Elaphropeza acantha, Published, 2007

SHAMSHEV, IGOR V. & GROOTAERT, PATRICK, 2007, Revision of the genus Elaphropeza Macquart (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Oriental Region, with a special attention to the fauna of Singapore, Zootaxa 1488 (1), pp. 1-164 : 52-54

Elaphropeza acantha sp. nov.

( Figs. 75–79 )

Diagnosis. Occiput brown, postpedicel 2.0 times longer than wide, style 5.0 times longer than postpedicel; mesonotum almost wholly yellowish brown, acrostichals and dorsocentrals multiserial, complete; legs yellow, hind tibia lacking prominent bristles.

Description. Male. Body length 1.6– 1.5 mm, wing length 1.3–1.4 mm. Occiput brown, subshining, with yellow to brownish yellow setation. Anterior ocellars moderately long, proclinate; posterior ocellars minute. Inner verticals moderately long, outer ones somewhat shorter. Frons subshining. Antenna ( Fig. 75 ) with postpedicel brownish, scape and pedicel yellow. Pedicel with circlet of subequally short setulae. Postpedicel short, about 2.0 times longer than wide. Style normally pubescent, brown, about 5.0 times longer than postpedicel, nearly 3.0 times as long as scape, pedicel and postpedicel combined. Proboscis brownish yellow. Palpus yellow, small, rounded; with scattered yellow setulae, bearing 1 longer subapical seta.

Thorax partly yellow, shining, with yellow to brownish yellow bristles; scutum with broad brown median vitta somewhat widened on prescutellar depression, pronotum, scutellum and metanotum brown, sternopleuron and hypopleuron in lower part with brownish patch, pteropleuron brownish yellow. Prothoracic episterna with 1 long upturned bristle just above fore coxa and 1 short bristle in upper part. Postpronotal bristle short. Mesonotum with 2 notopleural, 1 postsutural supra-alar, 1 postalar and 4 scutellar (inner ones very long, cruciate; outer ones very short) bristles. Acrostichals and dorsocentrals multiserial, uniform (except for 1 pair of long prescutellars), extending to base of scutellum.

Legs entirely yellow, with yellow to brownish yellow setation. Coxae and trochanters with unmodified setation. Fore and hind femora and tibiae somewhat thickened. Fore femur with rows of short antero- and posteroventral bristles and 2 longer bristles near base. Fore tibia lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Mid femur with 2 rows of spinule-like, ventral bristles (posteroventrals longer) and 1 anterior subapical bristle. Mid tibia with 1 row of ventral spinules in apical part, lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Hind femur bearing 1 row of short anteroventrals and 3–4 erect dorsal bristles near base. Hind tibia lacking prominent bristles; apical projection short rounded, clothed in dense brownish setulae. Tarsi of all legs unmodified.

Wing normally developed, finely uniformly infuscate, covered with uniform microtrichia; veins yellowish to brownish yellow. Costal vein with moderately long setulae along anterior margin. Basal costal bristle moderately long, yellow. Costal index: 24/21/26/10. Vein Rs longer than crossvein bm-cu. Veins R4+5 and M1+2 parallel near wing apex, both straight. Vein CuA1 reaching wing margin. Vein A1 absent. Crossvein bm-cu oblique. Crossvein r-m somewhat beyond middle of cell bm. Halter darkened.

Abdomen with all tergites and sternites brownish. Tergite 1 very narrow. Tergite 2 broadly concave on anterior margin, in middle about 3.0 times narrower than tergite 3; with unmodified setation. Tergite 3 broadest, with squamiform setae. Tergite 4 about 1.5 times narrower than tergite 3, with squamiform setae. Tergite 5 about 1.5 times narrower than tergite 4, with squamiform setae. Tergites 6–8 unmodified; tergite 6 lacking prominent posteromarginal bristles, tergite 7 with short posteromarginal bristles. Sternites 3–5 divided. Gland-like structures present between tergites 3–4 and 4–5.

Terminalia ( Figs. 76–79 ) large, brownish yellow. Cerci separated; left cercus nearly as long as but broader than right cercus, with 1 spine-like subapical bristle. Right cercus digitiform, long, with 3 subapical, long, spine-like bristles. Epandrium completely divided. Right surstylus digitiform, long, with moderately long bristles, lacking spines. Left epandrial lamella fused to hypandrium, with few short bristles apically. Left surstylus with upper lobe rather small, with internal projection, bearing 5 long spines. Hypandrium with 2 short bristles. Phallus long, coiled. One rod-shaped apodeme.

Female. Body length 1.7–1.9 mm, wing length 1.3–1.4 mm. Mid tibia lacking ventral spinules. Tergite 5 lacking squamiform setae. In one specimen tergite 2 with few squamiform setae. Abdominal segment 8 with sclerites fused antero-laterally; sternite 8 not folded apically. Cercus elongate oval, yellow. Otherwise as in male.

Material examined: Holotype male labelled: SINGAPORE, Nee Soon , 16 March 2005, swamp forest, Mal 1 (reg. 25015, leg. PG, E-24).

Paratypes: SINGAPORE: 1 ♀, Bukit Timah , 11 March 2005, rain forest, sweeping (reg. 25011, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Bukit Timah , 23 September 2005, rain forest, Mal 2 (reg. 25358, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Nee Soon , 25 November 2003, swamp forest, sweeping (reg. 23084, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Nee Soon , 8 July 2005, swamp forest, Mal 1 (reg. 25205, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Nee Soon , 18 November 2005, swamp forest, Mal 1 (reg. 25422, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Nee Soon , 14 December 2005, swamp forest, Mal 1 (reg. 25446, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Sime forest , 25 January 2006, forest, Mal 1 (reg. 26018, leg. PG) .

Derivatio nominis. The name acantha refers to the row of strong spines on the left surstylus.

Distribution and bionomics. Singapore. Forest.

Singapore. This is a rare species that is recorded in various types of forest but only as single specimens. Apparently it is present throughout the year .

Remarks. In the structure of the male terminalia (the presence of long spines and an internal projection on the left surstylus), E. acantha sp. nov. appears closely related to E. pluriacantha sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURES 75–79. Elaphropeza acantha sp. nov. 75. antenna. 76. epandrium with cerci. 77. right surstylus. 78. internal projection of left surstylus. 79. left surstylus.