Aphaniosoma pullum, Ebejer, 2009

Ebejer, Martin J., 2009, A revision of Afrotropical Chyromyidae (excluding Gymnochiromyia Hendel) (Diptera: Schizophora), with the recognition of two subfamilies and the description of new genera, African Invertebrates 50 (2), pp. 321-321 : 405-407

Aphaniosoma pullum sp. n.

Figs 50 , 51

Etymology: From Latin pullum (blackish), and refers to this species being predominantly dark coloured.

Diagnosis: Extensively greyish black species with brown third antennal segment and tarsomeres of all legs yellow in ơ but often brown in ^, scut setae longer than length of scut, ep shiny dark brown contrasting with the pale cerc; surs unusual, with very short lobes and bilobed distiph projecting backwards rather than forwards.

Description:

Male.

Head: Yellow (rather dusky due to postmortem changes), ocp black, oc triangle black, fr broad but markedly converging anteriorly so that at level of antennae it is about 0.5 times as wide as at level of anterior oc, face small, depressed and with distinct, narrow but low facial carina, eye oval lying oblique, gena yellow, narrow, at middle about 0.4 height of eye and having numerous pale yellow setulae, 2 short setae at vibrissal corner, mouthparts yellow, 4 setulae on fr with 1 pair of longer setulae in front of oc triangle, 4 short orb getting progressively shorter from back to front, 1 vti and 1 vte, pvt distinct and convergent, ocellars parallel, antenna brown (though not as dark chocolate brown as in atriceps ), arista dark, only extreme base of segment 1 yellow.

Thorax: Scutum dark grey, scut dark brown, mtn entirely dark grey, pprn and ntpl yellow, pleura mostly dark grey, but for narrow yellow margins to sutures. Chaetotaxy: 1 pprn, 1 posthu, 1 ihu, 2 ntpl, 0+2–3 ia, 1+5 acrs, 4+5 dc only the posterior one well-developed, prpl minute, 1 pa, 2 pairs of marginal scut, all longer than length of scut, 1 katepisternal with shorter seta in front and several setulae on anterior part of sclerite, 1 anepisternal, all setae pale at front of body becoming darker brown on posterior parts.

Wing: Hyaline and uniformly microtrichose, veins brown, distance between R 2+3 to R 4+5 on costal margin about 0.6 that between R 4+5 and M 1+2, distance between crossveins about 1.3× length of posterior crossvein and length of apical section of Cu about 2.8× length of posterior crossvein. Haltere yellow.

Legs: Yellow and fine yellow setulose, tarsomere 5 of all legs yellow.

Abdomen: Dark brown with narrow, pale yellow hind margins to all tg.

Postabdomen: Yellow with upper part of ep shiny brown on each side of cerc. Female.

As male, but several specimens have tarsomeres 5 darkened. Postabdomen: tg 7 divided, st 7 elongated oval with distinct setulae; cerc appear fused to tg 8; hypr distinct, but no special features; st 8 in two small lobes.

Length: ơ body 1.0 mm, wing 1.1 mm; ^body 1.0 mm, wing 1.2 mm.

Holotype: ơ NAMIBIA: Lüderitz [26°39'S: 15°10'E], alt. 20 m, 14.ix.2003, A. Freidberg ( TAUI) . Paratypes: 1ơ 5^same data as holotype ( TAUI) .

Figures

Fig. 50. Aphaniosoma pullum sp. n., ơ: (a) hypopygium, lateral; (b) left ep; (c) psg, posterior; (d) distiph, ventral; (e) sternites, ventral. Scale bars = 0.15 mm.

Fig. 51. Aphaniosoma pullum sp. n., ^postabdomen: (a) posterior, (b) lateral, (c) ventral, scale bar = 0.1 mm; (d) spermathecae, scale bar = 0.06 mm.