Acatopygia paradoxa (Kröber), Krober

Winterton, Shaun L., 2007, Revision of the Australian stiletto fly genus Acatopygia Kröber (Diptera: Therevidae: Agapophytinae), Zootaxa 1405, pp. 51-62 : 56-58

Acatopygia paradoxa (Kröber)

( Figure 2 )

Spatulipalpa paradoxa Kröber, 1912b: 221 .— Kröber 1913: 19, fig. 23 (listing). Acatopygia paradoxa (Kröber) — Irwin & Lyneborg, 1989: 353 (catalogue, combination change); Winterton et al. 2001: 195, 210, figs 7a–b (listing).

Neotype male, AUSTRALIA: AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY: Picadilly Circus, 35.21 S, 148.47 E, 6.xii.1994, M.G. Jefferies (MEI 109613) (ANIC). Condition: very good, left hind leg missing.

Other material examined. AUSTRALIA: NEW SOUTH WALES: near Braidwood, Monga, 35.582 S, 149.918 E, 14.x.1954, S.J. Paramonov, 19 males, 2 females, (MEI 109489­507) ( ANIC).

Diagnosis

Antenna and foreleg bright yellow; eye without transverse furrow; dark, enlarged setae on scape and pedicel; scutum overlain with dark­grey pubescence; male abdomen with dense, silver velutum; ventral lobe of male genitalia acuminate.

Redescription

Male: Body length: 7.0–8.0 mm.

Head. Frons flat, slightly bulbous above antennal base, narrower than ocellar tubercle at narrowest point; frons and face glossy brown; frons overlain with sparse, brown pubescence dorsally, admixed with sparsely distributed, elongate, dark setae; round, glabrous patch immediately above antenna; silver pubescence around base of antenna and on face; eye with facets larger in upper portion, transverse furrow absent; ocellar tubercle raised, black, overlain with grey pubescence admixed with dark setae; occiput concave, dark, overlain with light grey pubescence; single row of relatively long, black, postocular setae; gena overlain with silver­white pubescence along eye margin, admixed with white setae; palp bright yellow, labellum brown, covered with dark setae; antennal length approximately equal to length of head; antenna yellow, overlain with yellow pubescence, admixed with erect, elongate, dark setae on scape and pedicel; flagellum tapered; style pale.

Thorax. Glossy black; scutum overlain with dark­grey pubescence, densely admixed with long, setae; scutal macrosetae black; scutellum overlain with matte, black pubescence anteriorly, glabrous posteriorly; pleuron with dense, silver pubescence except on anepisternum and anterior part of anepimeron; long pale setae on postpronotum, proepisternum anepisternum and katatergite; fore coxa yellow, mostly glabrous; mid and hind coxae black, overlain with dense silver pubescence; fore leg yellow, end of basitarsus and rest of tarsomeres brown; mid and hind legs brown­black with apical 1/5 of femora, tibia and basitarsi dark yellow; wing hyaline with brown or black banding, two bands across cells bm and d respectively, a third band across subcostal and radial fields less distinct, dark spot on bifurcation of veins R4 and R5; venation brown; haltere stem brown, knob white; scutal chaetotaxy (pairs): np, 3; sa, 1; pa, 1; dc, 2–3; sc, 1.

Abdomen. Glossy black with scattered pale setae, setae on anterior segments longer laterally; setae on terminalia both pale and dark; dense, silver, velutinous pubescence on all tergites; intersegmental membrane of segments 2–4 white; terminalia dark.

Male genitalia. Epandrium quadrangular, length much shorter along midline than greatest width, posterolateral corners rounded ( Fig. 2 A); cercus elongate; tergite 8 narrow, band­like, deeply emarginate ( Fig. 2 B); sternite 8 narrow ( Fig. 2 E); gonocoxite ( Figs 2 C–D) slightly rounded in profile; gonocoxal process narrow, 1/ 2 length of inner gonocoxal process, elongate setae on posterior surface; medial atrium present, membranous area covered with velutum; hypandrium large, fused laterally to gonocoxites, broadly emarginate medially with large, posteriorly projecting setae (concentrated medially); ventral lobe narrow, apically acuminate with velutum present at apex; gonostylus curved medially along length, erect setae on medial surface; inner gonocoxal process spatulate, equal in length to gonostylus; gonocoxal apodeme approximately equal to length of gonocoxite; distiphallus straight ( Figs 2 F–G), ventral apodeme of parameral sheath elongate, narrow, approximately equal length to ejaculatory apodeme; dorsal apodeme recurved dorsally, narrowly ‘Y’­shaped, poorly sclerotised; lateral ejaculatory apodeme small and tapered; ejaculatory apodeme narrow anteriorly.

Female: Body length: 7.0–9.0 mm.

Similar to male except: Frons slightly wider than ocellar tubercle, covered with brown pubescence dorsally; shorter setae on head, thorax and abdomen; abdominal tergites without dense velutum covering.

Female genitalia. Furca well sclerotised; spermathecal sac present, spherical in shape; spermathecae spherical ( Fig. 2 H).

Comments

The holotype of A. paradoxa was apparently destroyed in 1956 during the fire in the Hungarian National Museum of Natural History ( Winterton et al. 2001) (pers. com., M. Foldvari, HNMNH) and no paratypes or other specimens are known from the type locality. Kröber (1913: fig. 23) presents a colour image of the head of A. paradoxa . A neotype is designated to clarify and stabilise the taxonomic status of Spatulipalpa paradoxa Kröber. The neotype specimen designated herein is a male from the Australian Capital Territory, a region relatively close to the original type locality. Female specimens from the series mentioned above match the original description by Kröber, but a male is designated here as most of the diagnostic characters for the species are found in the male and not the female. There is no doubt that the neotype designated here represents the male counterpart of the female described originally by Kröber (1912b). Acatopygia paradoxa is readily differentiated from other members of Acatopygia by the distinctive, bright­yellow antennae and foreleg colouration.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Acatopygia paradoxa (Kröber), male genitalia: A, epandrium, dorsal view; B, tergite 8, dorsal view; C, gonocoxites lateral view; D, same, ventral view; E, sternite 8, ventral view; F, aedeagus, lateral view; G, same, dorsal view, dorsal apodeme of parameral sheath removed. Female internal genitalia (after Winterton et al. 2001): H, dorsal view with external terminalia removed. Abbreviations: acc, accessory gland; f, furca; s, spermatheca; sd, spermathecal duct; ss, spermathecal sac; ssd, spermathecal sac duct. Scale line = 0.5 mm.