Helina nigrointermedia Xue and Tian, 2012

Xue, Wanqi & Tian, Xu, 2012, Thirteen new species of the genus Helina R. - D. (Diptera: Muscidae) from China, Journal of Natural History 46 (9 - 10), pp. 565-598 : 585-588

Helina nigrointermedia Xue and Tian sp. nov.

( Figure 9A–D )

Type material

Holotype. One male ( IESNU), China, Luding , Sichuan province, 30 ◦ 10 ′ N, 102 ◦ 25 ′ E, altitude 2600 m, 17 July 2006, L.Y. Feng.

Paratypes. Three males ( IESNU), same data as holotype .

Etymology

The name of this species is based on the new species being similar to Helina intermedia (Villeneuve, 1899) but with black tibiae.

Distribution

China, Sichuan Province, Luding.

Remarks

The new species is similar to H. intermedia (Villeneuve, 1899) , but differs from it as follows: tibia black, fore tibia with one median p. The new species is similar to Helena mimintermedia Feng et Xue, 2002 , but differs from it in having eye bare; hind tibia with three ad, tergites 2 to 5 with median vittae, the inner margin of lateral lobe in sternite 5 with five or six strong setae, terminalia small, the lateral margin of cerci inflexed in centre, apical part of cerci swollen, and inner margin with four or five setae.

Description (based on holotype)

Male. Body length 9.4–9.6 mm.

Colour: Frontal vitta black, parafacial covered with grey pruinosity, antenna black, lunule brown to dark brown, genal and postgenal hairs black, genal covered with dark grey pruinosity, prementum covered with slight grey pruinosity, palpus black. Thorax black in ground-colour, covered with grey pruinosity, postsutural area of scutum with brown vitta in the post, anterior spiracle and posterior spiracle brown. Wing light brown, veins brown to dark brown, basicosta black, cross-vein r-m dark brown, calypters light yellowish, haltere brown. Legs all black. Abdomen groundcolour black, covered with dark and dense grey pruinosity, tergites 2 to 5 with a pair of black lateral patches.

Head: Eye bare, frons subequal with or narrower than the distance between posterior ocelli in width, frontal vitta about 1.5–2.0 times as wide as fronto-orbital plate, six or seven pairs of frontal setae on lower three-fifths of frons, without ors; Ocellar setae subequal with the longest frontal setae in length; fronto-orbital plate, parafacial about 1.2–1.3 times as wide as postpedicel; postpedicel about 2.4–2.6 times as long as broad, arista plumose, the longest aristal hairs subequal with or longer than the postpedicel in width, lower facial margin not projecting, vibrissal angle situated behind frontal angle; anterior margin of gena with one row of upcurved subvibrissal setulae; genal height about two-sevenths of eye height, the upper lateral area of the occiput with long dense hairs, prementum about twice as long as broad, palpus about 1.2–1.3 times as long as prementum; the length of labella longer than the height of prementum, the both sides of labella with some small and dense prestomal teeth.

Thorax: Scutum with four broad vittae, the inner vitta reaching scutoscutellar suture; four rows of prst-acr, dc 2+4, ial 0+2, pra absent, postpronotal seta 3, posthumeral seta 1+0, notopleuron, lateral margin and lower surface of scutellum all bare, apical scutellar seta and basal scutellar seta developed, basisternum of prosternum, proepisternum hollow in centre, anepimeron, katepimeron and meron all bare; upper proepisternal seta 1, upper proepimeral seta 2+2.

Wing: Costal spine shorter than cross-vein r-m, Sc curved and arc-shaped, cross-vein r-m with some clouding, cross-vein dm-cu straight, the lower calypter ligule-shaped.

Legs: Fore tibia with median one p; mid-femur without distinct av; with a complete pv row, those in basal part short, in apical part with three pd, mid-tibia three or four p, only one short; the anteroventral surface and posteroventral surface of hind femur with a complete and fringed setal row, ventral surface with long fringe-shaped hairs in basal half, hind tibia with three or four av, three ad, with one short pd in submedial, the back of the middle with a short setal row, about nine or ten, apically without pv; the tarsi of front legs and middle legs longer than tibiae in length, claws and pulvilli long, longer than fifth tarsomere in length, the tarsi of hind legs subequal with tibiae in length, claws and pulvilli subequal with fifth tarsomere in length.

Abdomen: Cone-shaped in dorsal view, tergite 5 with small spots, tergites 2 to 5 with median vittae, tergites 5 with four pairs of discal bristles; sternite 1 bare, sternites 2 to 4 quadrate-shaped, with dense setae, the inner margin of lateral lobe in sternite 5 with five or six strong setae, terminalia small, the lateral margin of cerci inflexed in centre, apical of cerci swollen, the inner margin with four or five setae.

Female. Unknown.

Figures

Figure 9. Helina nigrointermedia sp. nov. (A) Male, abdomen in dorsal view; (B) male, sternite 5 in ventral view; (C) male, cerci in posterior view; (D) male, terminalia in profile. Scale bars: A, 1 mm; B, 0.5 mm; C,D, 0.2 mm.