Elaphropeza melanderi, 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 : 29-31

Elaphropeza melanderi sp. nov.

( Figs. 31–34 )

Diagnosis. Occiput yellow, postpedicel brownish, 4.0 times longer than wide; thorax yellow with brownish markings, scutum with 2 pairs of elongate brownish spots; legs wholly yellow, hind tibia with 2 curved subapical bristles.

Description. Male. Body length 2.1–2.2 mm, wing length 1.6–1.7 mm. Occiput largely yellow, darkened above neck, subshining, with yellow to brownish yellow setation. Ocellar tubercle brownish; anterior ocellars long, proclinate; posterior ocellars minute. Frons yellow. Inner verticals long, outer ones hardly prominent. Antenna ( Fig. 31 ) with scape and pedicel yellow, postpedicel brownish yellow. Pedicel with circlet of subequally short setulae. Postpedicel nearly 4.0 times longer than wide. Style normally pubescent, brown, about 2.5 times longer than postpedicel and nearly 1.5 times as long as scape, pedicel and postpedicel combined. Proboscis brownish yellow. Palpus yellow, small, rounded.

Thorax yellow with brownish markings, shining, with yellow to brownish yellow bristles; scutum with 2 pairs of elongate brownish spots and also brownish behind anterior corner, sternopleuron and hypopleuron with brownish patch in lower part, pteropleuron with brownish tinge, scutellum and metanotum brownish on lateral corners, metapleuron brownish in upper part. Prothoracic episterna with 1 long upturned bristle just above fore coxa and 1 short bristle in upper part. Postpronotal bristle minute. 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 wholly 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 (1 bristle near base longer). Fore tibia lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Mid femur with rows of spinule-like, short, ventral bristles (posteroventrals somewhat longer), 1 long thin bristle near base and 1 anterior subapical bristle. Mid tibia with 1 row of black ventral spinules in apical part (1 subapical somewhat stronger), lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Hind femur with 1 row of short anteroventrals and 3–4 erect dorsal bristles near base. Hind tibia bearing 2 black curved subapical anteroventral bristles; apical projection prominent, small, 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 long, yellow. Costal index: 34/33/26/12. Vein Rs somewhat longer than crossvein bm-cu. Vein R2+3 smoothly arched, almost straight. 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 near middle of cell bm. Halter with dark knob.

Abdomen. Tergite 1 almost entirely pale yellow, only small very narrow brownish space present. Tergites 2–5 and 8 brownish, tergites 6 and 7 somewhat paler. Tergite 2 viewed laterally as broad as tergite 3, broadly shallowly concave on anterior margin, with unmodified setae. Tergite 3 with squamiform setae. Tergite 4 somewhat narrower than tergite 3, with squamiform setae. Tergite 5 somewhat narrower than tergite 4, with squamiform setae. Tergites 6 and 7 subequal, both nearly as broad as tergite 3, tergite 6 with short, tergite 7 with moderately long posteromarginal bristles. Sternites pale brownish, sternites 3–5 divided along midline, with ordinary inconspicuous setation. Segment 8 unmodified.

Terminalia ( Figs. 32–34 ) large, brownish yellow. Cerci separated; left cercus rather short, digitiform, with numerous moderately long bristles; right cercus small, with several bristles of different lengths. Epandrium completely divided. Right epandrial lamella subrectangular, covered with numerous bristles of different lengths, lacking spines. Right surstylus prominent, small, subtriangular, covered with short bristles. Left epandrial lamella fused to hypandrium, with several bristles of different length apically. Left surstylus with upper lobe large, with numerous, rather long bristles in upper part. Hypandrium with 1 bristle. Phallus long, coiled. One rod-shaped apodeme.

Female. Body length 2.0– 2.2 mm, wing length 1.6–1.7 mm. Mid tibia lacking black spinules. Segment 8 short, brownish yellow, with sclerites fused antero-laterally; sternite 8 not folded apically. Cercus brownish yellow. Otherwise as in male.

Material examined: Holotype male labelled: SINGAPORE, Nee Soon , 26 August 2005, swamp forest, Mal 3 (reg. 25318, leg. PG, E-36).

Paratypes: SINGAPORE, 2 ♀♀, Nee Soon , 16 March 2005, swamp forest, Mal 3 (reg. 25017, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Nee Soon , 5 August 2005, swamp forest, Mal 3 (reg. 25283, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Nee Soon , 19 August 2005, swamp forest, Mal 3 (reg. 25298, leg. PG) ; 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Nee Soon , 7 September 2005, swamp forest, Mal 2 (reg. 25332, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Nee Soon , 23 September 2005, swamp forest, Mal 3 (reg. 25362, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Nee Soon , 14 October 2005, swamp forest, Mal 5 (reg. 25392, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Nee Soon , 28 October 2005, swamp forest, Mal 3 (reg. 25405, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Nee Soon , 18 November 2005, swamp forest, Mal 3 (reg. 25424, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Nee Soon , 3 December 2005, swamp forest, Mal 3 (reg. 25438, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Nee Soon , 14 December 2005, swamp forest, Mal 2 (reg. 25447, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Sime forest , 5 August 2005, forest, Mal 1 (reg. 25279, leg. PG) ; 2 Sime forest , 14 October 2005, forest, Mal 3 (reg. 25386, leg. PG) .

Derivatio nominis. The present species is named in memory of Dr. Axel Leonard Melander, famous dipterist and author of the monograph on the family Empididae that was published in Genera Insectorum. He also described several Elaphropeza from the Philippines.

Distribution and bionomics. Singapore. Forest.

Singapore. The peak of activity of this species is from August to December. There is only a single record in March and the sex ratio is 1:1. It is quite common in rain forests and was not recorded from mangrove.

Remarks. Elaphropeza melanderi sp. nov. appears to belong to a monophyletic lineage of Elaphropeza sharing curved subapical bristles on the hind tibia. Otherwise, the relationships of this species have not been resolved.

Figures

FIGURES 31–34. Elaphropeza melanderi sp. nov. 31. antenna. 32. epandrium with cerci. 33. right surstylus. 34. left surstylus.