Iteaphila furcata (Zetterstedt)

Sinclair, Bradley J. & Shamshev, Igor V., 2012, 3561, Zootaxa 3561, pp. 1-61 : 15-17

Iteaphila furcata (Zetterstedt)

( Figs. 6D, 12A)

Anthalia furcata Zetterstedt, 1842: 252 . Type locality: “Norvegia, ad diversorium Suulstuen Verdaliae ” [ Norway] [after lectotype designation].

Iteaphila nitidula : authors, not Zetterstedt, 1838, misidentification.

Type material examined. LECTOTYPE (here designated), ♀ labelled: [very small green square]; “ A. furcata . / ♀. Suul [white, Zetterstedt's hand-written]”; “Suul [Verdal, Nord-Trøndelag]/ Jug. alp. / Norveg. / 11–15.7.[18]40 [white, printed]”; “ Lectotypus / Anthalia / furcata / Z. 1842 / design. 2004 / I. Shamshev [red, hand-written]”; “ Empididae , Type no. 3027: 1–2, Zool. Mus. Lund Sweden ” ( ZMIL) . PARALECTOTYPE: ♀, same data and style as lectotype, “ Anthalia furcata Zett. 1842 ; Type no. 3027: 2, ZML ” ( ZMIL) [= I. nitidula Zett. ] .

Taxonomic notes. Zetterstedt (1842) described I. furcata after two female specimens assigned to the genus Anthalia . This species was subsequently largely unrecognized for a long time, usually misidentified as I. nitidula (see Tuomikoski (1958) for detailed discussion). In Zetterstedt’s Collection (Lund) there are two syntypes of I. furcata . Both specimens are in good condition and one of them was designated as the lectotype of this species. The designation of the lectotype clearly establishes the identity of this species. The modern names for the type locality were determined using Pont (2011).

The second specimen bears the same data as the lectotype but it should be noted that actually the paralectotype of I. furcata is a female of I. nitidula . This fact was outlined for the first time by Tuomikoski (1958). Although Zetterstedt indicated some differences in colour of legs between both specimens in the original description of I. furcata , he nevertheless suggested that one specimen was teneral.

Additional material examined. CZECH REPUBLIC. Krkonoše, Labská louka , 1350 m, PT, 50°46'11''N, 15°32'32''E, 23–26.v.2001, Vanĕk (2 ♂, BARC); Krkonoše, Labská and Pančavská louka , 1340 m, 50°46'07''N, 15°32'31''E, 16–17.vi.2005, MB (1 ♀, BARC); Šumava, Pĕkná , peat-bog, yellow pan trap , 730 m, 48°51'05''N, 13°54'44''E, 14–16.vi.1997, MB & J. Roháček (1 ♀, BARC); Šumava Mts . 1100 m, Rokytecká slať, peat-bog, 49°00'59''N, 13°25'05''E, MT , 18.v.-16.vi.1999, MB & S. Kubík (2 ♀, BARC); Šumava Mts . 870 m, Nová Hůrka, forest, 49°09'N, 13°20'E, MT , 18.v.-16.vi., 15.vi.-21.vii.1999, MB & S. Kubík (3 ♀, BARC) . FINLAND. Kuusamo, R . Frey, 1546 (1 ♀, CHVC) . GERMANY. Bayerischer Wald, Spiegelau, 3 km N loc. 1, 48.57N, 13.22E , 760 m, 8.vi.1995, MB (1 ♂, 2 ♀, CHVC); Bayerischer Wald, Spiegelau , 4 km N loc. 2, 48.57N, 13.22E , 790 m, pan traps, 3–8.vi.1995, MB (3 ♀, CHVC); Bayerischer Wald, Spiegelau , 4 km N loc. 3, 48.57N, 18.39E , 820 m, 8–14.vi.1995, MB (2 ♀, BARC) . RUSSIA. Khabarovsk Territory: fields Ozerpakh, estuary of Amur River [53º02'32''N, 141º14'45''E], 8–9.vi.1915, Chernavin (1 ♂, ZIN) . SWEDEN. B.S., (P.Wg.) (1 ♂, NHRS); Dalarna, Leksand. Mosse, vid Sångbergsvägen , 10.vi.1971, T . Tjeder (1 ♀, CHVC); Dlc., Bhm [Boheman] (1 ♂, NHRS); O.G., Bhm [Boheman] (1 ♀, NHRS) . SWITZERLAND. Marmorera GR, 2.vi.2000, 1600 m, G. Bächli (1 ♀, MHNG) .

Recognition. This species is distinguished by the long and slender phallus, arched and recurved around the outer margin of the hypandrium, hypoproct process not free from the cercus and the surstylus is very slender and projects medially.

Re-description. Male. Wing length 2.6–2.8 mm. Head black in ground-colour, with black setation; occiput greyish brown pollinose. Holoptic, with upper ommatidia enlarged. Frons represented by small triangular space just above antennae, bare, greyish pollinose. Ocellar triangle very prominent, with 2 thin, proclinate setae; anterior ocellars moderately long, posterior ocellars short. Postvertical and postocular setae moderately long, thin; additionally, occiput covered with numerous similar setae longer on lower part. Antenna brown; scape small, subequal to globular pedicel, both with short setae; postpedicel 3.5–4.0 times longer than wide, rather broad at base, smoothly tapered; stylus very short, bristle-tipped, segment 9 shorter than wide, nearly as long as apical bristle. Proboscis long, projected obliquely, nearly as long as head is high; palpus projected parallel to labrum, somewhat shorter than labrum.

Thorax black, with brown to black setation; scutum viewed dorsally dull black brown, viewed anteriorly brown pollinose, darker down acrostichal and dorsocentral setae; mesopleuron uniformly finely brownish grey pollinose. Proepisternum with several short, brownish bristly setae. Postpronotal lobe with 1 long and 2–3 short setae. Mesonotal setae prominent; acr short, arranged in 2 close rows, lacking on prescutellar depression; dc multiserial anteriorly, becoming uniserial towards scutellum, mostly subequal in length to acr, 2–3 prescutellar pairs and 1 posthumeral long; 1 long presut spal (sometimes with additional setulae), 3 npl (with 1–2 shorter setae), 2–3 short psut spal, 1 short pal and 4–5 pairs of sctl.

Legs wholly brownish (knees of fore and mid legs sometimes slightly paler). Coxae and trochanters with numerous long bristly hairs. Fore femur with rather short bristly hairs on posteroventral, posterior and dorsal faces. Mid femur with similar pattern of setation but posteroventral subapical setae slightly stronger. Hind femur unmodified; with moderately long (nearly as long as femur is deep) anteroventral and dorsal bristly setae shorter basally. Tibiae lacking prominent setae. Tarsomere 5 on all legs slightly flattened; pulvilli broad, shorter than tarsal claw.

Wing finely brownish infuscate, with brown veins; no bristle at wing base; stigma distinct, brownish, elliptical, overlapping apex of R 1; anal lobe very prominent, acute. R 2+3 slightly sinuate apically; radial fork position of base varying before or opposite apex of R 2+3; R 5 and M 1 parallel near wing-apex; distance between apices of R 2+3 and R 4 as long as that between R 4 and R 5; cell d broad, longer than basal cells, slightly produced apically; m-m crossvein long, M branches widely separated; dm-cu crossvein straight. Apex of cell cua slightly rounded, CuP+CuA (anal vein) long, ending just short of wing margin. Halter brown.

Abdomen with tergites viewed dorsally and laterally dull brownish but viewed posteriorly velvety brown; with numerous moderately long dark bristly setae. Terminalia concolorous with abdomen, small. Hypandrium slightly rounded, upcurved apically with broadly rounded and bifid apex, recurved acting as phallic guide; gonocoxal apodeme short and slender ( Fig. 6D). Postgonite apparently fused to phallus. Epandrium not greatly inflated laterally; dorsal bridge very narrow; produced distally into slender surstylus; apex of surstylus with slender, bare finger-like projection medially. Phallus long and slender, arched and recurved around outer margin of hypandrium; ejaculatory apodeme plate-like, rounded, shorter than gonocoxal apodeme; base of phallus produced posteriorly into slender lobe, strongly arched with slender apex. Cercus tapered, more than half length of epandrium, broad basally, apex rounded, extended well free from epandrium; hypoproct produced into pair of very short, slender lobes, closely appressed to cercus; not projecting free from cercus.

Female. Dichoptic, with equally small ommatidia. Frons very broad, widened toward ocellar triangle, usually entirely shining, leaving only ocellar triangle finely pollinose, with marginal setulae. Occiput with stronger postvertical and postocular setae, than in male, and shorter bristly hairs in lower part. Scutum viewed dorsally or anteriorly subshining, finely brownish grey pollinose; mesopleuron wholly finely greyish pollinose. Mesonotal setae somewhat stronger than in male, scutellum with 4 pairs of setae. Legs apparently varying in colour but always considerably paler than in male (in lectotype legs, including coxae, almost wholly yellow, only hind femur dorsally in apical part and apical tarsomeres brownish). Wing hyaline, with yellowish veins. Halter with brownish knob and brownish yellow stem. Abdomen viewed dorsally or posteriorly shining, tergites brownish, with short brownish setulae; sternites of basal segments paler (in lectotype largely yellowish). Cercus elongate, slender, brownish.

Distribution: This species is confined to the Palearctic Region, recorded from the following countries based primarily on material examined in the present revision: Czech Republic, Finland, Germany (also recorded in Schumann 2003), Norway, Russia (Arkhangelsk Prov., Karelia (based on published data), Khabarovsk Terr.), Sweden and Switzerland ( Fig. 12A).

Remarks. Barták and Roháček (1999) classified I. furcata as a boreomontane species, occurring in hardwood forests and bogs. Polevoy (2006) indicates that in Karelia ( Russia) this species was collected at the end of May in pine forest covered with bilberry. In Central Europe, this species is thought to occur most probably as local relict populations in mountainous regions.