709, CNC) A) in dorsal view B) in lateral view, C–D) T. soziana sp. nov., holotype (JSS52193, CNC) C) in dorsal view D) in lateral view, E–F) T. spinula sp. nov., holotype (JSS51924, CNC) E) in dorsal view F) in lateral view.