Norrbomia nepalensis, Papp, 2003

Papp, L., 2003, New Oriental Species And Records Of Sphaerocerinae And Copromyzinae (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 49 (1), pp. 71-85 : 82-84

Norrbomia nepalensis sp. n.

( Figs 24–28 )

Holotype male ( HNHM): 1 male ( HNHM): Nepal, Royal Chitwan National Park , Bandarjhola Island – Jungle Island Resort, 84°10’E, 27°35’N, 150 m, 1995.10.30. – swept on Elephas maximus dung, leg. L. Peregovits [abdomen with genitalia in a plastic microvial with glycerol].

Measurements in mm: body length 1.57, wing length 1.66, wing breadth 0.64.

Head black, mostly shiny, occiput and all ofposterior surface ofhead grey microtomentose.

Frontal triangle to lunule, and all orbitalia, shiny, area between them strongly and rather darkly microtomentose. Facial plate, except for a marginal (supraclypeal) band, grey microtomentose. Two vertical pairs, ocellars as well as 2 lateroclinate fronto-orbitals, comparatively long, postocellars very weak, postocular setulae in 1 row. Four minute ifr pairs. Vibrissa medium-long, as long as fore metatarsus. Gena with a medial microtomentose stripe, i.e. subocular and peristomal part shiny. Antenna actually not lighter than head, but seemingly so, by virtue ofits covering ofdense short grey hairs. Arista as long as diameter ofvertex.

Thorax all black, bare, shiny. 1+2 dorsocentral pairs. Two rather well-ordered rows of acrostichal microchaetae.

Mid tibia with strong anterodorsal seta. Fore metatarsus with the usual medial ventroapical hook. Ventroapical spur on hind tibia 0.13 mm long, dorsal preapical seta 0.155 mm.

Wing almost hyaline, with only a very faint yellowish hue. Veins light yellow. Costal vein thickened, 0.034 mm thick distal to R 1, longest costal fringe 0.043 mm long.

Male preabdomen shiny black, without any peculiarities. Male cerci ( Fig. 24 ) as usual, apical third however thick, curved dorsally (dorsocaudally), subapically with a medium-long seta. Basal part with a number oflong, rather straight setae. Surstylus ( Figs 25–26 ) “misleading” in lateral view: its bifid apical part hardly appears bipartite and the strong mediocaudal setae, being perpendicularly oriented, do not appear as setae. Caudal view reveals the bifid apical part of the surstylus. Medial lobe bare, blunt and evenly narrowly rounded apically, lateral lobe medio-basally with an additional small lobe, mediocaudal part with 4 strong setae, basal part latero-caudally with some long straight setae, postgonite, higher magnification. Scales: 0.2 mm for Fig. 27 , 0.1 mm for Figs 24–26, 28 medially with 3 curved extremely thick thorn-like setae. Aedeagal apodeme and anterior apodeme of hypandrium long, as in other species of Norrbomia , basiphallus ( Figs 27–28 ) with a blunt, rather thick epiphallus. Distiphallus without peculiar processes. Postgonite ( Fig. 28 ) very high with a large, anteriorly curved ventral process.

Female unknown.

N. nepalensis sp. n. is easily differentiated from the known Oriental species (see key below) and it keys to N. sarcophaga L. PAPP in the key to the Afrotropical species. The other two species in the Afrotropical key with shiny black mesonotum, i.e. N. utukuruensis (VANSCHUYTBROECK) and N. gravis (ADAMS) are not closely related, since they have 4 or 5 pairs ofdorsocentrals, while there are only 3 pairs of dc in this new species. The male genital parts are also very different. With its completely shiny thorax, this new species has no relatives in the Palaearctic region (cf. key of PAPP & ROHÁČEK for the Israeli Sphaeroceridae ).

Figures

Figs 24–28. Norrbomia nepalensis sp. n., holotype male, genitalia. 24 = cercus laterally, 25–26 = surstylus: 25 = laterally and 26 = caudally, 27 = inner genitalia, lateral view, 28 = basiphallus and