Merodon legionensis Marcos-García, Vujić & Mengual

Veselić, Sanja, Vujić, Ante & Radenković, Snežana, 2017, Three new Eastern-Mediterranean endemic species of the Merodon aureus group (Diptera: Syrphidae), Zootaxa 4254 (4), pp. 401-434 : 411-414

Merodon legionensis Marcos-García, Vujić & Mengual

Figs 6 , 9 , 16 b

Type material (revised). HOLOTYPE: Spain: ♂, León, Murias de Paredes , 09.ix.1987, leg. Marcos-García ( CEUA) . PARATYPES: Spain: ♀, Alicante, Caveta del Buitre , Agres ( Natural Park Mariola ), 1200 m, 27.viii/ 10.ix.2002, leg. X. Mengual ( CEUA) ; ♀, Alicante, Font Roja, Alcoi ( Natural Park , 21.ix.1993, leg. P.M. Isidro ( FSUNS) ; 4 ♀, Alicante, Font Roja, Alcoi ( Natural Park ), Menetjador , 22.ix.2004, leg. A. Ricarte ( CEUA) ; ♀ Alicante, Font Roja, Alcoi ( Natural Park ), Menetjador , 22.ix.2004, leg. A. Ricarte ( MNMS) ; ♀, León, Cofiñal , 09.ix.1987, leg. Marcos-García ( CEUA) ; ♀, León, Pandetrave, Santa María de Baldeón , 13.ix.1987, leg. Marcos- García ( CEUA) ; ♀ León, Predosa del Rey , 1100 m, 13.ix.1987, leg. Marcos-García ( CEUA) ; ♂, Valencia, Chelva , 28.viii.1993, leg. Pérez-Bañón ( CEUA) ; ♂, Valencia, Chelva , 28.viii.1993 ( MNMS) ; ♂, Valencia, Utiel , 06.ix.1994, leg. Pérez-Bañón ( FSUNS) ( Marcos-García et al. 2007).

New records. Portugal: ♂ + ♀, Serra da Estrela, Nave de Santo António, 1600m, 06.ix.2009, leg. J.M. Almeida (AvE col) ; ♂, Montalegre , Pitões das Junias, 1100m, 10.ix.2012, leg. R. Andrade (AvE col) ; ♀, Marvão, Quinta da Abegoa, 25.viii.2014, leg. J.M. Almeida (AvE col) (van Eck 2016).

Diagnosis. Species with completely pale tibiae and tarsi except slightly brownish apical two tarsomeres in male, and three tarsomeres in female ( Fig. 9 b); mesoscutum covered with pale pile; shiny tergites, with goldenbronze reflection, covered with light yellowish hairs; tergites II and III in male with stripes of white microtrichia ( Fig. 9 a), contrary to related M. flavicornis ( Fig. 7 a); eye pile in male black in upper 1/2 (in M. flavicornis black in upper 1/3); pilosity on tergite V in female predominantly black (in M. flavicornis pale); distribution restricted to the Iberian Peninsula.

Range and preferred habitat. Iberian Peninsula ( Spain and Portugal) ( Fig. 6 ); open ground; unimproved, montane grassland, including open, grassy areas in pine forest or Mediterranean scrub, hedgehog heath, Quercus rotundifolia woodland ( Speight 2016).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Distribution of Merodon d flavicornis (●) and Merodon d legionensis (▲).

FIGURE 7. Merodon flavicornis, male: a—dorsal view (scale 1 mm); b—head, lateral view (scale 0.5 mm); c—hind leg, lateral view (scale 0.5 mm); d—head, anterior view (scale 0.5 mm).

FIGURE 9. Merodon legionensis, male: a—abdomen, dorsal view (scale 1 mm); b—hind leg, lateral view (scale 0.5 mm).

FIGURE 16. Females: a— Merodon rufipes, thorax, lateral view (anterior part of the thorax on the right side, posterior part on the left side); b— Merodon legionensis, hind tarsi, lateral view; c— Merodon flavicornis, hind tarsi, lateral view. Scale 0.5 mm.