Helina nivimonta Xue, 2014

Xue, Wanqi & Sun, Hongkui, 2014, Diagnosis and key for the Helina annosa-group (Diptera: Muscidae) from China, with descriptions of nine new species, Journal of Natural History 49 (25), pp. 1549-1583 : 1567-1569

Helina nivimonta Xue , sp. nov.

( Figure 6A–D )

Type material

Holotype. One male ( IESNU), China, Snow Mount Baimang , Yunnan Province, 28° 18' N, 98°58' E, altitude 4250 m, 26 July 2008, X.D. Fei.

Paratypes. One male ( IESNU), same data as holotype .

Etymology

The specific name is based on the habitat of the new species, which is a snow-covered plateau; species was collected on the meadow.

Distribution

China, Yunnan Province, Snow Mount Baimang.

Remarks

This new species is similar to H. maae Xue and Li, 2000 , but differs from it as follows: eyes with sparse and short ciliae; the longest hairs subequal to the width of postpedicel; cross-vein r-m without distinct cloud; fore tibia with median p, 2 pv; hind tibia with 3 ad; inner protuberance of male cercus longer.

Description (based on holotype)

Male. Body length 8.4–8.6 mm.

Head. Eyes with sparse and short ciliae; frons about 1.0–1.5 times as broad as anterior ocellus; fronto-orbital plate adjoin; frontal vitta black; fr 7–8 pairs on lower three-fifths of frons, without ors; ocellar seta strong, about four-fifths length of fr; fronto-orbital plate and parafacial with grey white pruinosity, parafacial about 1.2 times as broad as postpedicel; antenna black; length of postpedicel about 3.3–3.6 times longer than its width; arista plumose, the longest hairs subequal to the width of postpedicel; lunule dark orange; epistoma not protruding; vibrissal angle situated behind frontal angle; anterior margin of gena with 1–2 rows of upcurved setae; genal and postgenal setulae black; genal height about one-fifth of eye height; epicephalon with hairs; prementum with pruinosity, length about twice as long as height; palpus black, thin and long, about 1.3 times as long as prementum; labella large, both margins of labellum with many rows of dentes, subequal to prementum length.

Thorax. Ground-colour black, with grey to orange grey pruinosity; scutum with four black vittae, inner vitta narrower, about a half width of the middle pale pruinose vitta, reaching the middle of postsutural area of scutum; acr 0+1, dc 2+4, ial 0+2, pra about three-quarters length of posterior notopleural seta, near posterior notopleural seta with many hairs; lateral surface and ventral lateral margin of scutellum with black hairs; basisternum of prosternum, proepisternum hollow in centre, anepimeron and katepimeron all bare; meron with hairs; anterior anepisernal seta 1, katepisternal setae 2+2; anterior and posterior spiracles large and brown.

Wing. With a light orange colour, basicosta orange yellow; costal spine short, Sc bow-shaped, radial node bare, R 4+5 and M straight, slightly diverging in distal part, cross-veins r-m and dm-cu not clouded; dm-cu S-shaped curved; calypters yellowish, lower calypter protruding, haltere orange yellow.

Legs. Completely black; fore tibia without ad, with 1 median p; mid femur without distinct av, with 4–5 strong pv in basal half; mid tibia with 3 shorter p, 2 strong pv; hind femur with 4–5 av in apical one-third, 2 of them strong, the longest about 1.5 times as long as the diameter of hind femur, without pv; hind tibia with 5 av, 3 ad, without pd in sub-basal part, with 1 row of setulae (about 7–9) in medial part, without pv in apical part; tarsi longer than tibiae, claws and pulvilli long and large, subequal to tarsomere 5 length.

Abdomen. Ground-colour black, oval in dorsal view, with dense and yellow grey pruinosity; tergites 3 and 4 each with a pair of dark brown patches; the middle of tergites 3 to 5 each with 1 broader and dark grey pruinose vitta (not the median, narrow and black vitta); tergites 3–5 with shifting patches, tergite 5 with 2–3 shifting patches; discal setae 2 rows, about 8 pairs; tergite 4 with 1 row of discal setae, about 4 pairs; tergites 4 and 5 with complete posterior marginal setae; tergite 3 with a pair of strong median marginal setae; body hairs of tergites 2 and 3 dense and short; tergite 6 bare; sternite 1 with hairs.

Female. Unknown.

Figures

Figure 6. Helina nivimonta Xue, sp. nov. (A) Male, abdomen in dorsal view; (B) male, sternite 5 in ventral view; (C) male, cerci in posterior view; (D) male, terminalia in profile. Scale bars: A, 1 mm; B, 0.5 mm; C, D, 0.2 mm.