Meoneura indica, Papp, 2013

Papp, L., 2013, New Species And Records Of Meoneura Rondani, 1856 From The Old World Tropics (Diptera, Carnidae), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 59 (3), pp. 213-227 : 214-216

Meoneura indica sp. n.

(Figs 1–4)

Holotype male ( HNHM): India, Uttar Pradesh, 24 km S of Agra , 28. XI. 1989, leg. L. Papp – swept on watering [irrigation] canal shores.

Paratypes ( HNHM): 3 males: same data as for the holotype ; 2 males 1 female: ibid., Keetham Lake , 20 km N of Agra – swept on lake-shore plants and mud, leg. L. Papp ; 1 female: ibid., Agra , Shah Jehan Gardens, 25. XI. 1989, leg. L. Papp – swept on shores of small ponds and on a watered grassy area .

Measurements in mm: body length 1.93 (holotype), 1.54–2.00 (paratypes), wing length 1.48, 1.26–1.79 (paratypes), wing width 0.64, 0.58–0.69.

Body subshiny black, with dark fine microtomentum.

Frons reddish in its anterior 2/5. Face dark. Interfrontal (supralunular) seta 0.13 (!) mm long. Frontal triangle broad, reaching anterior 3/7 distance of anterior ocellus to frontal margin, i.e. apex of frontal triangle reddish. Both inner and outer occipitals long. Eye very short elliptical: length 0.285 mm, height 0.27 mm. Gena at lowest point of eye 0.10 mm. Most dorsal “genal” seta (actually on cheek) 0.14 mm, longest genal setae similarly 0.14 mm with a half as long seta between them. Gena below eye with 2 other similarly long setae, one of them is strongly upcurved, short genal setae near to ventral edge. Arista 0.22 mm long, not bare but cilia very short.

Mesonotum with fine microtrichia (tomentum), so rather shiny. 1+2 large dorsocentral pairs, prescutellar acrostichal microchaeta 0.11 mm long. Longest anepisternal seta 0.15 mm, longest (posterior) katepisternal seta 2.165 mm.

Legs all dark with dark grey microtomentum. Fore femur with 2 long posteroventral setae.

Wing membrane greyish, veins (incl. costal vein) light yellow. Alula small, narrow. Inter-crossvein section of M 1+2 0.095–0.10 mm, MM crossvein 0.055 mm. Knob of halteres white, stalk brownish.

Figs 1–9. Meoneura species , male genitalia. 1–4 = M. indica sp. n., paratype male: 1 = epandrium, left surstylus and lamella, lateral view, 2 = surstylus in broadest extension (sublat- eral view), 3 = lamella in broadest extension (lateral view), 4 = postgonite, lateral view. 5–9 = M. orientalis sp. n., male genitalia: 5 = left lamella and surstylus of a paratype from Laos in broadest extension (subventral view), 6 = same, another paratype from Laos, 7 = postgonite of a Laos paratype laterally; 8 = left lamella and surstylus of a paratype from Vietnam in broadest extension (subventral view), 9 = postgonite of the Vietnam paratype in two slightly different lateral views. Scale: 0.1 mm for all.

Abdomen longish, more than twice longer than broad and longer than in M. simplex sp. n., sternites long and narrow, e.g. sternite 3 and 4 twice longer than broad, male sternite 5 quadratic, 0.14 mm long and 0.10 mm broad, marginal setae 0.06 mm long. Pregenital sclerite 0.19 mm broad and 0.12 mm long, bare, shield-shaped. Epandrium (Fig. 1) with rather short setae, only 1 longer caudal (but not completely ventral) seta present, surstylus long, very characteristic in shape (Fig. 1), with medium-long setae apically. Surstylus (Figs 1–2) much longer (higher) than broad, with broadly rounded apex; outer (lateral) surface almost bare, some minute pegs apically and short setae only in medial surface (Fig. 2). Lamella closely contacted but not fused to subepandrial sclerite (Fig. 1), simple (Fig. 3) with rounded apex, nearly 3 time longer than broad. Postgonite (Fig. 4) subtriangular in profile, apex latero-clinate. Phallus rather short, apical 2/3 swollen and right side curved with many hairs on ventral surface.

Female without peculiarities, so not safely identifiable in lack of synchronously cap- tured males.

Etymology. The specific epithet of the new species refers to its type locality in India.

Remarks. In the HNHM there are other 5 females (Agra 2, Nainital 1, Deh- ra Dun 2) which represent other two species. That is, even more new species are to be expected to occur in India.

Meoneura vikhrevi Ozerov, 2011 , M. indica sp. n. and M. simplex sp. n. are the first known Meoneura species from the Indian subcontinent. I am sure, there are many more species to be described from that huge area. M. indica sp. n. is unique with its large broad and broadly rounded surstylus and long comparatively broad and rounded lamella, which are without long seta. There are no similar genitalia in the Mongolian species (cf. PAPP 1976: figs 3–20), or in any other Palaearctic species (eee Hennig 1937, PAPP 1978, 1981, 1997).