Platypalpus huzur, Barták & Grootaert, 2024

Barták, Miroslav & Grootaert, Patrick, 2024, Description of twelve new species of Platypalpus Macquart from Europe and the Middle East (Diptera, Empidoidea, Hybotidae), Zootaxa 5443 (2), pp. 161-185 : 169-170

Platypalpus huzur sp. nov.

( Figs 6 , 7 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂: TURKEY, Akyaka , forest, 37°03′16″N, 28°19′35″E, 30.iv. 4.–9.v. 2013, 30 m, Barták, Kubík ( CULSP) . PARATYPES: TURKEY, same data as holotype (1 ♂) ; same locality except, 37°03′19″N, 28°19′36″E, 26.iv.2016, 30 m, Barták, Kubík (1 ♀) . GREECE, 7 km E of Mt. Olympus , wood, excrement, 1100 m, 40°06′13″N, 22°25′36″E, 23.v.2008 (1 ♂)—( CULSP) .

Diagnosis. Small species of P. pallidiventris —cursitans group. A single pair of vertical setae. Antennae black, postpedicel short (less than twice as long as wide), stylus much longer. Palpus yellow. Acrostichals biserial, dorsocentrals uniserial. Legs yellow with brownish darkening, mid femur with pale posteroventrals, mid tibia with short apical spur. Abdominal tergites broadly microtrichose.

Description. Male ( Fig. 6 ). Head black, grey microtrichose, face light grey microtrichose, clypeus lustrous with only small microtrichose triangle anteriorly. Frons ≈ 0.04 mm broad at ventral part (about as wide as pedicel) and 0.06 mm broad at level of anterior ocellus. Face ≈ 0.03 mm broad at middle. Gena narrow and lustrous. Antenna black, postpedicel 1.5–1.8× longer than broad, stylus 2.7–3.5× postpedicel. Palpus short, nearly circular (with slightly elongated posteroventral corner), yellow, with several rather long setae. Ocellar setae pale brown to brownish yellow, short (≈ 0.09 mm long, ocellar triangle with 2–3 pairs of additional short setae behind anterior pair of ocellars). One pair of vertical setae slightly longer, inserted 0.15 mm apart. Occiput with yellow setae, almost whitish and longer posteroventrally. Proboscis brownish black, lustrous, almost half as long as head height. Thorax brownish black, mesoscutum thinly grey microtrichose; katepisternum with lustrous spot in central part, leaving both anterior and posterior parts microtrichose. All setae yellow. Chaetotaxy: one postpronotal seta; proepisternum with a short seta; acrostichals broadly biserial (≈ 0.06 mm long, about 8 setae in one row), dorsocentrals uniserial, ending in two larger pairs; notopleuron with 2 setae, posterior seta longer and several short hairs; 1 postalar and 1 pair of scutellar setae (with 2 smaller pale hairs). Wing membrane clear or only slightly smoky, veins yellow. R 4+5 and M 1 almost parallel, slightly bowed in middle. Crossveins broadly separated. CuA slightly recurrent and nearly straight, CuA+CuP distinct and long. Costal seta yellow. Squama yellow with yellow fringes. Halter pale yellow. Legs yellow, mostly pale setose (except black ventral spines on mid legs), apical part of fore tibia and fore basitarsus brownish, fore femur with brownish clouding; tarsomere 5 of fore legs contrastingly almost white on basal quarter and black on apical three quarters; tarsomere 5 of mid and hind legs darkened but not contrastingly. Fore femur slightly thickened on basal third, with yellow antero- and posteroventral setae about half as long as femur depth. Fore tibia slightly dilated, short pale setose. Mid femur as wide as fore femur, with two rows of very short ventral spines, posteroventrals yellow. Mid tibia with usual row of ventral spines, apical spur slightly shorter than tibia depth, rounded (in ventral view) ending in two spines. Hind femur and tibia narrow, short setose, unremarkable. Abdomen blackish brown, with short yellowish setae, all tergites broadly microtrichose on sides, leaving only dorsal parts lustrous, sternites lustrous or sublustrous. Terminalia ( Fig. 7 ): cerci concealed within epandrial lamellae. Right cercus with truncate tip, slightly shorter than left cercus. Left with somewhat swollen apex, lacking microtrichia and pointed, rest of left cercus microtrichose. Right border of right epandrial lamella set with uniserial row of moderately long setae ( Fig. 7A ). Left epandrial lamella bifurcated apically, with apical most process pointed, bearing 3 long, somewhat broadened setae ( Fig. 7B, C, D ). Fan of very long yellow setae below lower process ( Fig. 7C ). Female. Similar to male, legs paler and tarsi darker. Abdomen with tergites microtrichose on sides and sublustrous dorsally, last two tergites microtrichose; sternites sublustrous, last three microtrichose. Length. Both sexes: body 2.0– 2.2 mm, wing 2.0 mm.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Turkish word “huzur ”, meaning peace, comfort, but simultaneously name of our apartment in Akyaka, which was a pleasant base for our dipterological studies in Turkey. The name should be treated as a noun in apposition.

Distribution. Turkey, Greece.

Remarks. This new species with a single pair of vertical setae, entirely black antennae, mid femur with pale posteroventral setae, a short apical spur on mid tibia, with postpedicel that is less than twice as long as deep and a much longer stylus, dorsocentrals numerous not setae-like, stylus not thickened, small yellow palpus will lead to couplet 90 in the key of the European Platypalpus ( Grootaert & Chvála 1992) . The fore tarsus is yellow with apical segment white basally and contrastingly black in apical three-fourth which will distinguish it from P. cothurnatus . In addition, the latter has a very distinct basal lobe on the left epandrial lamella ( Chvála 1975, fig. 418), while the left border of the epandrium in the new species is straight. Platypalpus huzur sp. nov. can be distinguished from P. pragensis that has a much longer postpedicel (2.5–3 times as long as deep) and the left epandrial lamella without bifurcated tip and lacking a tuft of apical flattened setae ( Grootaert & Chvála 1992, figs 88–90). It differs further from P. pseudomaculipes (Strobl) which has the tarsi almost entirely black. In addition, the left epandrial lamella is almost straight and bears only minute setulae on its right (ventral) margin ( Grootaert & Chvála 1992, figs 94–96).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Platypalpus huzur sp. nov., paratype male habitus (photo Isabella Van de Velde).

FIGURE 7. Platypalpus huzur sp. nov., paratype male terminalia. A. Right epandrial lamella, lateral; B. Epandrium with cerci, dorsal view; C. Left epandrial lamella, lateral; D. Detail setae on apex left epandrial lamella in ventral view. Scale 0.1mm (image Patrick Grootaert).