Microphorella ebejeri, Gatt & Ss & Dj & Uk., 2012

Gatt, Paul, 2012, Two new species of Microphorella Becker (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from the Mediterranean, Revue suisse de Zoologie 119 (3), pp. 287-302 : 288-295

Microphorella ebejeri sp. n. Figs 1-8

MATERIAL EXAMINED: Holotype ♁; “ ISRAEL / Bor Mashash / 16.III.1995 /leg. B. Merz ”; “HOLOTYPUS / Microphorella / ebejeri Gatt. ” ( MHNG). The holotype is double mounted on pins. One wing is glued to a piece of card, and the pre-abdomen (with part of the thorax attached) and the hypopygium are stored in a glycerine microvial. Both card and microvial are pinned with the rest of the specimen.

Paratypes: 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( MHNG) .- 2 ♀, ISRAEL, Tel Aviv Country Club , beach, 14.III.1995, leg. B. Merz ( MHNG).

ETYMOLOGY: This species is dedicated to my dear friend and colleague Dr. Martin J. Ebejer (Cardiff, UK) in celebration of 20 years of friendship and collaboration.

DIAGNOSIS: A small (1.7 mm), whitish-grey microtrichose, sexually dimorphic species with white macrosetae and clear wings. Wing membrane between C and R 1 yellowish. Postpedicel pear-shaped. Stylus long, as long as postpedicel. One pair of fronto-orbital setae. Eight pairs of dorsocentral setae. Male: anterior costal margin with long, spine-like setae at middle; fore femur with a long posteroventral seta on apical third; fore and mid-tibia, posteriorly, with long setae; mid-femur ventrally densely clothed with short setulae and some long setae; mid-basitarsus bowed laterally, ventrally with a long row of hook-like spinules. Hypandrium without mamillary process at caudal pole. Female: tergite 8, tergite 10 and sternite 10 completely divided; hemitergite 10 bearing unmodified setae.

DESCRIPTION

Male

Length: Body 1.7 mm, wing 1.7 mm (specimen dry).

Head: Black in ground colour, grey microtrichose with brownish tints; higher and wider than deep. Eyes widely separated on frons, ommatidia equal in size, sparsely covered with minute ommatrichia. Neck inserted high on head. Occiput grey microtrichose with some brownish hues; projecting beyond posterior margin of eye, concave above neck, convex below. Frons broad, whitish grey microtrichose with some brownish hues and metallic reflections. Gena very narrow. Face black, grey microtrichose; long and narrow, narrower than frons above antennae, widening towards mouth edge. Antenna ( Fig. 1 ) black in ground colour and clothed with pale setulae; placed at middle of head in profile, and as long as head is deep; scape cup-shaped, pedicel globular, subequal in length to scape, sparsely grey microtrichose and with a circlet of subapical setulae; postpedicel pear-shaped, more intensely and brown microtrichose, setulose; stylus uniarticulate, long, subequal in length to postpedicel. Labrum very short, almost completely concealed within oral cavity; lustrous black, curving caudally. Palpus very small, grey microtrichose, with some long white setulae; sensory pit not discernable. Chaetotaxy: cephalic setae white; one pair of strong, lateroclinate anterior ocellars; one pair of very short, proclinate posterior ocellars; one pair of strong inclinate anterior fronto-orbitals; one pair of long, inclinate medial verticals; one pair of lateroclinate lateral verticals; postocular occipital setae uniserial above neck, becoming longer and irregularly multiserial below; several longer setae present just posterior to mouth opening, including postgena.

Thorax: Black in ground colour, generally whitish grey microtrichose; scutum, viewed anteriorly from above with a distinct, golden brown microtrichose longitudinal stripe between dorsocentral rows; similar stripes one on each side of scutum; viewed posteriorly from above with 4 dull-grey, less microtrichose longitudinal stripes (2 medially, and one on each side) which become confluent anteriorly; dorsal surface of scutum moderately arched; prescutellar depression distinct; complete prothoracic precoxal bridge present. Anepisternum greyish brown microtrichose. Chaetotaxy: thoracic setae white. Antepronotum with 4 setulae. Propleuron with 1 setula. Postpronotum with 3 very short setulae. A single pair of long acrostichal setae on anterior slope of mesoscutum. Eight (4+4) pairs of more or less equal sized dorsocentral setae, 1 pre-scutellar pair longer, wider apart, and as strong as 1 pair of long, inclinate scutellar setae; 3 supra-alar setae, the posterior-most longest; preceded by a row of 3 minute setulae; 2-3 additional minute setulae outside supra-alar line; 1 postalar seta; 3 notopleural setae.

Legs: Long and slender, black in ground colour, greyish microtrichose and clothed with short, white setulae; trochanters, apices of femora and all tibiae and tarsi paler. Femora equally thick, not much stronger than tibiae. Fore and hind basitarsi as long as following tarsal segments combined; mid-basitarsus longer. Fore coxa densely clothed with white setulae and some longer setae. All tarsomeres with short, black, spine-like subapical setae, stronger and in groups of 4 on middle segments. Tarsal claws, pulvilli and empodium developed on all legs. Fore femur with 1 long posteroventral seta in apical third; some longish setae near apex and at base. Fore tibia with a posterodorsal row of 8-10 long posteriorly curved setae; bearing anterior apical comb; pigmented spinulated tubercles absent. Mid-femur with a dense tuft of very short setulae along middle third of ventral surface, and with a fringe of 8 long pale ventral setae, as long as or longer than femur is deep. Mid-tibia, posteriorly, with 2 long setae; one spine-like subapical seta. Mid-basitarsus, ventrally, with 2 white spine-like setae at base and another 2 long, black, spine-like setae at apex; curved, convex laterally, and with a long row of some 23 short ventral spinules having curved, hook-like apices. Hind leg simple. Hind femur anteroventrally with some longer setae. Hind tibia with an apical posterior comb of closely set spinules. Hind basitarsus with an apical posterior comb of short setae.

Wing ( Fig. 2 ): Three times longer than broad; axillary lobe hardly developed; wing membrane clear; space between C and R 1 yellowish; membrane, including veins, covered with microtrichia; veins brown; macrosetae white; hind marginal fringe longest at base of wing. C circumambient, with 1 basal seta preceded by 3 shorter setae; anterior costal margin with a row of spine-like setae, very long and strong at middle of wing; longest seta as long as crossvein DM-Cu. Sc parallel to R 1, upturning to C before merging imperceptibly into membrane as a fold; humeral crossvein indistinct; Rs originating opposite humeral crossvein; R 1 ending in C beyond tip of discal cell; R 2+3 straight, upcurved at its junction with C; R 4+5 sinuous, ending in C before tip of wing; crossvein R-M present; discal cell incompletely separated from second basal cell by incomplete crossvein BM-Cu, closed distally by crossvein DM-Cu and emitting 3 veins to wing margin; base of M 2 complete; crossvein DM-Cu complete; CuA 2 curved; A 1 absent; A 2 present on posterobasal margin of wing. Alula absent. Squama brown, short, with a fringe of long, pale setae. Haltere brown, stem darker than knob, the latter large and quadrate.

Abdomen ( Fig. 3 ): Brownish black in ground colour, less intensely grey microtrichose than thorax; sclerites with sparse, white setulae on posterior margins and on disc. Abdominal muscle plaques distinct. Tergites 1-4 and sternites 1-3 unmodified. Postabdomen beginning with sternite 5, rotated and lateroflexed to the right. Sternites 1 and 2 short; sternite 3 with long setae on posterior margin; sternite 4 with a posteromedian membranous area, fringed on each side with a number of long setae; long setae present also on posterior margin of sclerite. Sternites 5 and 6 mostly lustrous brown. Sternite 5 short, bare, with a robust, well sclerotised, bifid posteromedian projection; well-developed ventral tubercle present at point of bifurcation. Sternites 6 and 7 simple, bare; sternite 8 large, subrectangular. Tergite 8 atrophied. Terminalia ( Figs 4-5 ) lateroflexed to the right, inverted and with caudal pole directed forward, asymmetrical. Hypandrium large, separated from epandrium, distinctly produced at apex and with several accessory processes, microtrichose; without mamillary process at caudal pole. Ventral appendage of left epandrial lamella asymmetrical, with two arms: the right arm long and pointed; the left arm short, arcuate, its concave margin with 2 tooth-like processes. Cerci large, the right cercus larger, both clothed with setulae; each with 3 short, inclinate spine-like setae medially; apicolateral corners produced. Left cercus with medial margin smoothly rounded; apicolateral corner long and slender; 1 very long hair-like seta on apical margin, and another long seta arising from a setulose, mamillary process. Right cercus with (seemingly) only 1 long seta arising from apical margin; setulose mamillary process devoid of long setae. Phallus directed forwards, apex pointed; dorsal surface with 2 processes, the superior curved to the right, the inferior straight, flat and pointed.

Female

Length: Body 1.5 – 1.7 mm (n =2); wing 1.3 – 1.5 mm (n =2). Specimens dry.

Resembling male, including dichoptic condition of eyes and apical combs on fore and hind tibia and hind basitarsus, but differing in the following:

Body less intensely microtrichose. Cephalic and thoracic macrosetae longer, stronger. Median golden-brown microtrichose stripe on scutum divided into 2 separate narrower vittae. All legs with short, undifferentiated setulae. No differentiated spinelike setae on anterior margin of costa near middle of wing. Abdomen ( Figs 6-7 ): gradually tapering, segments 1-6 grey microtrichose, forming preabdomen. Segment 7 concealed internally. Segment 8 partly retracted into segment 7, partly exposed, forming ‘ovipositor’; lustrous brown and contrasting strongly with preceding microtrichose segments. Terminalia not acanthophorous. Tergite 1 short, tergites 2-4 normal. Tergites 5 and 6 with a fringe of long setae on posterior margin. Tergite 7 bare, very narrow dorsally, broadly emarginate anteriorly and posteriorly, and broadening widely as it extends laterally. Tergite 8 long, emarginate anteriorly, divided medially into 2 hemitergites; apices of hemitergites divergent. Tergite 10 minute and barely sclerotised, fused to cerci, divided into 2 hemitergites each bearing 3 long setae not forming spines. Sternite 1 short. Sternites 2-4 normal. Sternites 5 and 6 with a fringe of longer setae on posterior margin. Sternite 7 short, poorly sclerotised. Sternite 8 long, produced posteriorly, depigmented posteromedially; genital fork (= sternite 9) represented by a single ventral and paired dorsal and lateral accessory sclerites. Sternite 10 divided into 2 sinuous, strap-like hemisternites. Cercus long, microtrichose, bearing long setae of varying lengths on dorsal and lateral surfaces, longest at tip; in addition bearing numerous setulae on apical half. Spermatheca ( Fig. 8 ) short tubular with tracheated surface.

BIOLOGY: Unknown. All specimens were collected from inland sand dunes and a sandy beach, suggesting that the species is psammophilous.

DISTRIBUTION: Hitherto known only from two localities in Israel.

REMARKS: This species was previously reported from Israel as probably new but not formally described ( Gatt, 2003).

Figures

FIG. 1 Microphorella ebejeri sp. n. ♁ antenna, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.1mm.

FIG. 2 Microphorella ebejeri sp. n. ♂ wing. Scale bar = 0.5mm.

FIG. 3 Microphorella ebejeri sp. n. ♁ abdomen, right lateral view. Scale bar = 0.5mm. Abbreviations explained in the text.

FIG. 4 Microphorella ebejeri sp. n. ♁ hypopygium and sternite 8, viewed from the left. Scale bar = 0.5mm. Abbreviations explained in the text.

FIG. 5 Microphorella ebejeri sp. n. ♁ hypopygium, viewed from the right. Scale bar = 0.5mm. Abbreviations explained in the text.

FIG. 6 Microphorella ebejeri sp. n.º abdomen, lateral view (stretched, membranes and spermatheca omitted). Scale bar = 0.3mm. Abbreviations explained in the text.

FIG. 7 Microphorella ebejeri sp. n.♀ tip of abdomen, with (internally) parts of genital fork, dorsal view (right ht10 and left hst 10 omitted). Scale bar = 0.3mm. Abbreviations explained in the text.

FIG. 8 Microphorella ebejeri sp. n. ♀ spermatheca, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.1mm.