Platypalpus zeravshanensis, Barták, Miroslav & Shamshev, Igor, 2015

Barták, Miroslav & Shamshev, Igor, 2015, Species of Platypalpus Macquart (Diptera: Hybotidae) from Uzbekistan, with descriptions of thirteen new species, Zootaxa 3926 (3), pp. 351-376 : 370-371

Platypalpus zeravshanensis sp. nov.

( Figs 36–38 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, labelled: “ UZBEKISTAN, Samarkand, along river Zeravshan, 39°38'N, 67°04'E, 22.v.1989, M. Barták” ( CULSP). PARATYPES: UZBEKISTAN: 11♂, same data as holotype ( CULSP); 5♂, Samarkand, 2 km E, pasture, 39°39'N, 67°01'E, 22.v.1989, M. Barták ( CULSP); 1♂, Zeravshan res., deciduous wood, 39°38'N, 67°08'E, 24.v.1989, M. Barták ( CULSP); 1♂, Chirchik, along river, 41°32'N, 69°38'E, 19.v.1989, M. Barták ( CULSP); 3♂, Chinaz, along Syrdarja river, 40°53'N, 68°43'E, 20.v.1989, M. Barták (1♂ in CULSP; 2♂ in ZIN).

Additional material (females excluded from type series): UZBEKISTAN: 1♀, Samarkand, along river Zeravshan, 39°38'N, 67°04'E, 22.v.1989, M. Barták; 3♀, Chinaz, along Syrdarja river, 40°53'N, 68°43'E, 20.v.1989, M. Barták; 1♀, Tashkent, damp meadow, 41°24'N, 69°28'E, 16.v.1989, M. Barták; 1♀, Tashkent, along brook, 41°15'N, 69°28'E, 19.v.1989, M. Barták; 1♀, Karamazar, alpine meadow, 41°30'N, 69°49'E, 800 m, 18.v.1989, M. Barták; 2♀, Zeravshan res., deciduous wood, 39°38'N, 67°08'E, 24.v.1989, M. Barták; 1♀, Chimgan, damp meadow, 41°37'N, 70°00'E, 800 m, 18.v.1989, M. Barták ( CULSP).

Diagnosis. Black species with 1 pair of vertical setae; basal antennal segments reddish-yellow, postpedicel black, narrow; thorax microtrichose; anterior notopleural seta present; katepisternum in middle with urn-like lustrous spot, all setae yellow; legs yellow, usually with darkened fore (or also mid and hind) coxa and sometimes also base of fore femur brownish-yellow, tarsi mostly with indefinite darker annulations, apical half or more of last segment black, mid femur with long posteroventrals, mid tibia with long sharp-tipped apical spur.

Description. Male. Head black, light grey microtrichose, face more silvery microtrichose. Frons » 0.05 mm broad on lower part (about as broad as pedicel) and » 0.07 mm broad on upper part. Face » 0.04 mm broad at middle. Gena lustrous, narrow. Clypeus microtrichose. Antenna with both basal segments reddish-yellow, postpedicel and stylus black; postpedicel narrow at base (only very slightly broader than pedicel), 3.1–3.9X longer than broad; stylus 1.2–1.5X longer than postpedicel. Palpus oval, short (about half as long as proboscis), variable in colour (yellow to almost brown), with 1–2 setae. Ocellar setae pale, » 0.10 mm long. One pair of cruciate, pale vertical setae, » 0.13 mm long, closely situated (distance » 0.12 mm). Occiput with pale (yellowish-white) setae, short on upper part and longer below. Proboscis half as long as height of head, brownish-black. Thorax black, light grey microtrichose; katepisternum with urn-like lustrous spot in middle leaving both anterior and posterior margins microtrichose. All setae yellow. Chaetotaxy: postpronotal seta long and strong (and several additional much smaller setae); acrostichals biserial, short (» 0.06 mm), about 7–11 setae per row; dorsocentrals nearly uniserial (mostly with only 2–4 setae outside row), slightly but distinctly longer and stronger (more bristle-like) than acrostichals, ending in 1–2 longer prescutellars; notopleuron with 1 anterior seta present and 2 long setae on posterior part, upper seta stronger and longer than lower one, with additional smaller setae nearby; 1 long postalar and 1 pair of scutellar setae (with 2 additional small hairs). Wing clear, with pale veins. R4+5 and M1 slightly bowed, in apical part almost parallel. Crossveins widely separated. Cu slightly recurrent. Costal seta yellow, long. Squama yellow with yellow fringes, halter pale yellow. Legs slightly variable in colour: in most specimens yellow with darkened (brownish-yellow) fore (or sometimes also mid and hind) coxa, in about 1/3rd of specimens also base of fore femur brownish-yellow (about 1/3rd of specimens, several of them distinctly immature, with entirely yellow coxae and femora); tarsi yellow, mostly with indefinite darker annulations, apical 2/3rds of last segment contrastingly black; mid and hind tarsi usually darker than fore tarsi. Fore femur distinctly thickened on basal third, setae both dorsally and ventrally half as long as depth of femur or slightly longer. Fore tibia slightly spindle-shaped dilated, short pale setose. Mid femur thickened in middle (nearly 1.5X broader than fore femur), with long pale posteroventral setae. Mid tibia with dark long and sharply pointed apical spur. Hind femur thin, with rather spinelike ventral setae. Hind tibia thin, short and pale setose. Abdomen blackish brown, lustrous, tergites 1–2 broadly and tergite 3 only very narrowly microtrichose on sides; sparsely covered with pale (whitish yellow), short setae on dorsum of tergites and somewhat longer on sides of last two segments. Genitalia ( Figs 36–38 ) with right cercus digitiform, somewhat gradually broadened toward apex, moderately long, with scattered short setae; left cercus somewhat longer and broader on basal part than right cercus, slightly broadened subapically, with scattered short setae; left epandrial lamella ( Fig. 38 ) subtriangular, near base with somewhat convex ventral margin bearing about 30 wavy setae; right epandrial lamella ( Fig. 36 ) elongate ovate, with row of several long subapical setae and some setae along ventral margin; right surstylus short, narrow. Female. Similar to male except as follows: fore tarsi darker than in male: usually tarsomere 2 brown over apical half or so and tarsomeres 3–4 brown over more than 2/ 3rds of their length (tarsi darker than in female of P. pallidiventris (Meigen)) and apical annulations on mid and hind tarsi more brownish than in male. Last two abdominal segments microtrichose, some specimens also with narrow microtrichose lateral stripes on base of remaining tergites. Length: body 2.0–3.0 mm, wing 2.1–3.1 mm.

Etymology. The species is named after the Zeravshan River (also spelled Zaravshan), on whose banks most specimens were captured.

Distribution. Uzbekistan.

Remarks. The species described above may be identified according to the key. It is in many respects similar to P. longiseta (Zetterstedt) ; however, the new species is smaller, with darker legs, more bristle-like and less numerous (almost uniserial) dorsocentrals, at base narrower and entirely dark postpedicel and different male genitalia (left cercus without apical hook). Females of the P. longiseta complex are difficult to distinguish, so they are excluded from the type series.

Figures

FIGURES 36 – 38. Platypalpus zeravshanensis sp. nov., male terminalia. 36. right epandrial lamella, lateral view. 37. cerci, dorsal view. 38. left epandrial lamella, lateral view. Scale bars = 0.10 mm.