Merodon petiolatus Vujić, Radenković et, 2023

Vujić, Ante, Radenković, Snežana, Tubić, Nataša Kočiš, Likov, Laura, Popov, Grigory, Rojo, Santos & Miličić, Marija, 2023, Integrative taxonomy of the Merodon aberrans (Diptera, Syrphidae) species group: distribution patterns and description of three new species, Contributions to Zoology 92 (1), pp. 51-96 : 73-76

Merodon petiolatus Vujić, Radenković et

Rojo sp. nov.

Zoobank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0C69B66E-7A75-44BE-BA1F-1D76B273CFA7

Type material. Holotype. Male. Turkey, Tufanbeyli , 38.253699N, 36.228826E, 20.vi.1991, leg. K. M. Guichard ( BMNH) . Paratype. Turkey, Tufanbeyli, 38.253699N, 36.228826E, 20.vi.1991, leg. K. M. Guichard 1 male in BMNH .

Diagnosis: Large species (12–13 mm), with petiolate abdomen, tergum 2 gradually tapering, and terga 3–4 narrow ( fig. 20 ); dark species with bluish to brown lustre ( fig. 20 ); antennae dark brown ( fig. 21A ); wing with black microtrichia in apical third and white spot of microtrichia on tip of wing, and the rest of wing with reduced microtrichia ( fig. 21C ); basoflagellomere elongated, 2 times as long as wide; body covered with yellow–grey pilosity (except apical ¼ of tergum 3 and apical ½ of tergum 4 with short and adpressed black pile); legs black (except tibiae reddish to brown basally); metafemur long, narrow, about 5 times longer than wide ( fig. 21B ); terga 2–4 each with a pair of narrow, white pollinose fasciate maculae ( fig. 20 ).

Description: Male. Head ( fig. 21A ). Antennae dark brown; basoflagellomere ( fig. 21A ) elongated, about 2 times as long as wide, and about 1.5 times as long as the pedicel, more or less straight dorsally, tapering to the apex; fossette dorsolateral; arista dark brown and thickened on basal third; arista about 2 times as long as basoflagellomere ( fig. 21A ); face and frons black to dark blue, with grey pollinosity; face covered with dense whitish pile, and frons with grey–yellowish pile; lunula shiny black to brown, bare; eye contiguity about 14–16 facets long; vertex isosceles, shiny black; vertex with long, pale yellow–whitish pile, mixed with some black pile on the ocellar triangle; ocellar triangle isosceles; occiput with grey–yellow pile, ventrally covered with dense, grey pollinosity; eyes covered with dense whitish–grey pile ( fig. 21A ). Thorax ( figs. 20 , 21B, C ). Mesonotum ( fig. 20 ) black with bluish to brown lustre, covered with dense, erect, yellow–grey pile; scutum with two pollinose vittae; anterior half of scutum from dull to shiny; posterodorsal part of anterior anepisternum, posterior anepisternum (except anteroventral angle), anterior anepimeron, dorsomedial anepimeron, and posterodorsal and anteroventral parts of katepisternum with long, dense pale yellow pile; wings ( fig. 21C ) with reduced microtrichia in basal 2/3, apical 1/3 covered with dense black microtrichia, while the tip covered with white microtrichia forming a spot; wing veins brown; calypteres yellow; halteres yellow–brown; femora black, tibiae basally reddish to brown; tarsi brown dorsally; pile on legs pale grey to yellowish; metafemur narrow, about 5 times longer than wide, with short pile on ventral surface, about 1/4–1/3 of width of metafemur, shorter than pile on dorsal surface ( fig. 21B ). Abdomen ( fig. 20 ). Narrow, petiolate, tergum 2 gradually tapering, and terga 3–4 very narrow ( fig. 20 ); abdomen about 1.4 times longer than mesonotum; terga black with bluish lustre; terga 2–4 each with a pair of narrow, white pollinose fasciate maculae; pile on terga all yellow to grey–whitish (except apical ¼ of tergum 3 and apical ½ of tergum 4 with short and adpressed black pile); sterna dark brown, sterna 2 and 3 covered with long whitish–yellow pile, while sternum 4 is covered with short pile. Male genitalia ( fig. 22 ). Anterior surstyle lobe enlarged, oval to rectangular ( fig. 22A : al); posterior surstyle lobe quadratic ( fig. 22A : pl), with well-developed interior accessory lobe ( fig. 22B : il); cercus rectangular ( fig. 22A : c); hypandrium sickle-shaped; lingula elongated and narrow ( fig. 22C : l).

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. “ Petiolatus ” is a Latin adjective meaning petiolate, stalked; it refers to the shape of the abdomen.

Distributionandbiologicaldata: Thisspecies is recorded only in Turkey ( fig. 8 ). The flight period is the month of June. Developmental stages: not described.

Figures

FIGURE 8 Distribution map of Merodon brevis, Merodon hamifer, Merodon petiolatus sp. nov., Merodon retectus sp. nov. and Merodon warnckei.

FIGURE 20 Body of Merodon petiolatus sp. nov., male, dorsal view.

FIGURE 21 Body parts of Merodon petiolatus sp. nov., male. A) head, frontal view, B) metaleg, lateral view, C) wing, dorsal view.

FIGURE 22 Male genitalia of Merodon petiolatus sp. nov.A) epandrium, lateral view, B) epandrium, ventral view, C) hypandrium, lateral view. Abbreviations: al, anterior surstyle lobe; c, cercus; il, interior accessory lobe of posterior surstyle lobe; l, lingula; pl, posterior surstyle lobe.