Apodacra melanura Verves et Khrokalo, 2020

Verves, Yu. G., 2020, Review Of Subtribe Apodacrina (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) Of Middle East With Descriptions Of Ten New Species, Zoodiversity 54 (3), pp. 183-204 : 188-190

Apodacra melanura Verves et Khrokalo , sp. n. ( fig. 7)

Material. Type. Holotype:}: Israel: Ein Zik , 8.08.1977, leg. A. Freidberg. Deposited in TAU.

D i f f e r e n t i a l d i a g n o s i s: Similar to the Afrotropical A. natalensis Villeneuve, 1916 in the abdominal pattern and black tarsi, differing by the absence of reddish abdominal spots and black setae on gena.

Female. Body length 4.5 mm. — Head ( figs 7, b–d). Parafrontalia, facialia and gena densely silvery light pollinose, frontal vitta yellow, almost without dusting, antenna yellow, dark grey pollinose, apical part of arista black, palp yellow, occiput grey pollinose. Frons at vertex 0.34×, at level of antennal base 0.31× head-width. Frontal vitta 1.8× widened backwards, at level of fore orb 1.1–1.4× as wide as one of parafrontalia. Postpedicel 3.3× as long as pedicel, arista widened in basal 2/3, 2 nd aristomere 2× as long as wide. Parafacialia at level of antennal base 0.20×, gena 0.06× eye-height. Palp long, at apex widened. One regular row of porb; vte strong, 0.5× as long as vti; oc strong and long; fr 8, strong and crossed; orb 1+5, long and strong; parafrontalia and parafacialia with microscopic light setae, vi strong and distinctly longer than 5 pairs of black oral setae; gena in fore part with black setae, in hind one with yellow setae. — Thorax ( fig. 7 a) covered with long and strong black setae, yellowish grey pollinose, longitudinal stripes badly developed, apex of scutellum reddish. acr 0+1–2; dc 0–1+5–6, only 2 hind pairs strong; pprn 2; npl 2 (without setulae); ia 1+2. Scutellum with 3 pairs of long marg, ds badly developed. t 2 with one ad. — Wings ( fig. 7, e) hyaline. The petiolus of vein R 4+5 0.5× as long as r-m, vein R 4+5 with 2–3 black basal setae, vein M acuteangled, dm -cu slightly curved, almost straight. — Legs ( fig. 7, a). All femora grey, at apex yellow, all tibia yellow, t 1 and t 2 in apical parts fuscous, all tarsi brownish black. — Abdomen ( figs 7, a, f). 1+2 nd abdominal tergite entirely blackish brown; 3 rd and 4 th tergites in hind 2/3 shining black, in fore 1/3 densely silvery white pollinose; 5 th tergite in hind ¾ shining-black.

M a l e. Unknown.

E t y m o l o g y: The species epithet is a noun in apposition formed from the Greek words melanos — black and ura — tail.

D i s t r i b u t i o n: Palaearctic: Asia: Israel.