Empidideicus ebellicus Gharali & Evenhuis

Gharali, Babak, Kamali, Karim, Evenhuis, Neal, Talebi, Ali Asghar & Khalgani, Jafar, 2010, First record of the genus Empidideicus (Diptera: Bombylioidea: Mythicomyiidae) from Iran, with description of six new species, Zootaxa 2627, pp. 1-19 : 5-6

Empidideicus ebellicus Gharali & Evenhuis , sp. nov.

( Figs. 2 a–g, 7b, 8c)

Specimens examined: Holotype female (dried by HMDS) and 20 male, 20 female paratypes (5 males and 5 females dried by HMDS, remainder preserved in alcohol), IRAN: Barajin, 8 km North of Ghazvin City, Ghazvin province, N36° 20' 50" E50° 4' 15", 1512 m asl., 23 June 2009, leg. B. Gharali (all in TMUC); 51 male, 53 female paratypes (preserved in alcohol), same data as holotype (BPBM); 5 male, 9 female paratypes IRAN: Abazar, Abazar village, Ghazvin province, N36°17' E50° 10' 1463 m asl, 15 June 2009, Pan trapping, leg. B. Gharali (BPBM); 35 female, 15 male paratypes, same data as holotype (ZMHB); 15 females as paratypes, same data as holotype, personal collection of Jorge Almeida ( Portugal); 20 male, 20 female paratypes (preserved in alcohol), same data as holotype (personal collection of first author).

Diagnosis. This species is morphologically similar to E. amicus and E. matricarius but it is easily distinguished by the upward turning of vein R4+5 so it meets the costa at the level of CuA1 (in E. amicus and E. matricarius , vein R4+5 meets the costa much more distal than the level of CuA1), by the lanceolate shape of antennae (oval in E. amicus and E. matricarius ) and the features of male and female genitalia. In E. ebellicus the furca has no sclerotization around the genital orifice (well sclerotised around genital orifice in E. amicus ) and spermathecal reservoir has a deep invagination and dark brown bands on the outer surface (spermathecal reservoir with shallow invagination and without bands on outer surface in E. matricarius ). In the male genitalia of E. ebellicus , the gonostyli is at the apex of gonocoxa and have long and pointed processes (in E. amicus and E. matricarius , the gonostyli are inserted deeply in the median part of gonocoxa and without any processes).

Description. Female. Length 1.98 mm (Female) – 1.37 mm (Male) (n=20).

Head ( Fig. 7 b). Slightly higher than long; eyes dichoptic, separated at vertex by 2 times distance between lateral ocelli; occiput black medially except small yellow spot adjacent to the posterior margin of ocellar triangle; occiput yellow laterally; frons slightly depressed medially, yellow with brown mark medially; postgena, mentum, face, and oral margin yellow; antennae ( Fig. 2 a) set in deep pocket; scape and pedicel yellow; first and second flagellomeres brown; scape short, subtrapezoidal; pedicel ellipsoid, wider than long; first flagellomere lanceolate, about 2 times greatest width; second flagellomere one-half length of first flagellomere, with minute, bullet-shaped, transparent apical style; clypeus yellow, labrum brown, sclerotised, stiff, pointed apically, one-half of proboscis in length; proboscis brown to dark brown, length 2.2 times head height.

Thorax ( Fig. 8 c). Mesonotum yellow to brownish yellow with minute moderately dense yellow pubescence, dorsum with admedian whitish longitudinal stripe and pattern of brown and dark brown pattern medially and laterally; length of median longitudinal stripe ¾ length of mesonotum, divided by thin yellow stripe; humeral callus to postalar callus and prescutellar area yellow, scutellum yellow with very small, pale brown spot basomedially; pleura yellow with dark brown color on following: anepisternum anteroventrally, anepimeron at ventral margin, lower three-fourths of katepisternum, and lower half of meron; halter stem and knob yellow.

Wing ( Fig. 2 b). Hyaline, length (from base to end of M1) 2.4 times width (from end of R1 to CuA2); veins brown; costa, Sc, R1, R4+5 darkly sclerotised; veins M1, M2, M1+2, CuA1 and CuA2 sclerotised; vein separating basal cells, base of Rs, cross vein bm-cu, and A1 evanescent; costa ends slightly beyond end of R4+5; Sc incomplete; R4+5 curved upward to anterior margin of wing, meeting costa at level of CuA1 ( Fig. 2 b); M1 separated from M2 at acute angle, slightly sinuous to wing margin; M2 fairly straight, 2.8 times as long as M1+2; cell dm open apically; A1 straight to wing margin, slightly curved apically; anal cell open in wing margin by width slightly more than r-m crossvein; fringe of hair shortest at wing tip becoming longer and more sparse toward base.

Legs. Coxa I yellow, II and III brownish basally; femora yellow to yellowish brown; tibiae yellow; tarsal segments dark brown except metatarsi yellow.

Abdomen. Tergites almost all yellow except tergites I–IV with brown transverse bands anteriorly; all tergites with sparse brown spots on dorsum; lateral margins of all tergites narrowly pale brown to brown; sternites yellow except last sternite brownish.

Genitalia ( Fig. 2 g). Spermathecal reservoir subglobular, slightly higher than wide, with dark brown bands on outer surface and with deep cylindrical invagination, width of invagination one-third of reservoir width, depth one-half of reservoir height; apical spermathecal duct membranous, 2 times as long as sperm pump; sperm pump long, striated with well sclerotised apical valve; basal valve absent; basal spermathecal duct very short; common spermathecal duct membranous, thin, long, 2 times as long as sperm pump; furca U-shaped, lateral arms apically broadened as plates with two finger-like processes.

Male. Similar to female except following: smaller than female; ocellar triangle almost all dark brown, brown pattern on mesonotum much darker than female, brown to black, brown mark on scutellum evident; halter knob with pale brown mark dorsally.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 2 c–f). Epandrium yellow, subrectangular in lateral view, with slightly broadened and downwardly curved dorsoapical tip; gonocoxa fused basally with two rectangular plates apicomesally, plates with minute hair apically; inner margin of gonocoxa well sclerotised; gonocoxa medially curved in lateral view; gonostylus broad basally, narrowing toward slightly curved apex, with long tubular process at base; gonocoxal apodeme as long as aedeagal apodeme; aedeagal bulb large, oval; basal aedeagal apodeme narrow, in lateral view rectangular, lateral rami much shorter than aedeagal apodeme; lateral aedeagal apodeme absent.

Etymology. The specific epithet derives from the Latin e “without” + bellum “war” [meaning “peace”], a necessary word for life and scientific progress, which is still a dream in some parts of the world.

Distribution. The new species is currently known only from Iran (Ghazvin province).

Variability. The color of the body, especially the mark on the scutellum and the pattern on the mesonotum are variable. In specimens preserved in alcohol, the mark on the scutellum varies from very pale and hardly visible to well-defined with a dark brown mark that sometimes extends to the mesonotum, but its size on the scutellum is constant and confined only to the base and never further posteriorly.

Remarks. Theodor (1983: 22) depicted the female genitalia of an undescribed species as “ E. sp. no 2”. He noted that this species, along with another (E. sp. no. 1). are morphologically very similar to E. mariouti Efflatoun but have distinct genitalia. The female genitalia of E. ebellicus appears to be the same as Theodor’s. sp. no. 2 except our species has a very long common spermathecal duct whereas Theodor’s species has a very short and negligible common duct. The common spermathecal duct is very thin, membranous, and can easily vanish if soaked for too long time in the KOH solution. Our species may be the same as Theodor’s but can only be verified when we are able to check Theodor’s specimens.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Empidideicus ebellicus: a—antennae lateral view, b—wing, c—phallic complex dorsal view, d—phallic complex lateral view, e—gonocoxa dorsal view, f—epandrium anterior view, g—female genitalia.

FIGURE 7. Lateral view of Empidideicus adults (females): a— E. amicus, b— E. ebellicus, c— E. greatheadi, d— E. matricarius, e— E. legulicoxa, f— E. persicus.

FIGURE 8. Dorsal view of Empidideicus mesonotum (females): a, b— E. amicus, c— E. ebellicus, d— E. greatheadi, e— E. matricarius, f— E. persicus.