Elaphropeza baeloi Grootaert et Shamshev

Grootaert, Patrick & Shamshev, Igor, 2013, The flies of the family Hybotidae (Diptera, Empidoidea) collected during the Boyekoli Ebale Congo 2010 Expedition in Democratic Republic of Congo, Zootaxa 3603 (1), pp. 1-61 : 23-25

Elaphropeza baeloi Grootaert et Shamshev sp. nov.

( Figs. 26–28 )

Material examined. HOLOTYPE, 3 labelled: D.R. CONGO, Yaekela , 7 May 2010, secondary forest (reg. 30021, leg. P. Grootaert, MS reference EC16); Holotype / Elaphropeza baeloi / Grootaert et Shamshev sp. nov. ( RBINS). PARATYPE: D.R. CONGO: 1 3, Yaekela , 5 May 2010, around pools in forest (reg. 30017, leg. P. Grootaert) ( RBINS).

Diagnosis. A species of E. biuncinata -group; recognised by its yellow thorax with yellowish brown metanotum, hind femur yellow and hind tibia without bristles.

Description. Male. Length: body 1.4 mm, wing 1.4 mm. Occiput black, paler behind mouth-opening, densely pollinose (including vertex); with yellowish brown to yellow setation; inner verticals long inclinate, outer verticals short. Anterior ocellars long proclinate and cruciate, posterior ocellars minute. Frons pollinose, above antennae about 2.0 times as broad as anterior ocellus. Antenna with yellowish brown scape and pedicel and blackish postpedicel and stylus; pedicel with circlet of subequally short setulae; postpedicel rather elongate-oval, short, nearly 1.5 times longer than wide; stylus with short pubescence, long, nearly 6.0 times longer than postpedicel, about 3.0 times as long as scape, pedicel and postpedicel combined. Proboscis yellow. Palpus yellow, small, rounded, bearing scattered setulae, subapical seta short, thin.

Thorax yellow, longer setae yellowish brown; scutum with small indistinct brownish spot on anterior corner, pleura with brownish tinge, metanotum rather yellowish brown. Prothoracic episterna with long upturned seta just above fore coxa. Postpronotal seta not prominent. Mesonotum with 2 long notopleurals, 1 hardly prominent postsutural supra-alar, 1 short postalar and 4 scutellars (apical pair very long, cruciate; lateral pair minute); acrostichals and dorsocentrals undifferentiated, scutum evenly covered with short setae, 1 pair of long prescutellars (nearly as long as notopleurals).

Legs quite robust, entirely yellow, tarsomere 5 slightly darkened, hind femur somewhat paler basally. Coxae and trochanters with unmodified setation. Fore femur thickened, with rows of short anteroventral and similar posteroventral setae, 2 long setae near base, and short subapical seta anteriorly. Fore tibia lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Mid femur slender, with row of very short yellowish anteroventral spinule-like setae becoming longer basally and similar row posteroventrally, 1 long pale seta near base and 1 long subapical seta anteriorly. Mid tibia with hardly prominent black ventral spinules on about apical half, lacking prominent setae (except subapicals). Hind femur and tibia somewhat thickened. Hind femur with short anteroventrals and some short erect dorsal setae near base. Hind tibia lacking prominent setae; apical projection small, rounded, brownish yellow. Tarsi of all legs unmodified, with unmodified setation.

Wing normally developed, uniformly finely infuscate, covered with uniform microtrichia; veins mostly yellowish brown, basal section of M1+2 (including short area beyond crossvein bm-cu) and crossvein r-m pale; basal section of vein CuA1 thicker than basal section of vein M1+2. Costal vein with moderately long setulae along anterior margin. Costal bristle moderately long, brownish. Costal index: 24/24/21. Vein Rs somewhat longer than crossvein bm-cu. Vein R2+3 almost straight, uniformly sclerotised. Veins R4+5 and M1+2 parallel near wing apex, both slightly bowed (M1+2 more distinctly). Vein CuA1 reaching wing margin. Vein A1 lacking. Crossvein bm-cu oblique. Crossvein r-m near middle of cell bm. Halter blackish.

Abdomen. Tergite 1 almost entirely pale, represented by very narrow lateral brownish stripes; tergite 2 narrow, broadly concave dorsally, with unmodified short setae, subtriangular viewed laterally; tergites 3–5 somewhat darker than other tergites; tergite 3 broadest, with numerous squamiform setae; tergites 4–7 of subequal width; tergites 4–5 with squamiform setae; tergites 6–7 with unmodified setation; tergite 7 with moderately long posteromarginal setae; tergite 8 unmodified. Sternites 3–4 broadly divided medially. Gland-like structures present between tergites 3–4 and 4–5. Terminalia ( Figs. 26–28 ) rather large, with right epandrial lamella apically, left cercus and left surstylus brownish, otherwise yellow. Cerci separated; right cercus very narrow, digitiform, considerably shorter than left cercus, with several unmodified setae of different lengths; left cercus very large, unbranched, digitiform, with numerous unmodified setae of different lengths; hypoproct not prominent. Epandrium completely divided. Right epandrial lamella rather subrectangular but attenuated apically, covered with numerous unmodified setae of different lengths ( Fig. 26 ). Right surstylus not prominent. Left epandrial lamella fused to hypandrium, with 1 rather long seta apically. Left surstylus large, rather subtriangular, with 2 long dorsal and some short unmodified setae. Phallus long. One rod-shaped apodeme.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. This species is dedicated Mr. Pascal Baelo (University of Kisangani) our very helpful and dynamic companion on the expedition.

Distribution. D.R. Congo.

Remarks. Elaphropeza baeloi sp. nov. clearly differs from all other Afrotropical species of the genus by the combination of yellow mesonotum, yellowish brown metanotum, yellow legs and hind tibia without bristles. The main differences between the new species and E. zamba sp. nov. and E. mai sp. nov. have been given in the key.

Figures

FIGURES 26 – 28. Elaphropeza baeloi sp. nov. 26. Right epandrial lamella; 27. Epandrium with cerci; 28. Left surstylus.