Microphorella Becker

Brooks, Scott E. & Cumming, Jeffrey M., 2023, The first Neotropical and Afrotropical species of Microphorella Becker, with a key to the genera of Parathalassiinae and species of Microphorella from the Southern Hemisphere (Diptera: Dolichopodidae sensu lato), Zootaxa 5301 (5), pp. 581-593 : 582

Microphorella Becker

Microphorella Becker, 1909: 28 .

Type species: Microphorus praecox Loew, 1864 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Southern Hemisphere Microphorella can be distinguished from other parathalassiines by the following suite of characters (similar to the diagnosis of Australasian Microphorella given in Brooks & Cumming 2022): head with face broad, subequal to wider than combined width of antennal bases, or strongly narrowed ventrally (e.g., males of M. amorimi sp. nov.), gena weakly developed to moderately broad, antenna with arista-like stylus not lengthened (about 3X length of postpedicel or shorter) ( Figs 6 , 15 ), mouthparts directed ventrally, palpus narrowly ovate ( Fig. 6 ), subtriangular, or broadly clavate and flattened ( Fig. 26 ); thorax with prosternum fused to proepisternum and forming precoxal bridge, scutellum with 1 pair of strong setae near apex; wing with vein M 2 and cell dm present ( Figs 8 , 17 ), vein R 1 reaching costa beyond or (rarely) just before base of M 2, cell cua convex apically, vein CuA + CuP short to absent, anal lobe barely developed; male terminalia with right epandrial lamella lacking ventral process, cerci including hypoproct nearly symmetrical and pointed to highly asymmetrical ( Fig. 21 ); female abdomen with apical segments retractable into segment 5 or 6, syntergite 9+10 divided and bearing acanthophorous setae ( Fig. 22 ) or acanthophorous spines ( Fig. 13 ), cercus relatively broad, with apex pointed or broadly rounded, with or without long apical seta(e).

Remarks. Cumming & Brooks (2019) recognized five distinct species groups of Microphorella from the Southern Hemisphere, including the two species, each in their own group, described below from the Neotropical Region ( Chile) and the Afrotropical Region ( South Africa). The three other species groups occur in Australia and Southeast Asia, including New Guinea ( Brooks & Cumming 2022). All four species included in the Microphorella malaysiana species group, which occurs in Southeast Asia and New Guinea, are treated in this paper even though the distribution of some species extends north of the equator. Worldwide the genus is known from various riparian, meadow and coastal habitats ( Cumming & Brooks 2019).

Figures

FIGURES 5–8. Microphorella amorimi sp. nov., male. 5. Habitus of holotype, lateral view. 6. Head and antenna, dorsolateral view. 7. Head oblique view. 8. Wing. Abbreviations: an lb—anal lobe; cua—anterior cubital cell; CuA—anterior branch of cubital vein; dm—discal medial cell; dm-m—discal medial crossvein; M1, M2, M4—medial veins; plp—palpus.

FIGURES 14–18. Microphorella irwini sp. nov., male. 14. Habitus of holotype. 15. Head and foreleg of holotype, lateral view showing projected lower margin of face (arrow) and long posterior seta on fore tibia (arrow). 16. Fore and mid legs in ventral view (showing setae on each trochanter, arrows) and head in anterior view. 17. Wing. 18. Apex of wing, showing larger costal seta (arrow). Abbreviations: an lb—anal lobe; cua—anterior cubital cell; CuA—anterior branch of cubital vein; dm—discal medial cell; M1, M2, M4—medial veins; plp—palpus; R1, R2+3, R 4+5 —medial veins.

FIGURES 23–26. Neothalassius villosus Brooks & Cumming, Chimerothalassius sinclairi Brooks & Cumming and Microphorella malaysiana Shamshev & Grootaert. 23. Wing of male N. villosus. 24. Head and forelegs of female N. villosus, lateral view. 25. Head and forelegs of male holotype of C. sinclairi, lateral view. 26. Habitus of male M. malaysiana, arrow indicates thickened fore tarsus. Abbreviations: M 1, M 4—medial veins; plp—palpus.

FIGURES 19–22. Male and female terminalia of Microphorella irwini sp. nov. 19. Hypopygium, left lateral view. 20. Hypopygium, right lateral view. 21. Male cerci and hypoproct lobes, dorsal view. 22. Female terminalia, dorsal view. Abbreviations: cerc—cercus; d sur—dorsal lobe of surstylus; epand—epandrium; hypd—hypandrium; hypd proc—hypandrial process; hyprct lb—hypoproct lobe; (L)—left; pgt lb—postgonite lobe; ph—phallus; (R)—right; tg—tergite; v epand proc— ventral epandrial process; v sur—ventral lobe of surstylus.

FIGURES 9–13. Male and female terminalia of Microphorella amorimi sp. nov. 9. Hypopygium, left lateral view. 10. Hypopygium, right lateral view. 11. Right epandrial lamella, right lateral view. 12. Phallus and ejaculatory apodeme, right lateral view. 13. Female terminalia, dorsal view. Abbreviations: cerc—cercus; d sur—dorsal lobe of surstylus; ej apod—ejaculatory apodeme; epand—epandrium; hypd—hypandrium; hyprct lb—hypoproct lobe; (L)—left; pgt lb—postgonite lobe; ph—phallus; (R)—right; tg—tergite; v epand proc—ventral epandrial process; v sur—ventral lobe of surstylus.