Megaselia selangorensis, Zuha & Disney, 2018

Zuha, Raja Muhammad & Disney, R. Henry L., 2018, Four new Megaselia species (Diptera: Phoridae) from animal carcasses in Bangi, Malaysia, Zootaxa 4508 (4), pp. 551-561 : 558-560

Megaselia selangorensis sp. nov.

( Figs 20–28)

Description. Male only.

As Fig. 20. Frons as Fig. 21 , with dense but very fine microtrichia. Supra-antennal bristles very unequal, the lower pair being shorter and weaker. Cheek with 3 bristles and jowl with two that are longer. The subglobose postpedicels pale and without SPS vesicles. Palps yellow and as Fig. 22 . Labrum and labella pale and latter with only a few short spinules below. Thorax ( Fig. 23 ) brown, with 2 notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these. Mesopleuron bare. Scutellum ( Fig. 23 ) with an anterior pair of hairs and a posterior pair of bristles. Abdominal tergites brown with hairs longest at rear of T6 ( Fig. 24 ). Venter brownish gray, and with hairs on segments 3–6. Hypopygium ( Figs 24–26 ) light brown with a yellow anal tube which is clearly shorter than epandrium ( Fig. 26 ). Cercus hairs shorter than hairs on epandrium and proctiger hairs minute. Hypandrium with a pale short left lobe and vestigial right lobe. Hairs on epandrium shorter than hairs on tergite 6 (T6). Legs ( Fig. 20) mainly yellow but hind femur brown. Fore tarsus with ratios of lengths about 2.26: 1.05: 0.79: 0.74: 1. Dorsal hair palisade of mid tibia extends about 0.7 times its length. Hairs below basal half of hind femur longer than those of anteroventral row of outer half ( Fig. 28 ). Hind tibia with 9 differentiated posterodorsal hairs, with almost as many weaker anterodorsals, and spinules of apical combs simple. The wings are very badly bleached so the following wing length and costal index are approximations derived from a black and white photo with enhanced contrast. Wing length about 1.4 mm long. Costal index 0.3 or a little over Costal ratios 3.53: 2.05: 1. Costal cilia (of section 3) 0.04 mm long. A small hair at base of vein 3 present. With 3 axillary bristles, the outer being 0.06 mm long. Sc not reaching R1. The veins and membrane are severely bleached (and thus likely to have been pale). Haltere seemingly pale brown.

Etymology. The name refers to the state location where the specimen collected.

Recognition. In the keys of Borgmeier (1967) for Group VIII it runs to couplet 10, lead 2 if the haltere knob is yellow and to couplet 14 lead 2 if the haltere is brown. With the first option its hypopygium differs from M. copiosa Borgmeier , whose proctiger hairs are clearly longer than those on cerci. With the second option it differs from Megaselia patellipyga Borgmeier in having a longer anal tube with weaker hairs of the proctiger. Some M. atrita (Brues) will run to here also but likewise has a shorter anal tube and stronger hairs of the proctiger. The weak anterodorsals of the hind tibia will exclude subsequently described species running to these couplets.

Material. Holotype, ♂, MALAYSIA: Selangor, Bangi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia , rabbit carcass, 18.xii.2010 ( UCZM, 41–44).

Figures

FIGURES 21–25. Megaselia selangorensis sp. n. male: 21—frons; 22—palp; 23—left side of thorax (m=mesopleuron, sc=scutellar bristle); 24—left face of hypopygium; 25—penis complex.

FIGURES 26–28. Megaselia selangorensis sp. n. male: 26—right face of hypopygium; 27—middle leg; 28—hind femur.