Minilimosina (Svarciella) parafanta Su

Su, Lixin, Liu, Guangchun & Xu, Jie, 2015, A review of Minilimosina Roháček (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae) from China, Zootaxa 4007 (1), pp. 1-28 : 20-22

Minilimosina (Svarciella) parafanta Su sp. nov.

( Figs. 83–91 )

Diagnosis. Body colour shining black; antennae reddish brown. Fore tarsus black; mid and hind tibiae shining black. Male syntergite 1+2 and sternites 1–5 black, tergites 3–5 brownish black; tergite 5 medially declerotized and divided into 2 sclerites; sternite 5 ( Fig. 87 ) with a posteromedial comb of 14–15 blunt spines and about 17 spinelike setae in front of it. Gonostyli ( Fig. 85 ) asymmetrical, right one with an apically bifurcate inner lobe. Sternite 8 of female ( Fig. 90 ) butterfly-shaped; tergite 10 ( Fig. 89 ) with 2 long setae on anterior half; body of spermatheca ( Fig. 91 ) with small tubercles.

Description. Male. Body length 1.7 mm, wing length 1.4 mm. General colour shining black, including head, thorax and abdomen; frons shining black but the lowermost margin dark brown; face sometimes with 2 small orange spots at lower margin; antennae reddish brown; haltere with white stem and shining black knob; legs shining black except for trochanters, apical parts of femora, basal fourth of fore tibia, basal sixth and apical sixth of mid tibia, basal fourth and apical sixth of hind tibia, mid and hind tarsi reddish brown, and fore tarsus dark brown to brownish black; abdomen strongly sclerotized, black except for tergites 3–5 dark brown, tergites 3–5 reduced, tergite 5 medially desclerotized and divided into 2 sclerites.

Head: Two orbitals. Interfrontalia with 2–3 pairs of small subequal setae. Eye height about 3.0 times as long as genal height. Aristal hairs 1.5 times as long as arista width at base.

Thorax: Shining spots on mesopleuron and sternopleuron inconspicuous. 2 humeral setae, internal one weak. Anterior dorsocentral seta 0.6 times as long as posterior dorsocentral, the latter subequal to scutellum length, apical scutellar seta 1.4 times as long as scutellum length; lateral scutellar seta half length of apical scutellar; acrostichal setae in 6 rows in front of suture. Sternopleuron with anterior sternopleural seta very weak and posterior long. Mid tibia: proximal anterodorsal seta slightly longer than distal anterodorsal; a row of small posterodorsal setae; ventroapical seta subequal to width of mid tibia. Basal two thirds of mid femur with a row of posteroventral setae. Wing and veins reddish brown, including C. C extended slightly beyond R4+5; Cs2 0.8 times as long as Cs3; crossveins r-m and dm-cu separated by twice the length of dm-cu; R2+3 straight, apical part slightly curved to C; R4+5 slightly sinuate. Anal vein sinuate but reduced. Alula small and narrow.

Male abdomen: Syntergite 1+2 large, at middle 3 times as long as and slightly wider than tergite 3, tergite 3 subequal to tergite 4. Sternite 5 ( Fig. 87 ) very similar to that of M. fanta Roháček & Marshall , but its deflexed and modified posteromedial lobe with a central comb of about 15 flat spines (thus more than that of M. fanta ) flanked by laterally directed and apically blunt lobes, and with about 17 thick spine-like setae in front of it (more than that of M. fanta ). Gonostylus ( Figs. 83, 84, 85 ) bilobed, asymmetrical; internal margin with 1 small and 1 large spine; left inner lobe with a pair of slender, apically pointed processes being directed anteriorly and inwardly respectively; right inner lobe with a short apically bifurcate process. Postgonite ( Fig. 86 ) slender, thinner and longer than that of M. fanta . Phallophore and distiphallus ( Fig. 86 ) very similar to that of M. fanta .

Female: Body length 2.1 mm. Wing length 1.7 mm. Syntergite 1+2 large and dark pigmented; tergites 3–5 strongly reduced and light pigmented, tergite 5 medially desclerotized and divided into 2 sclerites.

Female postabdomen: Tergite 6 strongly reduced and light pigmented, medially desclerotized and divided into 2 sclerites. Tergite 8 ( Fig. 89 ) tripartite, medially desclerotized, 2 lateral parts dark pigmented. Tergite 10 ( Fig. 89 ) posteriorly narrow and anteriorly wide, with posterior two thirds setulose, and anterior half with 2 long setae. Sternite 8 ( Fig. 90 ) butterfly-shaped, with posterior half with long setae. Sternite 10 ( Fig. 90 ) setulose and dark pigmented on posterior margin; large anterior part medially desclerotized and laterally pale pigmented and with 2 long and 4 medium long setae on its posterior margin; additional paired sclerite between sternite 8 and sternite 10 distinctly developed. Spermathecae ( Fig. 91 ) somewhat peanut-shaped, with a shallow apical invagination; sclerotized part of ducts short, half length of spermathecal body, with small tubercles on surface.

Material examined. ( LKLSU, in alcohol): Holotype, male: China, Zhejiang, Mt. Tianmu, Grand Canyon, Qianmutian, sweep, 1334 m, E 119°26′ 49.66″, N 30°23′ 48.2″, 1.Jul.2013, Lixin Su. Paratypes, 4 males, 1 female: China, Zhejiang, Mt. Tianmu, Grand Canyon, Qianmutian, sweep, 1334 m, E 119°26′ 49.66″, N 30°23′ 48.2″, 1.Jul.2013, Lixin Su; 2 males: China, Zhejiang, Mt. Tianmu, Xianrentai, sweep, 1505 m, E 119°25′ 45.23″, N 30°20′ 49.56″, 29.Jun.2013, Lixin Su; 3 males, 1 female: China, Mt. Tianmu, Grand Canyon, Qianmutian, sweep, 1334 m, E 119°26′ 49.66″, N 30°23′ 48.2″, 2.Jul.2013, Lixin Su.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the close similarity of the new species to M. fanta in external appearance, male sternite 5, left gonostylus and aedeagal complex.

Comments. The new species is very similar to M. fanta in the following features: body colour shining black; antennae reddish brown; haltere with white stem and shining black knob; leg colouration (exccept for fore tarsus); Cs2 shorter than Cs3; colouration and formation of male preabdomen; shape of left gonostylus and distiphallus; additional sclerite between sternite 8 and sternite 10 of female present. Despite this, the new species can be safely identified based on the following characters: fore tarsus dark brown to black; the number of posteromedial spines and spine-like setae of male sternite 5 larger than that of M. fanta ; inner lobe of right gonostylus with a short apically bifurcate process; tergite 10 of female with 2 long setae on anterior half; female sternite 8 butterflyshaped; spermathecae with surface tubercles. Based on shared characters (possible synapomorphies): gonostylus with anterior projecting lobe, the shapes of phallophore and postgonite, and the looped ventral sclerite of distiphallus, M. parafanta , M. gracilenta and M. fanta could form a distinct species group of Svarciella . Within this group, M. fanta and M. parafanta seem to be sister species as demonstrated not only by their general similarity (discussed above) but also by the shared (probable) synapomorphies: gonostylus with long anterior projecting lobe and dorsal sclerite of distiphallus simple.

Distribution. Oriental: China (Zhejiang).

Figures

FIGURES 83 – 88. Minilimosina (Svarciella) parafanta Su, sp. n.: 83, male genitalia, lateral; 84, right gonostylus, lateral; 85, gonostylus, ventral; 86, aedeagus and associated structures, lateral; 87, male sternite 5, ventral; 88, male preabdomen, dorsal.

FIGURES 89 – 91. Minilimosina (Svarciella) parafanta Su, sp. n.: 89, female abdomen, dorsal; 90, female postabdomen, ventral; 91, spermathecae. (abbreviations: as, additional sclerite; S, sternite; T, tergite).