Platypalpus gazaryani, Kustov, Semen, Shamshev, Igor & Grootaert, Patrick, 2014

Kustov, Semen, Shamshev, Igor & Grootaert, Patrick, 2014, Six new species of the Platypalpus pallidiventris-cursitans group (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Caucasus, Zootaxa 3779 (5), pp. 529-539 : 533-534

Platypalpus gazaryani sp. nov.

( Figs 8–10 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE, ♂ labelled [printed in Cyrillic], [ RUSSIA], SZ Kavkaz [= North-West Caucasus], khr. [ridge] Kamennoe/ more, plato [= plateau] Lago-Naki/ 25.vii.2013, Kustov S.Yu. ( ZIN).

Recognition. Small black species of the P. pallidiventris-cursitans group; 2 pairs of brownish black inclinate verticals; antenna with scape and pedicel reddish yellow, postpedicel black, about twice longer than wide; mesonotum with pale to yellowish bristles; katepisternum almost entirely shining; legs yellow but mid coxa, hind coxa and trochanter brownish, fore and mid tarsi brownish yellow, hind tarsus brownish; mid tibia with very small blunt-tipped apical spur.

Description. Male. Body length 1.8 mm; wing length 1.9 mm. Head black. Occiput greyish pollinose; with 2 pairs of long brownish black inclinate verticals. Ocellar tubercle greyish pollinose, with long anterior and minute posterior setae. Frons broad, somewhat broadened toward ocellar tubercle, faintly greyish pollinose. Face narrow, almost parallel-sided, densely silvery-grey pollinose; clypeus densely silvery-grey pollinose. Antenna with scape and pedicel reddish yellow; postpedicel black, short, about twice as long as wide; stylus black, slightly longer as postpedicel. Proboscis dark brown, long, nearly 2/3 as long as head is high. Palpus yellow, short, elongate ovate, with whitish subapical hair nearly as long as palpus.

Thorax rather thinly grey pollinose, denser on pleuron; with pale to yellowish bristles; katepisternum (= sternopleuron) almost entirely shining. Postpronotal lobe rather small and narrow; with 1 long and several very short setae. Mesonotum with 2 notopleurals (anterior seta short, posterior seta long), 1 moderately long postalar and 4 scutellars (apical pair long, cruciate; lateral pair very short); acrostichals very short, arranged in 2–3 broad irregular rows; dorsocentrals irregularly 2–3 serial, very short, 2 prescutellar pairs long.

Legs almost entirely yellow but mid coxa, hind coxa and trochanter brownish; fore and mid tarsi brownishyellow, hind tarsus brownish and hind tibia brownish-yellow apically. Coxae and trochanters with yellowish setae of different lengths. Fore femur slightly thickened; with rows of anteroventral and posteroventral yellowish setae longer on basal part. Fore tibia slender, clothed with ordinary setulae. Mid femur strongly thickened; with double row of black ventral spinules, without distinct posteroventral setae. Mid tibia bearing row of black ventral spinules; with very small, blunt-tipped, flattened apical spur. Hind femur slender, with short anteroventral setae. Hind tibia slender, clothed with ordinary setulae. Tarsi of all legs unmodified.

Wing slightly darkened, with brownish veins. One long costal seta. Veins R4+5 and M1+2 straight and almost parallel near wing margin; CuA2 slightly recurrent. Crossveins m-cu and r-m contiguous. Calypter brown, with yellow setae. Halter yellow.

Abdomen polished black, two anterior tergites with small grey lateral patches, covered with thin, sparse, short, whitish setae becoming longer and more numerous on posterior segments; segment 8 with numerous long dark posteromarginal setae. Terminalia ( Figs 8–10 ) rather large, black, subglobular. Right cercus ( Fig. 9 ) digitiform, parallel-sided, narrowed apically, not extending beyond apex of left epandrial lamella, covered with short ordinary setae; left cercus somewhat longer but nearly as broad as right cercus, truncated apically (dorsal view), covered with short ordinary setae. Right epandrial lamella ( Fig. 8 ) drop-like viewed ventrally, with sculptured subapical part, bearing short setae over lower margin and several short setae subapically; right surstylus short, subrectangular. Left epandrial lamella ( Fig. 10 ) trapezoid, broadly rounded apically, with short setae along lower margin and several longer subapical setae on upper margin.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. The new species is named after G.V. Gazaryan, a senior inspector of Lago-Naki forestry of the Caucasian Nature Reserve who kindly assisted with several trips to that area.

Distribution. PALAEARCTIC: Russia (Republic of Adygea). Known only from the mountain plateau Lago- Naki (44°03′N, 40°00′E) situated on the territory of the Caucasian Nature Reserve, altitude 1700–2100 m; collected from the border of a subalpine forest and glade.

Remarks. The new species is closely related to P. immaculatus (Becker, 1902) known only from Egypt ( Grootaert & Chvála 1992). Platypalpus gazaryani sp. nov. can be distinguished from P. immaculatus by pale yellow palpus (yellowish brown in P. immaculatus ) and colour of legs, which has mid coxa, hind coxa and trochanter brownish, fore and mid tarsi brownish-yellow, hind tarsus brownish and hind tibia brownish-yellow apically (almost entirely yellow with only last two tarsomeres darkened in P. immaculatus ).

Figures

FIGURES 8 – 10. Platypalpus gazaryani sp. nov., male. 8. right epandrial lamella and surstylus, ventral view. 9. epandrium and cerci, dorsal view. 10. left cercus and left epandrial lamella, lateral view. Scale bar is 0.1 mm.