Efferia alia, Scarbrough & Perez-Gelabert, 2009

Aubrey G. Scarbrough & Daniel E. Perez-Gelabert, 2009, Review of the West Indian species of Efferia Coquillett (Diptera: Asilidae) with 13 new species and checklist: Part II. Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Lesser Antilles including Tobago and Trinidad, Zootaxa 1994, pp. 1-66 : 8-11

Efferia alia sp. nov.

Figs. 1–4 , Table 1

Male. Measurements, body 17.9 mm; wing 15.0 mm. Head: Face yellowish-gray tomentose, mostly black vestiture medially with mixed white setae, setae especially abundant ventrally with 6–7 thin black bristles; face at antennae 3/4 as wide of one eye. Palpi with apical 2/3 black setose, mostly white basally, sparse black setae mixed. Antennae, frons, ocellar tubercle black setose. Frons brownish or brownish-yellow tomentose. Occiput yellowish-gray tomentose dorsally, gray ventrally; setae mostly white, 3–4 black postocular bristles plus 10–12 thin black setae dorsally.

Thorax: Pronotum yellowish tomentose, pale vestiture, 1–2 thin black bristles. Scutum with wide paramedial stripe and 2 lateral spots, brown tomentose dorsally, paramedial stripe divided narrowly with yellowish tomentum, tomentum otherwise mostly brownish-yellow, more grayish posteriorly; vestiture black, anterior setae as long as scape. Scutellum yellowish-gray tomentose, setae yellow basally, black apically; 8 black marginal bristles, 2 much thinner, slightly shorter than other 6. Pleura mostly brown or brownish-yellow tomentose, narrow posterior yellowish-gray; setae and bristles mostly black. Halter stalk yellow, club reddish.

Wing: Brownish, slightly darker bordering veins, costal cell brown; costal margin not noticeably dilated. Veins at base of wing reddish; base of r4 narrow, beyond cell d, R4 recurrent vein much longer than diameter of cell basally, about as long as r-m crossvein. Crossvein r-m at apical 1/3 of d cell.

Legs: Legs mostly black, pale setose, with black bristles. Femora black setose on apical 1/3–1/2, slightly more ventrally. Tibiae red, narrow apices black, long setae black, short dense setae reddish ventrally. Tarsi black, black bristles, and reddish setae ventrally.

Abdomen: Tergites 1–5 mostly dark brown tomentose dorsally, abundant black setae on tergites 3–5, sparse or absent on 2; wide sides gray tomentose, narrow border laterally brown tomentose on tergites 2–4, setae white or yellowish, especially long on basal 3 tergites laterally; sternites 1–7, apical 1/3 of tergite 5, all of 6–7 white tomentose, setae white long on basal 3 sternites. Segment 8 black, black setose.

Terminalia ( Figs. 1–4 ): Black, black setose, sparse pale setae apically; only slightly wider apically in anterior view than basally. Epandrium 2.5 times longer than wide, wide in lateral view with prominent emargination posteriorly. Aedeagus narrow in lateral view, tubes tightly configured, not separated in lateral view. Phallic flanges abruptly formed below aedeagus, contrastingly wide. Gonostylus, narrow basally, distinctly wider apically with angular anterior corner and a preapical emargination posteriorly. Gonocoxa black with black setae, slightly shorter and denser basally than apically; notched apically.

Female. Unknown.

Type. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: / Pedernales Prov., 25 km N / of Cabo Rojo / 18o06.769’N 71o37.245’W / 679 meters, 18.vii.2005 / N.E. Woodley (holotype ♂, NMNH).

Distribution. Known only from type locality.

Etymology. The species name alia , for ‘another’, referring to another species from the Dominican Republic in which the epandrium has a prominent emargination posteriorly.

Remarks. Efferia alia is distinguished by the characters in the key and terminalia ( Figs. 1–4 ). The abundant black vestiture of the head, the flattened apical palpal setae, and the 8 marginal scutellar bristles further distinguish the male.

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Efferia alia sp. nov. Male terminalia: 1. Intact, left side; 2. Gonostylus; 3. Phallus; and 4. Aedeagus with tubes and phallic flange. Abbreviations: aedeagus with tubes= aed; apical process of epandrium=ap; epandrium=epan; epandrial notch=epnh; gonocoxite=gncx; phallic flange=fla; pygidium=pyg; sternite 9 =st9.