Tephritis sahandi Mohamadzade, Korneyev & Khaghaninia

Khaghaninia, Samad, Zarghani, Ebrahim, Namin, Saeed Mohamadzade & Korneyev, Valery A., 2011, A new species of Te ph rit is Latreille (Diptera: Tephritidae) with an unusual wing pattern from Iran and its taxonomic implications, Zootaxa 3047, pp. 54-62 : 56-60

Tephritis sahandi Mohamadzade, Korneyev & Khaghaninia new species

( Figs. 1–2 , 4–17 )

Type material. Holotype. Ƥ, Iran: East Azerbaijan Province, Sahand ski resort, 30 km of Tabriz, 37°45.850' N 46°30.754' E, 2900 m; swept from Cirsium (?) sp., 30.viii.2010 (S. Mohamadzade) ( JAZM).

Paratypes. 1 3, 2 Ƥ, Iran: East Azerbaijan Province, Kendovan valley [located on the mountainside of Sultan Mount (one of the Sahand’s summits)], 34.4 km to Tabriz, 37°46' N 46°15' E, 2341 m, swept from Galactites sp., 27.v.2010 and 5.vii.2010, (S. Khaghaninia) ( IMUT). 8 33, 10 Ƥ, Iran: East Azerbaijan Province, Kendovan valley, 37°46.370' N 46°16.323' E, 2401 m, and 37°46.371' N 46°16.325' E, 2338 m, reared ex flower heads of Achillea clypeolata , collected 15.vii.2011, exit 23–27.vii.2011, (S. Khaghaninia) ( IMUT; SIZK); 1 Ƥ, Iran: Mazandaran Province, Rineh, southern mountainside of Damavand, 35°52.168' N 52°06.329' E, 2500 m, 3.vi.2011 (S. Mohamadzade); 1 3, same collection data as in the holotype, 25.vii.2011 (S. Mohamadzade) (SMN personal collection).

Etymology. Nameđ after Sahanđ (دنھ س) mοuntain massive lοcateđ in sοuth οf East Azerbaiϳan (نا جيابرذآ یقر ش) in nοrthwestern Iran 3O km sοuthwest οf Τabriz• It is the highest anđ largest chain mοuntains in Azerbaiϳan Province of Iran, in addition to being an important dormant volcano in the country. It has several summits, of which the highest one is Kamal 3,707 m high.

Diagnosis. This species is similar to T. volkovitshi (Richter) from northern Tadjikistan, sharing with it the small size (wing shorter than 4 mm), crossvein r-m situated conspicuously distally of the apex of the vein R1 and closer to the crossvein dm-cu, and a banded wing pattern with an oblique dark crossband from pterostigma through r-m and dm-cu. It can be readily differentiated from T. volkovitshi by the abdominal tergites shining or subshining black (grey microtrichose in T. volkovitshi ), with the setulae on tergites 3–6 black (white setulose in T. volkovitshi ) and the pattern in basal half of the wing with entirely brown base of the cell r2+3 (with a hyaline spot in the cell r2+3 at the level of subcostal vein apex in T. volkovitshi ), costal cell entirely hyaline and the vein CuA1 with longitudinal brown vitta along its basal half, but neither a subbasal crossband from anterior to posterior margin, nor short posterior crossband in the cell cua1 (entire brown crossband from the apical half of the costal cell through radial fork and the veins bm-cu and CuA2 to posterior margin of the anal lobe and a short posterior crossband from the middle of the vein CuA1 to apex of the vein CuA2+A 1 in T. volkovitshi ).

Description. 3.

Head. Mainly yellow. Ocellar spot, upper part of occiput and slender part of arista black, middle part of frons yellow, scape dark brown and first flagellomere of antenna yellow. Frons as wide as eye. Eye 1.2 as high as long. First flagellomere of antennae 1.5 times as long as wide. Gena 0.46 times as high as length of first flagellomere. Ocellar, medial vertical, anterior orbital, frontal and genal setae black; other setae, including posterior orbital and lateral vertical, white to yellowish white. Postocular and genal setulae yellowish and setulae on distal part of palpus and on pedicel black.

Thorax: Ground colour black, sparsely silvery microtrichose; median part of postpronotum, narrow areas on dorsal part of anepisternum, dorsal half of greater ampulla and small adjacent sclerites and postscutellum yellow. Scutellum entirely black, silvery microtrichose and with several whitish setulae. Dorsocentral setae inserted on transverse suture. Most setae black and acuminate; posterior notopleural seta whitish and lanceolate; posterior anepisternal seta and anepimeral seta yellowish. Apical scutellar setae half as long as basals. Calypters white, with whitish fringe; upper one conspicuously lobate, almost as long as wide, lower one narrow. Halter yellow.

Legs. Coxae black, with yellowish brown and white setae. Femora black except knees yellow, sparsely grey microtrichose and black setulose, but forefemur with row of white posterodorsal setae in both sexes and basal half of dorsal row in male with white setae. Fore- and midtibiae yellow, hindtibia with medial two-thirds (in male) or entirely (in female) black. Tarsi yellow.

Wing. Pattern not reticulated, consisting of 3 transverse and 1 longitudinal dark brown bands. Base of wing and costal cell hyaline. Base of cell br, basal half of cell r2+3 almost whole cell bm, apex of cell bcu and area along vein CuA 1 in basal halves of cells dm and cua with irregular brown spot, rarely narrowly fused with the remaining dark pattern (as on Fig. 2 ). Pterostigma (apical portion of subcostal cell) brown without hyaline spots. Oblique brown stigmal crossband crossing wing from pterostigma through r-m and dm-cu to posterior margin and joined with basal spot through basal portions of cells r1 and r2+3. Subapical band crossing wing from apex of cell r1 to middle of posterior margin of cell m. Apical band crossing wing between middle of R2+3 to R4+5 distance to apical quarter of cell m, with proximal margin arcuate or almost straight; one male paratype with two spots on apices of R4+5 and M veins separated by hyaline or pale gray area instead of entire band. In addition, cell r1 with brown triangular indentation at the level of dm-cu as long as or shorter than cell width and proximal of subapical crossband, isolated or partly fused to it. Distance between crossveins r-m and dm-cu as long as r-m.

Abdomen. Ground colour black, tergites 1–4 of male and female very sparsely greyish microtrichose, subshining, tergites 5 of male and 5–6 of female shining black. Abdominal tergites black setulose and setose, except syntergite 1+2 entirely white setulose in 3 and only tergite 1 white setulose in Ƥ. Sternites ( Figs. 4 , 9 ) black, setae and setulae brown and moderately wide. Male sternite 5 posteriorly incised. Female sternite 6 ( Figs. 9-10 ) with anteromedial apodeme. Abdominal pleura matt black or grey.

Genital segments. Male. Epandrium ( Figs. 5–6 ) of oval shape common to other Tephritis species. Phallus without spines, glans ( Fig. 7 ) moderately short, mostly membranous. Ejaculatory apodeme as on Fig. 8 . Female. Oviscape shining black, entirely black setulose and setose, shorter than 2 last abdominal tergites. Eversible membrane with two pairs of taeniae 0.35–0.4 times as long as membrane itself; membrane with dentate scales, conspicuously larger on medioventral surface ( Figs. 11–12 ). Aculeus moderately short, 0.7 mm long, 4.2 times as long as wide, with evenly acute apex bearing neither steps, nor lateral projections ( Figs. 13–14 ). Two short, papillose spermathecae 2.2–2.3 times as long as wide ( Fig. 15 ). Vagina with morula-like ventral receptacle ( Fig. 16 ). Egg ( Fig. 17 ) broadly oval.

Measurements. Length of wing, 2.7 mm (3), 2.9 mm (Ƥ); cell c length 0.55 mm. Aculeus length 0.7 mm. Body length, 2.9 mm (3), 3.0 mm (Ƥ).

Host plant. Larvae feed in flower heads of Achillea clypeolata Sibth. et Sm. ( Fig. 18 ).

Discussion. T. sahandi new species fits the diagnosis of Tephritis in the following items: frons with 2 frontal and 2 orbital setae (posterior seta white), proboscis capitate, posterior notopleural seta white, scutellum with 2 pairs of setae, phallus glans membranous, without sclerotized structures. It differs from most species by a banded type of wing pattern, which is uncommon in this genus, but not unique, occurring in Tephritis angulatofasciata , T. admissa and T. sinica , and also in some undescribed species of Tephritis with partly banded wing pattern recognized in collections (V. Korneyev, unpublished data).

T. sahandi new species infests flower heads of Achillea , whereas the larvae of other band-winged Tephritis species feed in flower heads of Alfredia , Cirsium , Cousinia and other Cardueae asteraceous host plants (S. V. Korneyev & V. A. Korneyev, unpublished data).

All these species of Tephritis differ from T. sahandi new species not only by details of wing pattern (middle of wing with straight crossbands), larger size (length of wing 4–7 mm), but also by conspicuously longer spermathecae 4–10 times as long as wide and apparently are not closely related to it. The only species that has similar wing pattern is Tephritis volkovitshi ( V. Richter 1995) redescribed below.

Figures

FIGURE 18. Host plant: Achillea clypeolata, host of Tephritis sahandi.

FIGURES 1 – 3. Tephritis sahandi sp. nov. (1 – 2) and T. volkovitshi (3): 1. paratype ♀, total view, dorsal. 2 – 3. Wings.

FIGURES 4 – 8. Tephritis sahandi sp. nov., paratype 3. 4. Abdomen, dissected, ventral view. 5. Epandrium, posterior view. 6. Epandrium and hypandrium, lateral right view. 7. Glans of phallus, lateral. 8. Ejaculatory apodeme.

FIGURES 9 – 17. Tephritis sahandi sp. nov., paratype Ƥ. 9. Abdomen, dissected, ventral view. 10. Abdominal sternites 3 – 6, ventral view. 11. Apex of oviscape and eversible membrane, ventral view. 12. Apex of oviscape and basal half of eversible membrane, dorsal view. 13. Aculeus, ventral view. 14. Same, apex. 15. Spermathecae. 16. Ventral receptacle. 17. Egg.