Tonnoiriella aurasica, Wagner & Withers, 2020

Wagner, Rüdiger & Withers, Phil, 2020, The West-Palearctic species of the genus Tonnoiriella Vaillant, 1971 (Diptera: Psychodidae, Psychodinae), Zootaxa 4728 (2), pp. 183-210 : 191

Tonnoiriella aurasica sp. nov.

( Figs. 12, 13 )

Material: 1♂ holotype (GBIFCH 00585266), Le Chelia , Aurès, Algérie, April 1952 (in the collection F. Vaillant de- posited in the Natural History Museum Lausanne). The slide contains 3 wings, 1 abdomen with terminalia in ventral view, 1 abdomen with male terminalia in lateral view; abdomen in ventral view represents the holotype .

Description: Because head and thorax of specimens are not preserved, description is incomplete.

Wing length 1.84–1.94 mm, width 0.29–0.33 mm; length to width relation 3.0–3.26.

Male terminalia with hypandrium slightly widened in the middle ( Fig. 12 ).

Gonocoxite slightly bent with about 10 strong short setae basally and 1 long seta in the basal third. Gonostylus is as long as or slightly longer than gonocoxite, almost straight. Basiphallus is racket-shaped, basally roundish. The morphologically ventral lobe almost straight reaching the apical end of the gonocoxite, tip bent laterally; dorsal lobe wider, end at about middle of gonocoxite with a short lateral spine, joined to the distiphallus by a less sclerotized flexible section. The ventral distiphallus is a specifically shaped cross sclerite, apical end with sharp tip, connection with basiphallus typically shaped, ventral part spearhead shaped ( Fig. 13 ), dorsal part broader with a sharp lateral edge. Parameral sheath wrinkled.

Epandrium rhomboid with straight elongate epandrial processes, with 11–12 feathered tenacula, consistently decreasing in length, the basal about 2x longer than the apical ones; proctiger without specific features.

Distribution: North Africa: Algeria (Monts de Aurès).

Etymology: To avoid nomenclatorical troubles we follow the denomination of F. Vaillant; a figure of the species’ genitalia is provided in the ultimate Lieferung of ‘Die Fliegen der paläarktischen Region, 9.d Psychodidae , Psychodinae’ (Table CXX, Fig. 17 ), description missing. The nomination follows the Berber pronunciation: Jibâl al-Awrâs (Awras mountains).

Remarks: The Aurès-mountains are situated south of the Tellatlas and east of the Sahara Atlas in Algeria, highest summit is Djebel Chélia (2.328 m a.s.l.). From Vaillant’s doctoral thesis (1955, pp. 205–206) additional information on the environment is available; he collected at Le Chélia on the 16 April 1952, elevation 1.280 m in a madicolous zone. For this collection date and a later one he did not mention the presence of any ‘ Pericoma ’ species.

Figures

FIGURES 8–14: 8 T. pulchra, genitalia ventral view; 9 T. pulchra, tip of aedeagus, dorsal view; 10 T. paveli, genitalia ventral view; 11 T. paveli ventral lobe of basiphallus with spineous ventral and dorsal distiphallus sclerites, dorsal view; 12 T. aurasica genitalia ventral view; 13 T. aurasica ventral lobe of basiphallus with spine and flexible area connecting with ventral distiphallus; 14 T. anderssoni, genitalia ventral view (in all figures epandrium, epandrial processes, and proctiger not shown).

FIGURES 15–25: 15 T. sieberti genitalia ventral view; 16 T. ikariae genitalia ventral view; 17–21 T. italiae, genitalia ventral view of specimen from northern Italy (17), Sicily (18), aedeagus of specimen from N Italy (19), Sicily, Villa doso (20) and Sicily Castelbuono (21); 22 T. turcica genitalia ventral view; 23 T. rhodesica genitalia ventral view; 24 T syriensis genitalia ventral view, 25 T. syriensis epandrium and epandrial processes oblique view.