Megaselia mahabadensis, Khameneh & Khaghaninia & Disney & Maleki-Ravasan, 2019

Khameneh, Roya Namaki, Khaghaninia, Samad, Disney, R. Henry L. & Maleki-Ravasan, Naseh, 2019, Twenty one new species of Megaselia Rondani (Diptera: Phoridae) from Iran, Zootaxa 4711 (1), pp. 1-50 : 34-35

Megaselia mahabadensis n. sp.

( Figs 205–218)

Material examined. Holotype male, West Azerbaijan province, Mahabad city, Ghalate-shah region, 36°46.01’N, 45°22.37’E, 1605 m, grassland, 19.VI.2017, S. Khaghaninia (54, CUMZ—13-97).

Description. Male. Whole fly as Fig. 205. Frons as Fig. 206, with very fine microtrichia ( Fig. 207). Cheek with 5 bristles and jowl with 2 that are longer and more robust. Postpedicels, which lack SPS vesicles, palps and proboscis as Fig. 208, the palps having many small pits ( Fig. 209).Thorax brown, with 3 notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these. Mesopleuron with many hairs and a single short bristle ( Fig. 210). Scutellum with an anterior pair of small hairs and a posterior pair of bristles. Abdominal tergites brown with relatively few small hairs except for longer more robust hairs laterally on T6 ( Fig. 211). Venter dark gray, and with hairs on segments 3–6, but those on 3–5 a small and few in number. Hypopygium as Figs 211–213), the hypandrial lobes lacking. Legs brown. Fore tarsus with posterodorsal hair palisades on segments 1–4 with 5 clearly longer than 4 ( Fig. 214) and basitarsurs vetrally with rows of small spinules ( Fig. 215). Dorsal hair palisade of mid tibia extends about 0.54 times its length. Hairs below basal half of hind femur subequal to or slightly longer than those of anteroventral row of outer half ( Fig. 216). Hind tibia with 9–10 moderately differentiated posterodorsal hairs, without anterodorsals, and spinules of apical combs simple. Wings ( Figs 217 & 218) 1.5–1.6 mm long mm long. Costal index 0.42. Costal ratios 3.41: 1.59: 1. Costal cilia (of section 3) 0.09 mm long. Vein 3 hair lacking. 3 axillary bristles, the outermost being 0.09 mm long. Sc not reaching R1 and vein 7 obscure. Haltere brown.

Recognition. In the key to the Megaselia males of the British Isles ( Disney 1989) it runs to couplet 28. As the bristle on the mesopleuron is relatively short one could take either lead, but both take one on to couplet 60 and then onto couplet 91, where the hypopygium differs from either option. In Schmitz’s (1958) key to Abteilung III it runs to couplets 17 or 27, but the hypopygium differs from all the options. In the key of Schmitz & Delage (1974) to Abteilung V it runs to couplet 7 lead 1, where again the hypopygium rules this option.

Etymology. Named after Mahabad city.