Elaphropeza palpata de Meijere, 1911

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 : 129-132

Elaphropeza palpata de Meijere, 1911

( Figs. 205–208 , 210 , 260–261)

Elaphropeza palpata de Meijere, 1911: 330 (male).

Re-description. Male. Body length 3.0 (holotype) mm, wing length 3.4–3.5 (in holotype 3.5) mm. Head with occiput broadly darkened above neck and in lower half, otherwise yellow, subshining, finely greyish pollinose. Eye slightly concave on posterior margin. Anterior ocellars moderately long, proclinate; posterior ocellars minute. Inner verticals moderately long, outer ones hardly prominent. Frons brownish yellow. Antenna ( Fig. 205 ) with scape and pedicel yellow, postpedicel somewhat darker, brownish yellow. Pedicel with circlet of subequally short setulae. Postpedicel 3.0–3.5 (in holotype 3.1) times longer than wide. Style normally pubescent, about 2.5 times (in holotype 2.4) longer than postpedicel and nearly 1.5 (in holotype 1.7) times as long as scape, pedicel and postpedicel combined. Gena somewhat produced below eye. Proboscis brownish yellow, long. Palpus ( Fig. 210 ) long, stripe-like, black in apical half, lacking subapical bristle.

Thorax apparently greatly varying in appearance, pattern and colour intensity of brown markings; in holotype thorax wholly yellow but in both other specimens metanotum darker, rather brownish yellow, in one specimen scutum with narrow brownish vitta interrupted on prescutellar depression and small brownish patch near postalar callus, in second specimen only some very hardly prominent indications on this vitta and patch present. Prothoracic sclerites, hypopleuron and pteropleuron narrowly in upper part, scutellum and metanotum densely tomentose, otherwise thorax shining, with yellow to brownish yellow setation. Prothoracic episterna lacking long upturned bristle just above fore coxa and short bristle in upper part. Postpronotal bristle not prominent. Mesonotum with 2 notopleural, 1 postsutural supra-alar, 1 postalar and 4 scutellar (inner ones very long, cruciate; outer ones very short) bristles. Acrostichal and dorsocentral bristles undifferentiated, scutum evenly covered with dense short bristly hairs, 1 pair of prescutellars prominent, long.

Legs largely yellow, with varying brownish pattern, bearing yellow to brownish yellow setation; in holotype fore femur brownish yellow anteriorly and posteriorly (more distinctly in other specimens), mid femur almost yellow (similar to fore femur but less distinctly in other specimens) and hind femur brownish yellow around thickened apical part; fore and hind tibiae brownish, all tarsi and mid tibia rather brownish yellow. Coxae and trochanters with unmodified setation. All femora with numerous short ventral bristly hairs (somewhat stronger and darker on mid femur). Fore tibia with 2–3 (in holotype 3 on one tibia and 2 on another) short anterodorsal bristles. Mid tibia with hardly prominent ventral spinules in apical part, lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Hind femur somewhat constricted and thickened in apical half. Hind tibia with 1– 3 anterodorsal and 1–2 dorsal bristles; apical projection short, angular, clothed in dense brownish setulae. Hind tarsomere 1 slightly thickened, with some ventral spinules (1 longer).

Wing (Figs. 260–261) 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, brownish. Costal index: 40/20/24/12. Vein Rs longer than crossvein bmcu. Vein R2+3 moderately arched. Veins R4+5 and M1+2 divergent near wing apex, both somewhat sinuate. Vein CuA1 reaching wing margin. Vein A1 present as fold. Crossvein bm-cu transverse, somewhat convex. Crossvein r-m far before middle of cell bm; cell br very short, about 1/3 of cell bm. Halter with dark knob.

Abdomen with tergites 1 and 5–7 almost entirely pale yellowish, tergites 2–4 brownish. Tergites 1 and 5 very narrow, the latter with numerous unmodified setae only. Tergites 2 and 3 of subequal width, both divided along midline, with unmodified setation. Tergite 4 broadest, with deep narrow excision posteriorly, bearing numerous squamiform setae (not so strongly flattened as usually). Tergites 6 and 7 of subequal width, with equally short posteromarginal bristles. Sternites unmodified, brownish yellow. Gland-like structure present between tergites 4 and 5.

Terminalia ( Figs. 206–208 ) small, subglobular. Cerci broadly separated; left cercus large, elongate oval, covered with numerous long bristles, with 2 spine-like bristles apically; right cercus short, digitiform, with numerous long bristles. Epandrium completely divided. Right epandrial lamella subtriangular, bifurcate at apex ( Fig. 207 ) and with additional internal process, with yellowish long bristles apically, lower lobe with several short spine-like bristles at apex. Right surstylus not prominent. Left epandrial lamella fused to hypandrium, with numerous long bristles apically. Left surstylus with upper lobe large, subglobular, with numerous moderately long bristles. Phallus very short. Two rod-shaped apodemes.

Female. Although we have 2 females from Cambodia, we hesitate to describe it, because in a locality nearby a similar female was found that probably belongs to a different species. See under remarks.

Type material examined. Holotype male labelled: [red label] Elaphropeza / palpata / de Meijere, 1911 / ZMAN type DIPT.0492.1; Elaphropeza palpata [hand-written] / det. de Meijere / Type [hand-written]; E. Jacobson / Batavia / April 1908 ( ZMAN).

De Meijere (1911) described this species after a single male that is deposited in ZMAN. Currently, the holotype is in good condition.

Additional materia l examined: SINGAPORE: 1 ♂, Sime forest , 6 May 2005, forest, Mal 1 (reg. 25127, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Sime forest , 19 August 2005, forest, Mal 2 (reg. 25300, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Sime forest , 14 December 2005, forest, Mal 2 (reg. 25445, leg. PG) .

CAMBODIA: 1 ♀, Siem Reap, Angkor site: Preah Khan , 28 November – 4 December 2004, Malaise trap in forest around temple complex (leg. I. Var) ; 1 ♀, Siem Reap, Angkor site: Preah Khan , 28 March – 5 April 2005, Malaise trap in forest around temple complex (leg. I. Var) ; 1 ♂, Siem Reap, Angkor site: Preah Khan , 29 April – 5 May 2005, Malaise trap in forest around temple complex (leg. I. Var) .

Distribution. Indonesia (Java), Singapore, Cambodia. Forest.

Singapore: This is a rare species known from three records only and from the Sime forest only.

Remarks. Elaphropeza palpata is among the largest species of Elaphropeza . It shows quite a high variability in colouration and setation as often happens with large-sized species.

The male from Preak Khan Temple in Cambodia has the same structure of the male terminalia as the holotype and the specimens from Singapore and although there is variation in colouration and setation, they are considered to be conspecific, at least for now.

A single female from Cambodia (“Kbal Spean, 29 May 2005, sweep netting of vegetation along river (reg. 25108, leg. PG, RBINS)”), is quite different from those found at Preah Khan, with the following diagnostic features: completely black occiput; only gena yellow. Pair of black ocellars and verticals. Palpi large, with rounded tip and completely yellow. Scutum with broad black median stripe (vitta), scutellum completely black, as well as dorsum of metanotum. Halter darkened. All tibiae and tarsi brown. Fore femora completely yellow. Hind femora with black ring on apical third, leaving yellow oval patch dorsally before tip. Fore tibia without dorsal bristles. Hind tibia with 3 brown anterodorsal and 3 dorsal bristles. Tergites lacking squamiform setae.

We suppose that it is a different species and that it is part of a species complex that includes the true E. palpata . This complex is characterised by the elongated palpus that has a contrastingly black tip in the true E. palpata . The labrum is strong and hook-like. Occiput is yellow, but with a dark basal spot or even completely darkened. The fore tibia bears strong dorsal bristles that are variable in number from 2 to 3 (even varying on each side of the same specimen). The mid femur is swollen on the basal third and ventrally covered by densely set hairs. The tip of the hind femur has a pale, oval dorsal spot before the tip. In addition to a variable number of strong anterodorsal bristles, a variable number of strong dorsal bristles can be present. The tergites are split into two lateral sclerites and they do not carry true squamiform bristles, just some longer hairs. Further material, especially of males, will show if we are dealing with different species or a complex of species.

The relationships of E. palpata are unclear beyond inclusion within the E. ephippiata species group. E. palpata , E. nigropunctata and E. lanuginosa may form a monophyletic lineage sharing a very short cell rm of the wing. Although, this state appears to be homoplasious because it is present in E. obliquinervis belonging to the E. biuncinata group.

Figures

FIGURES 205–208. Elaphropeza palpata de Meijere (Singapore) 205. antenna. 206. epandrium with cerci. 207. right epandrial lamella. 208. left surstylus.

FIGURES 209–211. 209. Elaphropeza biuncinata: mouthparts. 210. E. palpata: head. 211. E. biuncinata pleura. Abbreviations: cx1: fore coxa; cx2: mid coxa; cx3: hind coxa; hypl: hypopleuron (= meron); mpl: mesopleuron (= anepisternum); mtn: metanotum (= postnotum); ptpl: pteropleuron (anepimeron); sc: scutellum; stpl: sternopleuron (= katepisternum).