Heteromeringia bisetosa, Lonsdale, 2009

Lonsdale, Owen, 2009, The Heteromeringia (Diptera: Clusiidae: Clusiodinae) of Australia, Records of the Australian Museum 61 (3), pp. 229-262 : 241

Heteromeringia bisetosa n.sp.

Figs 12 , 28–31 , 92

Type material. HOLOTYPE Australia, Queensland: 15.30S 145.16E, 1km SE of Mt. Cook , 14.x.1980, D.H. Colless, Malaise trap (1♂, ANIC) . PARATYPES Australia, Queensland: 12.43S 143.17E, 9km ENE of Mt. Tozer , 5–10.vii.1986, D.H. Colless (1♀, ANIC) , 12.44S 143.14E, 3km ENE Mt. Tozer , 28.vi–4.vii.1986, D.M. Colless (1♂, DEBU) . Papua New Guinea, Nadzab , Markham, R. val., N Guinea, 12.vii.1944, K.V. Krombein, E. forkNgafir, cr. 1000–2000ft., native trail, ex. colln K.V. Krombein (1♀, USNM) .

Description

Male. Body length 5.5 mm. Anepisternal disc present. First flagellomere orbicular. Bristles black. Arista pubescent. Vibrissa relatively long and curved. Mid fronto-orbital absent. Ocellar bristle minute. Two dorsocentral bristles with small bristle in front of anterior dorsocentral. Gena shallow and not sharply angled. Face and buccal cavity pilose and meeting at an angle. Head dark brown with apex of palpus and antenna (excluding arista) yellow, with anterior margin of first flagellomere infuscated; gena with thin dorsal tomentose strip; frons shiny. Thorax dark brown. Legs yellow with base of fore coxa brown, fore tarsi and tibia dark brown, apex of fore femur brown, apex of hind femur brownish and base of hind tibia brown. Fore tarsi strongly compressed laterally. Abdomen dark brown. Wing dark along anterodistal margin and between R 4+5 and M 1 to level of dm-cu; lightly clouded around CuA 1. M 1+2 ratio 6.0. Halter white with base and side of stalk infuscated. Paratype male differs as follows: face, parafacial and upper half of gena dark yellow; fore coxa entirely light yellow; fore femur yellow with faint inner-distal spot; hind legs entirely yellow; wing dusky, except along posterior and anterobasal margins. Halter brown.

Female. As described for Australian male except antenna entirely dark brown and pigment on hind leg slightly darker.

Male terminalia ( Figs 28–31 ). Epandrium as wide as high and length 2 ⁄ 3 height. Cerci entirely fused, large and ovate. Surstylus length approximately half height of epandrium, thin, pointed and relatively anterior in position; several tubercle-like bristles on inner face apically. Phallapodeme nearly as long as hypandrium. Hypandrium + pregonite with several distal and basal setulae, and with triangular anterior and lobate basal lobes. Ribs of phallus nearly equal in length, both becoming wider and convoluted apically; one rib S-shaped apically and with medial projection produced into two overlapping triangular points.

Female terminalia (Fig. 92). Spermathecae spherical, not strongly sclerotized and without apical invagination. Remainder of internal terminalia not visible.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the presence of only two fronto-orbital bristles in this species.

Comments. The presence of only two pairs of fronto-orbital bristles is diagnostic of this species, as is the pattern on the wing, the ovate male cerci and the crossing spines on the phallus. Heteromeringia bisetosa is the only Australian species of that genus known to extend outside of Tasmania and continental Australia.

Figures

Figures 9–16.Eggs.(9) Heteromeringia trisetosa n.sp.; (10) H.hardyi McAlpine; (11) H. spinulosa McAlpine; (12) H.bisetosa n.sp.; (13) H. digitula n.sp.; (14) H. laticornis McAlpine; (15) H. australiae Malloch; and (16) H. hypoleuca McAlpine.

Figures 28–37. Figs 28–31: male terminalia, Heteromeringia bisetosa n.sp. (Mt. Cook male); (28) external, left lateral; (29) external, posterior; (30) phallus, anterior (left detail distiphallus of Mt. Tozer male); (31) hypandrial complex (distal portion of distiphallus removed), left lateral. Figs 32–34: male terminalia, Heteromeringia hardyi McAlpine; (32) external, left lateral; (33) external, posterior; (34) hypandrial complex, left lateral. Figs 35–37: male terminalia, Heteromeringia helina n.sp.; (35) external, left lateral; (36) external, posterior; (37) hypandrial complex, left lateral. Scale bar = 0.25 mm.