Novakia lisae, Kerr, Peter H., 2007

Kerr, Peter H., 2007, Revision of the Holarctic genus Novakia Strobl (Diptera: Mycetophilidae), Zootaxa 1554, pp. 27-40 : 33-36

Novakia lisae sp. nov.

( Figures 10–18 )

Type Material

Holotype: ♂, USA: CA: San Bernardino Co., 9 km SE Wrightwood. Lone Pine Canyon, 34°18.17’N, 117°31.81’W, elev. 4127’, 21–28.v.2005, S.L. Winterton & A.R. Cline, Malaise CDFA 2005-010 [ CSCA]. Specimen on point mount, missing all legs on left side, otherwise in excellent condition. Paratype: 1 Ψ, same data as holotype [ PHKC]. Specimen on point mount, in excellent condition.

Additional paratypes in alcohol: 1 ♂, 1 Ψ, same data as holotype [CSCA-FTC, database det. numbers 06X 608, 06X 609]; 1 Ψ, USA: CA: Los Angeles Co., 1 km NW Wrightwood, Big Pines Hwy., 34°22.53’N 117°40.18’W; elev. 6476’, 21–28.v.2005, S.L. Winterton & A.R. Cline, Malaise in wash CDFA 2005-011 [CSCA-FTC, database det. number 06X 706].

Diagnosis

This species is the most distinctive of the genus. The most prominent diagnostic features that separate it from all other Novakia species include pale yellowish or white colored mid and hind legs, antennal bases that touch medially, and lateral ocellus positioned approximately its own diameter or less from eye margin.

Description

Body length: 1.8–2.2 mm. Wing length: 1.8–2.1 mm. Males and females approximately the same size.

Coloration. Head dark brown to black. Eye color brown when preserved fresh in alcohol, eyes gray when dried. Antenna brown to dark brown. Clypeus dark brown to black, basal palpomeres pale brown, segments becoming increasingly white distally; palpomere 5 entirely white. Scutum and scutellum brown to black. Thoracic sclerites brown. Coxae whitish or pale yellow, femora and tibiae whitish or pale yellow to pale yellowish brown; tibial spurs yellowish brown to brown; tarsi yellowish brown. Wing with brownish tint over most of membrane, narrow hyaline area posterior of wing vein R5, cubital veins slightly darker than medial veins (wing veins not noticeably darker in female), haltere stem white and knob pale to dark brown. Abdominal segments brown, with faint black band at posterior margin. Terminalia brown to dark brown in male; in female, cercus pale yellowish to pale yellowish brown.

Head ( Figs. 10–11 ). Median ocellus less than half diameter of lateral ocellus; lateral ocellus less than its own diameter from eye margin (in female, lateral ocellus closer to eye margin). Postocular region and top of head with evenly distributed, short brown setae; frons bare. Frontal tubercle above antennal bases; transverse frontoclypeal membrane oblique, incomplete. Face and clypeus not separated by frontoclypeal membrane medially; face and clypeus swollen and projecting forward, beyond rest of head; area between base of antennae and clypeolabral articulation (= face + clypeus) longer than wide. Palp about as long as head or slightly longer; segments l–2 short, lacking setae; palpomere 3 longer, with short dark setae scattered throughout, also with small and inconspicuous shallow pit on basal half of inner surface containing sensilla cochleariformis (5–8 in male); palpomere 4 longer than palpomere 3, with short pale brown setae; palpomere 5 cylindrical and elongate, longer than combined length of other palpomeres, more than twice length of palpomere 4, with short pale colored setae. Antennal length in male approximately 3.0 times the length of head; in female, antennal length approximately 2.2 times the length of head; antennal bases separated; scape with dorsal extension covering base of pedicel, with ring of dark setae, setae shorter than length of scape, slightly longer ventrally; pedicel in lateral view as wide as scape, with ring of dark setae distally, shorter than length of pedicel; all flagellomeres densely setulose, in male, flagellomeres 1–13 longer than wide and terminal flagellomere approximately twice as long as wide; in female, flagellomeres 1–13 approximately as long as wide and terminal flagellomere slightly less than twice as long as wide.

Thorax. Scutellum bearing two pairs of long black setae on posterior margin, several shorter setae also present on posterior margin. Setae of legs black, short. Fore coxa setose over entire anterior surface and with a few setae on the posterior surface at apex only, mid coxa setose anteriorly, hind coxa with single row of 3–5 setae at distal 2/3 of dorsal surface and with setae at apical margin. Approximate femur length to tibia length ratio 1.2 (foreleg), 1.0 (midleg), and 0.9 (hindleg). Trichia of tibia and tarsus brown, prominent; all tibial setae shorter than width of tibia; fore tibia with ovate anteroapical depressed area bearing several rows of small yellowish setae; mid tibia with 6 anterior setae, 4–5 dorsal setae, and 3–4 posterior setae on apical third; hind tibia with a row of 5–9 anterior setae, a row of dorsal setae, and a 0–3 posterior setae on apical third, and a cluster of approximately 25 short setae posteroapically. In male, tarsal claw finely dissected terminally, modified into a 6-tined comb ( Fig. 12 ); in female, tarsal claw simple; empodium pulvilliform. Wing ( Fig. 16) with small, irregularly arranged trichia over cell membrane surface; costal vein extends approximately 0.4 of distance between R5 and M1; subcostal vein short, thick, bare, and ending free; radial veins with setulae on upper surface; vein R1 longer than half length of r-m; crossvein r-m close to R along length; Rs absent but position marked where radial veins touch before R1 turns to costal vein; r-m and R5 join seamlessly (as R and R1); stem of medial fork readily apparent for its entire length, shorter than length of fork; M1 and M2 with reduced, inconspicuous setulae on apical half of upper surface only; basal transversal vein readily apparent; cubital veins bare; anal vein short, bare.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 13–15 , 17 ). Epandrium (= tergite 9) posterior margin not emarginate. Gonocoxal lobes ( Søli, 1997) separated medially, exposing aedeagal complex in ventral view; gonostylus armed with thick setae that extend past midline, with tapered apical lobe; internal lobe of gonostylus absent; aedeagus dissected medially, with apical fringe; parameres long, extending prominently beyond confines of genitalic capsule.

Female Terminalia ( Fig. 18 ). First cercus segment broad, second cercus segment ovoid, often flattened with transversely flattened apical beak-like process; spermathecae connected directly to genital chamber via short spermathecal ducts, spermathecal duct length slightly longer than two-segmented cercus.

Comments

This species is only known from the San Gabriel Mountains (near Wrightwood, CA; Los Angeles and San Bernadino counties), where it is sympatric with N. miloi .

Etymology

Named in honor of Lisa Sofia Kerr, born 3 November 2006.

Figures

FIGURE 17. Novakia lisae, male genitalia. A, hypandrium, dorsal view; B, epandrium, dorsal view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 18. Novakia lisae, female genitalia. A, terminalia, lateral view; B, sternite 8, ventral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm. Abbreviations: tg = tergite; s = seta.

FIGURES 10 – 15. Novakia lisae, male. 10, head, anteroventral view; 11, head, oblique lateral view; 12, first tarsus, ventral view; 13, genitalia, lateral view; 14, genitalia, dorsal view; 15, genitalia, terminal view. In figures 11 – 12 and 14 – 16, scale bar = 0.1 mm; in figure 13, scale bar = 0.01 mm.