Platypalpus pauli Zouhair & Grootaert, 2024

Zouhair, Laila, Grootaert, Patrick & Kettani, Kawtar, 2024, Twelve new species of Platypalpus Macquart (Diptera: Hybotidae) from Morocco, with additional new records, European Journal of Taxonomy 951 (1), pp. 1-53 : 28-30

Platypalpus pauli Zouhair & Grootaert sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:AB7BEDEF-4ABF-4FB6-A746-51B5E8BCD922

Figs 17–18

Diagnosis

A small black species (2.5 mm long) of the pallidiventris-cursitans group, with one pair of long yellow verticals. Antennae with both basal segments yellow, postpedicel blackish but somewhat yellowish at base, about 3× as long as wide at base. Mesoscutum including postpronotal lobe densely yellowish dusted, pleura densely grey dusted leaving a polished spot on katepisternum. Legs entirely yellow including coxae, but tarsi black annulated. Fore tibia with a dorsal row of moderately long, somewhat thick brownish setae. Mid tibia with a long, sharp apical spur. Wings hyaline with veins R 4+5 and M 1+2 convergent just before meeting wing margin.

Etymology

This new species is named after Dr Paul Gatt, an expert of hybotid fauna, for his great dedication to the study of this dipteran family.

Material examined

Holotype

MOROCCO – Rif • ♂; Ametrasse ; 20 May 2022; sweep net; L. Zouhair leg.; RBINS.

Paratypes

MOROCCO – Rif • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Medchar Lemtahene ; 27 Apr. 2012; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Oued Khemis ; 10 Apr. 2014; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 2 ♂♂; Oued Boumarouil ; 10 May 2014; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 4 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Oued Sifalaou ; 17 Apr. 2016; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 1 ♂; Rahbat Amlay ; 2 May 2018; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 1 ♂; same collection data as for holotype; LESCB . – Eastern Morocco • 1 ♂; Ain Chebak ; 9 Apr. 2017; sweep net; N.H. El Ouazzani leg.; LESCB . – Atlantic Plain • 1 ♂; Guiche Loudaya ; 10 Apr. 2022; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB . – High Atlas • 1 ♂; Ain Tafraout ; 25 Mar. 2017; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB .

Description

Male

LENGTH. Body: 2.5 mm; wing: 2.8 mm.

HEAD. Black in ground colour, occiput densely greyish pollinose (yellowish pollinose toward ocellar tubercle) with short pale setae and one pair of long yellow verticals. Gena densely greyish pollinose with long pale setae. Ocellar tubercle yellowish pollinose, with 2 moderately long, yellow anterior setae and 2 very short, yellow posterior setae. Frons densely greyish pollinose, narrower than pedicel, somewhat broader toward ocellar tubercle. Face greyish dusted, narrower than postpedicel at base. Clypeus polished and short. Antennae with both basal segments brownish yellow, postpedicel blackish but somewhat yellowish at base, conical, slightly elongate, about 3× as long as wide at base, stylus black, about 1.5 × as long as postpedicel. Proboscis blackish, rather long, somewhat shorter than head is high. Palpus yellow, somewhat large, elongate ovate, with scattered pale setulae and two long yellow subapical setae.

THORAX. Black. Mesoscutum including postpronotal lobe densely yellowish dusted, pleura densely grey dusted, leaving a polished spot on katepisternum. Postpronotal lobe with 1 long yellow seta and 2 minute yellow setae. Mesoscutum with 2 yellow notopleurals, 1 yellow postalar, 2 pairs of long yellow prescutellars, 4 yellow scutellars (apical pair long and cruciate, lateral pair very short), acrostichals yellow, biserial, dorsocentrals yellow, uniserial, as long as acrostichals.

LEGS. Entirely yellow including coxae, tarsi dark brown annulated. Coxae and trochanters with ordinary yellowish setae of different lengths. Fore femur thickened, with short, pale anteroventral and posteroventral setae. Fore tibia swollen, clothed with ordinary brown setulae, with a dorsal row of moderately long, somewhat thick brownish setae. Mid femur much thicker than fore femur, with double row of black ventral spinules and row of long, yellow posteroventral setae. Mid tibia slender, with ordinary short setae and a long, sharp, largely black apical spur, longer than tibia is deep. Hind femur slender, with a ventral row of black spinules. Hind tibia slender, shorter than femur, with a dorsal row of short, somewhat thick brown setulae.

WINGS. Hyaline, with paler brownish veins. Costa with one moderately long black seta. Veins R 4+5 and M 1+2 convergent just before meeting wing margin. Crossveins m-cu and r-m separated, bm distinctly longer than br. Vein Cu 2 straight. Vein Cu reaching wing border. Anal vein distinct in apical part and evanescent in basal part. Squama yellowish. Haltere whitish.

ABDOMEN. With brown tergites, subshining, covered with pale setae. Sternites paler brown, with similar setation. Male terminalia ( Fig. 17 ) with cerci confined to epandrial capsule. Cerci equally long. ApeX of left cercus with a pointed protrusion at left side ( Fig. 17B ). Apical margin of right surstylus set with long setae ( Fig. 17C ). Left border of left epandrial lamella with very short setae on apical half, on basal half densely set with long setae ( Fig. 17D ).

Female

Unknown.

Remarks

The black postpedicel with its yellow base, the presence of only 2 notopleural setae and the swollen fore tibia will lead to P. annulitarsis Kovalev, 1978 (couplet 168) in the key in Grootaert & Chvála (1992). The male of P. annulitarsis has a long but rounded spur as in P. annulipes (Meigen, 1822) ( Kovalev 1978: fig. 2), the tarsi are dark annulated with the fore tarsi very sharply so ( Chvála 1989) and the left epandrial lamella has a rounded basal projection bearing long setae. In P. pauli sp. nov., the spur on the mid tibia is sharply pointed as in P. stabilis Collin, 1961 , all tarsi are dark annulated and the left side of the left epandrial lamella is not protruding. In P. stabilis the clypeus is dusted, while it is polished in the new species, the anterior four femora are equally thickened, while the mid femora are more thickened than the fore femora in P. pauli , and the left side of the left epandrial lamella is set over its entire length with long setae ( Chvála 1975), while they are confined to the basal half in the new species.

Figures

Fig. 17. Platypalpus pauli Zouhair & Grootaert sp. nov., male terminalia (holotype, RBINS). A. Right epandrial lamella. B. Epandrium with cerci. C. Apex of right surstylus. D. Left epandrial lamella. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

Fig. 18. Platypalpus pauli Zouhair & Grootaert sp. nov., ♂, habitus (holotype, RBINS).