Wohlfahrtia brevicornis Chao & Zhang

Zhang, Dong, Zhang, Ming, Li, Zijuan & Pape, Thomas, 2015, The Sarcophagidae (Insecta: Diptera) described by Chien-ming Chao and Xue-zhong Zhang, Zootaxa 3946 (4), pp. 451-509 : 486-489

Wohlfahrtia brevicornis Chao & Zhang in Zhang & Chao, 1996a: 214. China, Qinghai, Hoh Xil, Xijir Ulan Lake.

Originally included specimens: Described from eleven males and seventeen females.

Name-bearing type: Holotype ♂: Qinghai, Hoh Xil/ Xijir Ulan Lake, 4800m / Chinese Academy of Sciences [white label in Chinese, in black print except “Hoh Xil/ Xijir Ulan Lake, 4800m ” in handwritten]// 1990. VII.7 / Collected by X.Z. Zhang [“1990. VII.7 ” handwritten in black ink, remaining in black print, in Chinese] // HOLOTYPE [red label, in black print]// IOZ(E)1218570 [white label, in black print]// Wohlfahrtia / brevicornis / sp. n./ Identified by C.M. Chao [“Identified by C.M. Chao” in black print, in Chinese, remaining handwritten in blueblack ink].

Holotype in slightly bad condition, with head glued on the body, right antenna missing, and terminalia extracted and fully visible.

Current identity: Wohlfahrtia grunini Rohdendorf, 1969 , as treated by Verves (1985) and here proposed as a senior synonym of Wohlfahrtia brevicornis Chao & Zhang, 1996 , syn. n.

Additional type specimens: Allotype ♀: Qinghai, Hoh Xil, Xijir Ulan Lake, alt. 4800m, 7.VII.1990, Coll. by X.Z. Zhang. Paratypes 2♂♂, 1♀: Qinghai, Hoh Xil, Yeniugou, alt. 3800m, 31.V.1990; 7♂♂, 15♀♀: Qinghai, Hoh Xil, Xijir Ulan Lake, alt. 4800m, 7–12.VII.1990; 1♂: Qinghai, Hoh Xil, Sangqia, alt. 4700m, 18.VI.1990; Coll. by X.Z. Zhang. All specimens in NZMC.

Remarks: Chao & Zhang compared their nominal species only with Wohlfahrtia stackelbergi (Rohdendorf) , apparently missing that the crucial taxa involved are W. balassogloi (Portschinsky) and W. grunini (Rohdendorf) . The elongate and narrow phallic ventral lobes (“Ventralloben” of Verves, 1985) are here considered justification for identifying the holotype as W. grunini . The rather straight cercus of the holotype is a similarity with W. balassogloi (Portschinsky) , but the rounded tip (pointed in W. balassogloi ) is in full agreement with the current synonymy. Wohlfahrtia grunini is herewith reported from China for the first time.

Redescription of Male: Body length 8.5–14.0 mm ( Fig. 20 A). Eye bare, red. Fronto-orbital plate, parafacial and postocular strip black with silvery pollinosity; fronto-orbital with a cluster of black bristles in upper part, parafacial with several black bristles in upper part, about 2.2× as broad as fronto-orbital plate. Frontal vitta about 1.1× as broad as fronto-orbital plate at the narrowest point; frons at vertex 0.27–0.35× head width ( Fig. 20 C); frontal row of 8–10 bristles; outer vertical bristle differentiated from postocular bristles. Ocellar bristles directed antero-laterally. Gena ground color black, with dense and long black bristles and silvery pollinosity, height 0.40– 0.55× eye height in lateral view. Antenna grayish brown, not reaching the level of vibrissal insertion, first flagellomere 1.6–2.0× as long as pedicel ( Fig. 20 C); arista with short plumose in basal 5/7, vibrissa reduced. Palpus yellow, expanded in distal part.

Thorax ground color black. Chaetotaxy: acrostichals 1+1, dorsocentrals 2+3, intra-alars 0+2, supra-alars 2, postalars 2, postpronotals 3, notopleurals 2, scutellum with 1 apical, 1 marginal, 1 discal and 1 basal bristles. Pleuron with meropleurals 10; katepisternal bristles 1: 1, prosternum, metasternum, proepimeron, proepisternum and postalar wall all bare.

Wing hyaline; subcostal sclerite and basicosta yellow, bare; tegula yellow, with fine black bristles; costal spine not differentiated; vein R1 bare, five ventral bristles at node of R2+3-R4+5, vein R4+5 setose dorsally from junction of R2+3 halfway to crossvein r-m; cell r4+5 broadly open; lower calypter yellowish white.

Legs black; fore femur with dense and elongated bristles along dorsal, posterodorsal, posterior and ventral margins, fore tibia with one apical dorsal, two sub-median anterodorsal, one median posterodorsal bristles, and one row of dense ventral elongated bristles; mid femur with dense and elongated bristles along anteroventral, ventral and posterior margins, mid tibia with two median anterodorsal bristles, and with dense and elongated bristles along anteroventral, ventral and posteroventral margins; hind femur with one row of anterodorsal bristles, and with dense and elongated bristles along anterodorsal, anterior, anteroventral and ventral margins, hind tibia with one median posterodorsal and one sub-median anteroventral bristles, one row of anterodorsal bristles (among them 3 strong), and with dense and elongated bristles along anteroventral, ventral and posteroventral margins.

Abdomen long oval with yellowish gray pollinosity, tergites with black spots; tergite 4 with three median marginal bristles, tergite 5 with strong marginal bristles, epandrium black, tergites 1+2 all black except lateral part, the spot on tergite 3 fused with the spot on tergites 1+2, tergite 4 with small distinct spot, tergite 5 with three small spots on the posterior margin ( Fig. 20 F). Terminalia see Fig. 20 E.

Redescription of Female: Body length about 12.0 mm ( Fig. 21 A). Frontal vitta about as broad as frontoorbital plate at the narrowest point; frontal row of 7 or 8 bristles; one upper orbital and two proclinate orbital bristles. Thorax chaetotaxy: acrostichals 2+1, intra-alars 1+3. Legs without dense and enlongated bristles ( Fig. 21 A); fore tibia with one sub-median posterior and four anterodorsal bristles; mid tibia with four anterodorsal (among them 3 strong); hind tibia with two median anteroventral and three posterodorsal bristles. Tergites 1+2 with three indistinct spots, the spots on other tergites smaller than those of the male ( Fig. 21 E). Other morphological characteristics are similar to those of the male.

Figures

FIGURE 20. Wohlfahrtia brevicornis Chao & Zhang, 1996 [= Wohlfahrtia grunini Rohdendorf, 1969], males. A. Body, lateral view, holotype. B. Head, right lateral view, holotype. C. Head, anterior view, holotype. D. Head, right anterolateral view, holotype. E. Terminalia, lateral view, paratype. F. Abdomen, laterodorsal view, holotype. G. Labels, holotype. H. Labels, paratype. Scales: A = 3.00 mm, B – E = 1.00 mm, F = 2.00 mm.

FIGURE 21. Wohlfahrtia brevicornis Chao & Zhang, 1996 [= Wohlfahrtia grunini Rohdendorf, 1969], female. A. Body, lateral view, allotype. B. Head, lateral view, allotype. C. Head, anterior view, allotype. D. Head, anterolateral view, allotype. E. Abdomen, dorsal view, paratype. F. Labels, allotype. G. Labels, paratype. Scales: A = 4.00 mm, B – D = 1.00 mm, E = 2.00 mm.