Cameroonomiya matilei Grichanov, 2024

Grichanov, I. Ya., 2024, A new genus and species of subfamily Medeterinae (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Cameroon, Far Eastern Entomologist 495, pp. 1-9 : 5-9

Cameroonomiya matilei Grichanov , sp. n.

https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ 3554ACC5-1F67-4490-83C2-A8E2930170F1

Figs 1 , 2

TYPE MATERIAL. Holotype – ♂, Cameroon: “Mission Cameroun, C.N. R.S. [Centre national de la recherche scientifique], RCP [Recherche coopérative sur programme] 318, Octobre – Novembre 1975 / Bafut Nguemba [ Forest Reserve ] (vallée de la Haute Nguemba), Province du Nord-Ouest / 27.X.1975 ” [ MNHN] . Paratype: 1♀, same data as for holotype, but the date is 3.XI.1975 [ MNHN] .

DESCRIPTION. Male ( Fig. 1A ). Head ( Fig. 1B ): vertex, frons and face black, weakly grey pollinose, with black major bristles; vertical bristle black, strong and long, positioned on upper corner of head; short postvertical seta as a linear continuation of postocular setal row; one pair of strong ocellar bristles with adjacent pair of hairs; single row of fine black simple postoculars decreasing in size upward; eyes with short hairs between facets below, with microscopic hairs above; face under antenna as wide as clypeus, nearly 2 times as wide as postpedicel height, slightly narrowed at middle; face 2 times as high as face width in middle; facial suture distinct; antenna ( Fig. 1C ) about as long as head height, black; scape and pedicel small, simple; pedicel globular, with ring of apical setulae of approximately equal length; postpedicel slightly larger than pedicel, subtriangular, with rounded apex, as long as high, white pubescent; arista-like stylus dorsal, filiform, shortly haired, with its segment 1 very short; length of scape, pedicel, postpedicel, stylus (segments 1 and 2), 0.08/0.07/0.12/0.06/0.98; palpus black, as long as clypeus, oval, black haired, with black apical seta; proboscis thick, projected, black haired.

Thorax ( Fig. 1D ) mat, brownish black, weakly grey pollinose, with black bristles; anterior slope of mesonotum shortly haired; 6 pairs of strong dorsocentrals with anterior pair shorter and posterior pair longer than other bristles; acrostichals absent; 2 pairs of scutellars with lateral setae fine, 1/3 as long as marginal bristles; 2 long notopleurals, 1 long and few short black propleural setae above fore coxa.

Legs long and slender, mainly dirty yellow; bristles, setae and setulae black; mid and hind coxae mostly brown; distal tarsomeres brownish; fore coxa with short simple anterior cilia, 2 setae at base and 3 setae at apex; mid coxa with short anterior cilia and 1 fine seta at middle; hind coxa with 1 fine lateral bristle at middle; claws on all legs small and black, pulvilli small and white; fore leg devoid of bristles, but fore tibia with 2 short anterodorsals, 2 short apicals and anterior apical scale of setulae; mid femur simple, with anterior preapical seta; mid tibia with 2 anterodorsal, 2 posterodorsal and 5 apical bristles; tarsomeres 1–4 with short apicals; hind femur simple, with anterior preapical bristle, slightly longer than height of femur; hind tibia simple, with 2 anterodorsal, 2 posterodorsal, few fine ventral, 1 dorsal preapical and 2 short apical setae (Fig. 3); hind basitarsus simple; tarsomeres 1–4 with short apicals (Fig. 3); femur, tibia and tarsomere (from first to fifth) length (mm): fore leg: 1.13/1.17/0.91/0.55/0.28/0.19/0.24, mid leg: 1.41/1.92/ 1.23/0.59/0.38/0.21/0.21, hind leg: 1.66/2.11/0.66/0.78/0.43/0.31/0.21.

Wing ( Fig. 1E ) almost hyaline, with brown veins; R 2+3 and R 4+5 gradually diverging to wing apex; R 4+5 and M 1+2 slightly converging in distal half; M 1+2 almost straight, joining costa beyond wing apex; ratio of part of costa between R 2+3 and R 4+5 to this between R 4+5 and M 1+2 to dm-m to distal part of M 4 (in mm), 0.55/0.26/ 0.35/0.62; crossvein dm-m straight, perpendicular to longitudinal wing axis, slightly shorter than maximum distance between R 4+5 and M 1 veins; anal vein well-developed; narrow anal lobe present; anal angle obtuse; alula absent; posterior wing margin evenly convex; lower calypter brownish, with long black setae; halter yellow.

Abdomen mat, black, weakly grey pollinose, with black hairs and long bristles along tergal margins; terga 1–5 and sterna 2–4 well-developed; sternum 2 with relatively long and thin ventral process; sternum 4 forming large triangular ventral hood sparsely covered with short white hairs, with 3 pairs of long setae posteriorly and hook-like process in middle of posterior margin ( Fig. 2A ); tergum 6 small, bare; sterna 5–6 membranous; tergum 7 semicircular, very narrow, symmetrically lying along posterior margin of tergum 6, bare, ending laterally with minute plates (sternum 7); segment 8 large, rounded, covered with microtrichia and sparse setae, with short ventral process. Hypopygium ( Fig. 2B ) including cerci entirely black; epandrium small (ca. 0.4 mm), globular, basally asymmetrical, as long as high (lateral aspect), with symmetrical appendages; foramen large, positioned left laterally; hypandrium ( Fig. 2C ) midventral, broad (ventral aspect), flat, with distal emargination, pointed at left and right apices; phallus simple, short and thin distally; epandrial lobe subtriangular (lateral aspect), broad, projected distoventrally, fused with ventral side of epandrium, with 1 short apical and 1 long subapical setae; finger-like epandrial process between epandrial lobe and surstylus with 2 long apical setae; surstylus projected, with dorsal and ventral arms, with relatively long apical setae; dorsal arms of left and right surstylus strongly curved to each other; ventral arm bifurcated from middle, with straight lobes bearing strong setae; cercus small, rounded, covered with short white hairs, bearing several simple setae dorsally and apically; cerci separated, not fused.

MEASUREMENTS (in mm). Body length 3.6; antenna length 1.2; wing length 4.3; wing width 1.3.

Female. Similar to male except lacking male secondary sexual characters. Face nearly parallel-sided; abdomen with 5 visible segments; oviscapt hidden.

MEASUREMENTS (in mm). Body length 3.6; antenna length 1.2; wing length 4.5; wing width 1.5.

ETYMOLOGY. The species is named after the late French dipterologist Dr. Loïs Matile (1938 2000).

DISCUSSION

In the present study, a new genus and a new species Cameroonomiya matilei gen. et sp. n. is described by a male holotype and a female paratype collected in the mountain Bafut Nguemba Forest Reserve of Cameroon. This nature reserve like many other protected areas of the country are largely undercollected, and the types were apparently accidentally caught together with many other insects by researchers of the French National Museum of Natural History. Nevertheless, there are many poorly studied mountain ranges in West Africa; so, we can anticipate discovery of more Cameroonomiya gen. n. species in future.

The genus Cameroonomiya gen. n. is considered the closest to Udzungwomyia in the tribe Udzungwomyiini ( Grichanov, 2019) , differing from the latter in the wing distinctly longer than the body; the face almost parallel-sided, about 2 times as wide as height of the postpedicel; the postpedicel subtriangular, with dorsal arista-like stylus; six pairs of strong dorsocentral bristles; the male hind tibia and basitarsus simple, without modified setae or bristles; the anal vein well-developed; the sternum 2 with long and thin ventral process in both sexes; the hypopygium with epandrial foramen positioned left laterally; the hypandrium long and broad (ventral aspect), flat, with distal emargination; the surstylus with modified arms. Species of Udzungwomyia differ from Cameroonomiya gen. n. in the wing distinctly shorter than the body; the face in middle about as wide as height of postpedicel, half as wide as face at clypeus and under antennae; the postpedicel semiglobular, with preapical arista-like stylus; four pairs of strong dorsocentral bristles; the male hind tibia swollen at apex, with two long thick curved apicals; the hind basitarsus with basiventral process; the anal vein fold-like; the sternum 2 without ventral process; the hypopygium with epandrial foramen positioned basally; the hypandrium short, bifurcated from base; the surstylus with simple arms ( Grichanov , 2018, 2019).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My cordial thanks are expressed to late Dr. Loïs Matile ( MNHN) for providing (in 1999) the specimens studied in this research. The research was funded by the All-Russian Institute of Plant Protection project No. FGEU-2022-0002.

Cumming, J.M. & Wood, D.M. 2009. Adult morphology and terminology [Chapter] 2. P. 9–50. In: Brown, B.V., Borkent, A., Cumming, J.M., Wood, D.M., Woodley, N.E. & Zumbado, M.A. (Eds.). Manual of Central American Diptera, Volume 1. NRC Research Press, Ottawa.

Fogwe, Z.N., Tume, S.J.P. & Fouda, M. 2019. Eucalyptus tree colonization of the Bafut-Ngemba Forest Reserve, North West Region, Cameroon. Environment & Ecosystem Science, 3 (2): 12–16.

Grichanov, I.Ya. 2018. A new genus and species of subfamily Medeterinae (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Tanzania. Far Eastern Entomologist, 350: 9–16.

Grichanov, I.Ya. 2019. Discovery of Udzungwomyia Grichanov in South Africa and definition of a new tribe Udzungwomyiini (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Israel Journal of Entomology, 49 (2): 267–275.

Grichanov, I.Ya. & Brooks, S.E. 2017. 56. Dolichopodidae (long-legged dance flies). P. 1265–1320. In: Kirk-Spriggs, A.H. & Sinclair, B.J. (Eds.). Manual of Afrotropical Diptera, Volume 2. Nematocerous Diptera and Lower Brachycera. Suricata 5. SANBI Graphics & Editing, Pretoria.

Takem-Mbi, B.M. 2013. Assessing forest cover change in the Bafut-Ngemba Forest Reserve (BNFR), North West Region of Cameroon using remote sensing and GIS. International Journal of Agricultural Policy and Research, 1 (7): 180–187.

Figures

Fig. 1. Cameroonomiya matilei sp. n. (male holotype): A – habitus; B – head; C – antenna; D – head and mesonotum, dorsal view; E – wing.

Fig. 2. Cameroonomiya matilei sp. n. (A–C – male holotype, D – female paratype): A – apex of abdomen, lateral view, after maceration; B – everted hypopygium, lateral view; C – everted hypopygium, ventral-lateral view; D – habitus. Abbreviations: cer = cercus; epand = epandrium; epand lb = epandrial lobe; hypd = hypandrium; ph = phallus; st 4 = sternite 4; sur = surstylus; tg 5 = tergite 5; tg 6 = tergite 6.