Marleyimyia xylocopae Marshall & Evenhuis

Marshall, Stephen A. & Evenhuis, Neal L., 2015, New species without dead bodies: a case for photo-based descriptions, illustrated by a striking new species of Marleyimyia Hesse (Diptera, Bombyliidae) from South Africa, ZooKeys 525, pp. 117-127 : 121-124

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Bombyliidae

Marleyimyia xylocopae Marshall & Evenhuis sp. n. Figs 1, 2, 3, 4

Type locality.

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: KwaZulu Natal: Ndumo Nature Preserve, Ndumo Campground, 26°54'31.07"S; 32°18'57.85"E.

Type specimen.

Holotype female from SOUTH AFRICA: KwaZulu Natal: Ndumo Nature Preserve, Ndumo Campground, 26°54'31.07"S; 32°18'57.85"E, 74.0 m elev., 1 Dec 2014, S.A. Marshall. Holotype represented in photograph No. 7007 (Fig. 1); other photos taken: Nos. 7002, 7003, 7004, 7005, 7006, 7008. Paratype female represented in photograph No. 7015. photographed at the following locality: SOUTH AFRICA: KwaZulu Natal: Ndumo Nature Preserve, Red Cliffs, 26°51'21.9"S; 32°12'26.3"E, 35.0 m elev., 27 November 2014, S.A. Marshall. Other photos taken: Nos. 7009, 7010, 7012, 7013, 7014, 7016, 7017. All photographs are archived with Morphobank (project P2277: http://morphobank.org/permalink/?P2277, images M397297-M397315).

Diagnosis.

Separated from its congeners by the all black infuscated wing (hyaline in Marleyimyia goliath and Marleyimyia natalensis ), and the mesonotal pattern of black hairs anteriorly and yellow hairs posteriorly (entirely black-haired in Marleyimyia goliath and predominantly yellowish brown-haired in Marleyimyia natalensis ).

Description.

Female. Body: ca. 18-20 mm in length (extrapolated from comparison of grass blade width of Eremochroa (centipede grass) in a larger habitus photograph [No. 7009]). Head (Fig. 2). As wide or wider than thorax, shining black in ground colour with some bluish highlights, clothed with silvery white hairs and tomentum. Frons width ca. 1/3 of head width at occiput; ocellar triangle ellipsoid, lateral ocelli slightly larger than anterior ocellus; occiput with short silvery white hairs dorsally, silvery white tomentum along posterior eye margin, tomentum densest at medial eye indentation and on postgena. Eye dark bluish black, indented medially on posterior margin, with bisecting line length ca. half eye width. Frons short silvery white pilose and tomentose, bare medially below ocellar triangle, pile longest and densest at level of antennae. Face receding with dense silvery white hairs, oral margin narrowly brownish orange near eye margin. Antenna (Fig. 3A) cinereous; scape subcylindrical with admixed black and white hairs dorsally and laterally; pedicel subellipsoid, wider than long, bare; flagellomere long, ca. 4 × length of scape, linear-lanceolate, bare, slightly bulging basally, slightly tapering to apex; apical style minute.

Thorax. Mesonotum and pleura shining black in ground color (scutellum ground color obscured); mesonotum with dense short “clipped-looking” black pile anteriorly to level of wing base, yellow pile from wing base to posterior edge of mesonotal disc including postalar calli, long, shaggy laterally, short and “clipped-looking” on disc; scutellum densely shaggy yellow pilose; pleura thickly black haired, those hairs on anepisternum with dark brownish sheen. (Halter and pleural area under wing obscured in photos).

Legs. (Hind femur obscured in photographs). Fore and mid legs (and hind legs beyond femur) black with a shiny greasy appearance, some bluish highlights on femora and tarsi. Fore and mid femora short, stout, with long black hairs ventrally, longest basally, tapering to shorter apical hairs; tibiae shorter than femora, with short black spicules.

Wing (Fig. 4). Infuscated dark brownish black throughout except brownish infuscation in center of anal lobe and cell fourth posterior cell and subhyaline apex of wing, veins black; crossvein r-m just proximal to middle of cell dm (with anomalous second crossvein in left wing); veins R2+3 and R4 sinuous, subparallel to wing margin; origin or R2+3 just before r-m crossvein; first posterior cell open in wing margin; crossvein dm-m S-shaped, origin on vein M4 at basal one-fourth; crossvein m-m slightly wider than r-m; cell cua narrowly open in wing margin; anal lobe well developed; alula small.

Abdomen. Broad, ovular in shape, shining black in ground color with bluish highlights (sternites not visible); tergite II and III with admixed short silvery white hair and tomentum dorsolaterally and sparse silvery tomentum with bluish highlights dorsomedially; tergites IV–VII with adpressed black tomentum and sparse silvery white tomentum dorsomedially. Genitalia. Not dissected.

Remarks.

Two different specimens were photographed (one at each locality indicated above). That they are different is evidenced by the rubbed frons in the Red Cliffs paratype (photos taken on 27 November) and that the photos taken later at the Campground site (on 1 December) were of a specimen without a rubbed frons. This new species shares its unusual large body, wing shape, wing venation, and antennal flagellomere shape with Marleyimyia goliath , which occurs in Peninsular Malaysia. These characters differ from the smaller and more slender type species, Marleyimyia natalensis (Fig. 5), from Sydenham, near Durban, South Africa (see map in Fig. 7; http://www.simplemappr.net/map/4577). Bowden (1978) mentioned an undescribed species of Marleyimyia from Nigeria which, from photographs of the specimen in the BMNH, appears to be more similar to Marleyimyia natalensis in size and coloration than either Marleyimyia goliath or Marleyimyia xylocopae sp. n., but the Nigerian species has the same antennal shape as Marleyimyia goliath and Marleyimyia xylocopae sp. n. Because of the similarity of Marleyimyia xylocopae to characters shown in Marleyimyia goliath , we feel confident of its current generic placement. Further material of this genus should be secured in order to better assess the true generic limits.