Elaphropeza spicata, 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 : 92-94

Elaphropeza spicata sp. nov.

( Figs. 149–152 )

Diagnosis. Occiput yellow, postpedicel nearly 1.5 times longer than wide, style about 5.0 times longer than postpedicel; thorax yellow, scutum with indistinct brownish spots above wing base; legs yellow, fore tibia with 1 anterodorsal bristle, hind tibia with 1 subapical anteroventral and 1 anterodorsal bristles; abdominal tergites 4 and 5 with squamiform setae.

Description. Male. Body length 2.3–2.4 mm, wing length 1.8–1.9 mm. Occiput wholly yellow, subshining, with yellow to brownish yellow setation. Eye deeply concave on posterior margin. Ocellar tubercle yellow, anterior and posterior ocellars subequally moderately long, the former proclinate, the latter lateroclinate. Inner verticals long, outer ones shorter. Frons yellow, short, subshining. Antenna ( Fig. 149 ) wholly yellow. Pedicel with circlet of subequally short setulae. Postpedicel short, nearly 1.5 times longer than wide. Style normally pubescent, brownish yellow, about 5.0 times longer than postpedicel and nearly 3.0 times as long as scape, pedicel and postpedicel combined. Proboscis brownish yellow. Palpus yellow, small, rounded; with scattered brownish yellow setulae, bearing 1 longer subapical seta.

Thorax almost entirely yellow, shining, with yellow to brownish yellow bristles; scutum with hardly prominent brownish yellow spot above wing base, metanotum brownish, sternopleuron and hypopleuron with brownish marking in lower part. Prothoracic episterna lacking long upturned bristle just above fore coxa, with 1 very 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 2 pair of long prescutellar dorsocentrals), the former lacking on prescutellar depression, the latter 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 bearing 1 anterodorsal bristle near middle. Mid femur slender, with 2 rows of spinule-like ventral bristles (becoming shorter in apical part of femur), 1 long ventral, 3–4 short anterior bristles near base and 1 anterior subapical bristle. Mid tibia lacking black ventral spinules but with somewhat stronger setulae 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 with 1 short straight subapical anteroventral bristle and 1 long anterodorsal bristle near middle; apical projection short, rounded, clothed in dense brownish setulae. Hind basitarsus somewhat thickened, shorter than remaining tarsomeres combined.

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: 45/25/36/13. 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 almost transverse. Crossvein r-m somewhat before middle of cell bm. Halter darkened.

Abdomen. Tergite 1 entirely pale. Tergites 2 and 3 with two brownish triangular spaces separated broadly along midline; with unmodified setation. Tergite 4 broadest, dark brown, with squamiform setae. Tergite 5 very narrow, dark brown, with squamiform setae. Tergites 6–8 unmodified, tergites 6 and 7 yellowish; tergite 7 with moderately long posteromarginal bristles. Sternites unmodified, weakly sclerotised; sternites 3–7 with lateral setulae directed upwards. Gland-like structure present between tergites 4–5.

Terminalia ( Figs. 150–152 ) large, brownish yellow. Cerci separated; left cercus unbranched, elongate, tapered, with scattered short bristles and 2 spines in middle part. Right cercus short, narrow, with few moderately long bristles, lacking spines. Epandrium completely divided. Right epandrial lamella subtriangular, covered with numerous, mostly short bristles, bearing long ventral marginal bristles. Right surstylus not prominent. Left epandrial lamella fused to hypandrium, with several long bristles apically. Left surstylus with upper lobe of complicate structure, as in Fig. 152 , bearing numerous bristles of different length, with 3 long stronger bristles basally; lower lobe of surstylus with 2 spines. Hypandrium with 1 long and 1 moderately long spine-like bristles. Phallus very short. Two rod-shaped apodemes.

Female. Body length 2.2–2.3 mm, wing length 1.8–1.9 mm. Abdominal segment 8 somewhat elongate, with sclerites separated; sternite 8 folded apically. Cercus broad oval, yellow. Otherwise as in male.

Material examined: Holotype male labelled: SINGAPORE, Sungei Buloh , 6 July 2005, mangrove, Mal 1 (reg. 25197, leg. PG, E-23).

Paratypes: MALAYSIA, 1 ♀, Pulau Tioman , Juara, 20 July 2005, river, sweeping (reg. 25246, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Pulau Tioman , Monkey Bay, 14 July 2005, beach, sweeping (reg. 25216, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Pulau Tioman , Monkey Bay, 17 July 2005, beach, sweeping (reg. 25227, leg. PG) .

SINGAPORE, 1 ♀, Bukit Timah , 23 September 2005, rain forest, Mal 2 (reg. 25358, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Nee Soon , 3 June 2005, swamp forest, Mal 1 (reg. 25150, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Nee Soon , 15 July 2005, swamp forest, Mal 1 (reg. 25258, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Sungei Buloh , 11 May 2005, mangrove, Mal 2 (reg. 25160, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Sungei Buloh , 18 May 2005, mangrove, Mal 1 (reg. 25161, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Sungei Buloh , 3 December 2005, mangrove, Mal 2 (reg. 25440, leg. PG) .

Derivatio nominis. The name spicata refers to the spines on the left cercus and the left surstylus.

Distribution. Malaysia, Singapore. Terrestrial forest and mangrove.

This is a rare species (only 10 records: 3 on Pulau Tioman in Malaysia and 7 in Singapore). It is recorded in different habitats always on basis of single individuals suggesting that the real microhabitat of this species has not yet been sampled.

Remarks. In having subequally long anterior and posterior ocellar bristles, E. spicata sp. nov. appears closely related to E. luteoides sp. nov. and E. lutea .

Figures

FIGURES 149–152. Elaphropeza spicata sp. nov. 149. antenna. 150. epandrium with cerci. 151. right epandrial lamella. 152. left surstylus.