Platypalpus ebejeri Grootaert & Zouhair, 2024

Zouhair, Laila, Grootaert, Patrick & Kettani, Kawtar, 2024, Twelve new species of Platypalpus Macquart (Diptera: Hybotidae) from Morocco, with additional new records, European Journal of Taxonomy 951 (1), pp. 1-53 : 23-25

Platypalpus ebejeri Grootaert & Zouhair sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:67968D6A-216A-4A47-BCF2-778C5D84B3E0

Figs 13–14

Diagnosis

A medium sized species (2.8–3mm long) of the pallidiventris-cursitans group, with one pair of long black verticals. Antennae black with postpedicel conical, elongate, about 3.5× as long as wide at base, stylus slightly longer than postpedicel. Thorax with mesoscutum including postpronotal lobe greyish dusted (microtrichia long), pleura greyish dusted, leaving a large polished spot on katepisternum. Legs mostly blackish brown, with hind knees and hind and mid femora yellowish apically, tibia yellowish, tarsi brown with metatarsus yellow brown apically, but in dark specimens also yellowish part brown to blackish brown. Mid tibia with a sharp, pointed, black spur, as long as tibia is wide. Wings faintly brown infuscate with veins M 1+2 and R 4+5 convergent before reaching wing border.

Etymology

This species is named in honour of Dr Martin Ebejer in recognition for his substantial contributions to the exploration of Moroccan Diptera .

Material examined

Holotype

MOROCCO – Rif • ♂; Oued Khemis ; 28 Dec. 2019; sweep net; L. Zouhair leg.; RBINS.

Paratypes

MOROCCO – Rif • 1 ♂; Barrage Smir ; 6 Apr. 2013; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 4 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; Jbel Zemzem ; 17 Apr. 2014; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 1 ♂; Zaouyet El Habtiyen ; 15 Apr. 2015; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 5 ♂♂; Ras Mazari ; 8 Apr. 2018; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 1 ♂; Rahbat Amlay ; 2 May 2018; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 1 ♂; Bni Bounsar ; 13–31 May 2018; Malaise trap; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; Cascade Chrafate ; 22 Mar. 2019; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; RBINS • 5 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; LESCB • 5 ♂♂; Ain Jdioui ; 20 Apr. 2019; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 4 ♂♂; Oued khemis ; 28 Dec. 2019; sweep net; L. Zouhair leg.; LESCB • 2 ♂♂; Oued Tanina ; 22 Apr. 2021; sweep net; L. Zouhair leg.; LESCB • 1 ♂; Douar Adder ( Tasselt ); 22 Apr. 2021; sweep net; L. Zouhair leg.; LESCB • 2 ♂♂; Rmel ; 17 May 2022; sweep net; F.Z. Sliman leg.; LESCB • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Ametrasse ; 20 May 2022; sweep net; L. Zouhair leg.; LESCB • 1 ♂; Mallaliyen ; 4 Mar. 2023; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB . – Eastern Morocco • 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀; Oujda ( Urban ); 18 Mar. 2018; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB . – Atlantic Plain • 28 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀; Douar Louamra ; 6 Mar. 2015; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB • 1 ♂; Forest of Maâmora ; 24 Apr. 2018; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB . – High Atlas • 28 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀; Anfgou ; 2 Aug. 2017; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB .

Description

Male

LENGTH. Body: 3.0 mm; wing: 3.0 mm.

HEAD. Black in ground colour, occiput greyish pollinose, with short pale setae, one pair of long black verticals. Gena greyish pollinose with long yellow setae. Ocellar tubercle greyish pollinose with 2 long black anterior setae and 2 very short yellow posterior setae. Frons subshining, as wide at base as pedicel. Face densely greyish dusted, narrower than pedicel. Clypeus polished and long. Antennae black, pedicel as long as deep, postpedicel almost rectangular, pointed, about 3.5 × as long as wide at base, stylus slightly longer than postpedicel. Proboscis blackish brown, shorter than head is high. Palpus brown, ovate, with scattered pale setulae and one long yellow subapical seta.

THORAX. Black. Mesoscutum including postpronotal lobe greyish dusted (microtrichia long), pleura greyish dusted, leaving a large polished spot on katepisternum. Postpronotal lobe with 1 long black seta and 3 minute pale setae. Thoracic hairs black, but yellow in some specimens. Mesoscutum with 2 long, thick black notopleurals, 1 long blackish postalar, 2 pairs of blackish prescutellars (one strong, long pair and one short, faint pair), 4 blackish scutellars (apical pair long and cruciate, lateral pair very short), acrostichals biserial, dorsocentrals uniserial, as long as acrostichals.

LEGS. Mostly blackish brown, with hind knees and hind and mid femora yellowish at base, tibia yellowish, tarsi annulated but rather indistinctly, but in dark specimens yellowish part of legs also brown to blackish brown. CoXae and trochanters with ordinary yellowish setae of different lengths. Fore femur moderately thickened, with pale anteroventral and posteroventral setae, and a ring of thick black setae at apex. Fore tibia slightly thickened, clothed with ordinary brownish setulae, with 2–3 thick, short brown setae near apex. Mid femur very thickened (about 2× as thick as fore femur), with double row of black ventral spinules and row of long yellow posteroventral setae. Mid tibia slender, with a row of ventral spinules and a sharp pointed, black apical spur, as long as tibia is wide. Hind femur slender, clothed with ordinary yellow setulae. Hind tibia slender, as long as femur, with ordinary short yellow setulae.

WINGS. Faintly brown infuscate, with brown veins. Costa with one long brown seta. Vein M 1+2 and vein R 4+5 convergent before reaching wing border. Crossveins m-cu and r-m separated, bm distinctly longer than br. Vein Cu 2 straight, recurrent in basal part. Vein Cu reaching wing border. Anal vein distinct. Squama yellowish. Haltere whitish.

ABDOMEN. With blackish tergites, polished, covered with pale setae. Sternites blackish, with similar setation. Male terminalia ( Fig. 13 ) with right surstylus long, fused with right epandrial lamella. At its base only short setae, the usual long setae absent. Both cerci set with a number of flattened setae, especially on left margin of left cercus ( Fig. 13B ). Left margin of left epandrial lamella densely set with long setae.

Female

Resembling male, except for the terminalia.

Remarks

The key in Grootaert & Chvála (1992) leads to Platypalpus riojaensis Chvála, 1981 (couplet 102). According to the original description of P. riojaensis in Chvála (1981), the latter is very close to the species described here. Platypalpus riojaensis has one pair of verticals, the antennae are black with the postpedicel pointed, more than twice as long as deep at the base, the thoracic hairs are black, the acrostichals are biserial, the dorsocentrals are uniserial, exactly as in the new species, but in the latter the postpedicel is longer, about 3.5× as long as deep at the base. The wings in P. riojaensis are clear, while in the new species they are faintly brown infuscate. The legs have almost the same coloration in both species, with all coxae black, the femora more or less darkened, leaving at least the apical fourth yellowish, and the tarsi are annulated rather indistinctly, but in the new species the mid and hind femora are yellowish at the base, not apically. The fore femur is almost entirely blackish brown. The posteroventral setae on the mid femur are black in P. riojaensis , but yellow in the new species. Posteroventral and anteroventral setae are present on the hind femur in P. riojaensis , but are absent in the new species. The genitalia of both species are different (compare Chvála 1981: fig. 19 with Fig. 13 ).

Figures

Fig. 13. Platypalpus ebejeri Grootaert & Zouhair sp. nov., male terminalia (holotype, RBINS). A. Right epandrial lamella. B. Epandrium with cerci. C. Left epandrial lamella. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

Fig. 14. Platypalpus ebejeri Grootaert & Zouhair sp. nov., ♂, habitus (holotype, RBINS).