Sidarena hortorum, Irwin, Michael E. & Winterton, Shaun L., 2016

Irwin, Michael E. & Winterton, Shaun L., 2016, New genera of Australian stiletto flies (Diptera, Therevidae), ZooKeys 618, pp. 97-128 : 108-109

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Therevidae

Sidarena hortorum sp. n. Figs 1, 2, 12, 13

Type material.

Holotype male, AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: 37 km W Binnu, [-28.033, 114.667], 9.VII.1972, hand netted, N. McFarland. (ANIC) (MEI028783).

Paratypes. Two males, female, same data as holotype (ANIC, CSCA) (MEI028784, 028785, 028794); female, Cooralya H.S., [-24.45, 114.067], 10.IX.1971, hand netted, K. T. Richards. (WAM) (MEI028780); male, Gin Gin, 8 mile peg, [-31.35, 115.9], 17.VIII.1964, hand netted, P. Lawrence; 8 mile peg. (WAM) (MEI028779).

Diagnosis.

Medium sized flies; thorax yellowish dorsally on pleuron, darker ventrally, scutum with broad grey strip and narrow medial brown suffusion; abdomen dark brown, yellow laterally; wing hyaline, faintly infuscate anteriorly and along veins; legs yellowish with dark suffusion; male postocular setae variable in length but often elongate.

Description.

Body length. 8.0 mm (male), 9.0 mm (female). Head. (Figs 12, 13A) Yellowish-grey pubescent (male), silver-grey pubescent (female); frons flat, dark brownish pubescent, admixed with scattered black setae dorsolaterally and immediately above antennal socket, narrow dark pubescence present along eye margin; occiput convex with two poorly defined rows of dark postocular setae, dark setae extending ventrally onto gena and admixed with finer white setae; parafacial with yellow-silver pubescence; antennal scape length less than pedicel and flagellum combined, orange-silver pubescent, darker laterally, with numerous robust black setae laterally; pedicel brownish-orange pubescent with numerous black setae; flagellum with extensive dark brown pubescence; mouthparts yellowish with dark pile. Thorax. Base colour dark yellow-orange on scutum and posterodorsally on pleuron; scutum overlain with pubescence as broad brown lateral stripes and broad metallic-grey stripe medially (dark brownish suffusion along axis distinct in male); fine, sparse setal pile on scutum; postpronotal lobe orange pubescent; scutellum yellow; pleuron dark-yellow orange posterodorsally, darker suffusion ventrally and anteriorly, covered with dense grey pubescence; pleuron with fine white pile on anepisternum and katatergite; chaetotaxy: np, 3; sa, 2; pa, 1; dc, 4; sc, 1; wing hyaline with dark tinge, especially anteriorly and along wing veins; venation dark; coxae dark with grey pubescence; legs dark yellow, femora with distinct brown suffusion; distal tarsomeres black. Abdomen. Dark yellow, extensive black-brown area medially on all tergites; silver velutum on tergites 1-5 in male. Male terminalia. (Fig. 13 B–E) Epandrium longer than wide, with brown marking medially and robust dark setae, longer laterally; cercus darker than epandrium; gonocoxites with outer gonocoxal process heavily sclerotized, pointed apically; inner gonocoxal process with few setae, spatulate apically; gonostylus narrow with setae midway along medial surface; ventral lobe bluntly rounded; aedeagus typical for genus. Female terminalia typical for genus.

Comments.

Sidarena hortorum sp. n. is a western species closely related to Sidarena aurantia sp. n. and Sidarena macfarlandi sp. n. based on body colouration and scutal pattern.

Etymology.

This species is a patronym named in honour of Fred and Jean Hort, field naturalists and photographers who enthusiastically document the flora and fauna of Western Australia.