Claraeola heidiae Motamedinia & Skevington

Motamedinia, Behnam, Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Kelso, Scott, 2019, Revision of Claraeola (Diptera, Pipunculidae) in the Middle East based on morphology and DNA barcodes, ZooKeys 873, pp. 85-111 : 85

Claraeola heidiae Motamedinia & Skevington sp. nov. Fig. 4

Examined material.

Holotype. YEMEN • ♂; Manakhah; 15°04'N, 43°44'E; 6 Jul.-21 Aug. 2002; Malaise trap; A. van Harten leg.; CD9078; CNC. Paratypes. YEMEN • 1 ♂; same data as holotype; 24 Jun– 4 Aug 2003; CD6823; GB: MN182744; CNC.

Diagnosis.

This species can be recognized by dark legs; lack of distinct mid-anterior hind tibial bristles and genitalic characters. Due to the shape of the inner male genitalia, it is closely related to C. conjuncta , C. discors , and C. mantisphalliga ( clavata species group). It differs from these species by the shape of the surstyli which is straight in lateral view and a chitinized lobe in the right gonopod.

Description.

Male. Body length (excluding antennae) 3.1-3.3 mm. Head. Face dark, silver-gray pruinose. Scape, pedicel, flagellum, and arista dark. Pedicel with three to four dark upper and one long (longer than half of flagellum) and one shorter lower bristle. Flagellum pointed to short tapering (LF:WF = 2.0-2.1) and gray pruinose. Eyes meeting for six or seven times diameter of ocellus. Frons dark, silver-gray pruinose with a weak median keel bearing a shining spot. Vertex dark, lacking pruinosity, bearing an elevated ocellar triangle. Occiput dark, gray pruinose, changing to brown in upper third. Thorax. Postpronotal lobe brown, gray pruinose and with two to three postpronotal short bristles along upper margin (up to 0.05 mm). Prescutum and scutum dark, predominantly gray-brown pruinose, with two uniseriate dorsocentral rows of dark bristles and longer supra-alar bristles. Scutellum dark, brown pruinose, with a fringe of 10-12 short dark bristles (0.05 mm). Subscutellum large with two gray pruinose patches laterally. Wing. Length: 3.0-3.2 mm. LW:MWW = 2.4. Wing with microtrichia. Pterostigma light brown and incomplete (LS:LTC = 0.5). LTC:LFC = 1.0. r-m reaches dm between basal third and half of the cell’s length. Halter Length: 0.3 mm. Base and knob dark brown, stem light brown. Legs. Coxae and trochanters brown, gray pruinose. Mid coxa and hind trochanter with two dark strong bristles on inner apical corner. Hind trochanter with six or seven small black bristles on inner apical corner. Femora dark brown, yellow at apex, with two ventral rows of dark, peg-like spines in apical half. Tibiae dark brown, narrowly pale at base and apices. Hind tibia with two or three wrinkled indentations mid-anteriorly without distinct bristles. Distitarsi brown covered with small black bristles and 1-3 long bristles at apex. Pulvilli slightly smaller than distitarsi. Abdomen. Ground color dark. Tergite 1 gray pruinose with five or six dark lateral bristles. Tergites 2-5 brown pruinose. Tergite 5 slightly longer than other tergites. Sternites 1-7 dark and pale in middle, gray pruinose. LT35:WS8 = 1.6. Syntergosternite 8 dark brown, gray pruinose, viewed laterally as long as high (LS8:HS8 = 1.0). Viewed caudally, membranous area of medium size and ovate. Genitalia. Genital capsule dorsal view: epandrium dark, gray pruinose and slightly wider than long (MLE:MWE = 0.8-0.9). Surstyli brown, gray pruinose with somewhat longer bristles, symmetrical, ovate shape and elongated ( Fig. 4A ). Genital capsule ventral view: gonopods, similar in size, right one with small chitinized lobe and rather large ( Fig. 4B ). Genital capsule lateral view: surstyli slightly broadened apically ( Fig. 4D, E ). Phallus strong and straight, with three small ejaculatory ducts, two of them bearing one or two saw-like teeth along their sides ( Fig. 4D, E ). Phallic guide long, reaching middle of surstyli, with hooked tip ( Fig. 4D, E ). Ejaculatory apodeme nail-shaped with a bulbous middle ( Fig. 4C ).

Etymology.

The name is selected in honor of Scott Kelso’s daughter for her interest in entomology.

Distribution.

Yemen ( Fig. 10 ).

Figures

Figure 4. Male genitalia of paratype Claraeola heidiae Motamedinia & Skevington, sp. nov. A in dorsal view B in ventral view C ejaculatory apodeme D, E in lateral view.

Figure 10. Claraeola species distribution in the Middle East.