Polyodaspis ferulae, Nartshuk, E. P., 2016

Nartshuk, E. P., 2016, A new species of the genus Polyodaspis Duda, 1933 (Diptera: Acalyptratae: Chloropidae) from Central Asia with a key to the Palaearctic species, Zootaxa 4072 (1), pp. 144-150 : 145-147

Polyodaspis ferulae n. sp.

( Figs 1–6 )

Material. Holotype ♂ Uzbekistan, Kyzylkum desert, Ayakguzhumdy, [40 km O Dzhingildy], 7. 0 6. 1965 (Nartshuk). Paratypes: 120 spms (53♂, 67♀), the same locality 13. 04–07. 0 6. 1965 (Nartshuk); 3 ♀, 20 km NE Ayakguzhumdy, 12.04.1965 (Nartshuk); 6 spms (2♂, 4♀), 25 km NE Ayakguzhumdy, 18.04.1965 (Nartshuk); 8 spms (3♂, 5♀), 50 km S Tamdy Bulak, 23.04. 1965 (Nartshuk); 1 ♀, Ayakagytma, 20.04. 1965 (Nartshuk); 67 sps (26♂, 41♀), Asnek, 70 km S Tamdy, 1–2.05.1965 (Nartshuk); 1♀, Ispas, 40 km NW Chardzhou, 3.05. 1965 (Nartshuk).All specimens collected in Kyzylkum desert, most specimens are taken on inflorescences of Ferula foetida .

Description. Shining almost entirely black species. Facial keel, antennae, palpi, halteres, femora except base, all tibia and all tarsi yellow, last segment of tarsi dark, in some specimens femora black except tip and hind tibia darkened in the middle. All setae and setulae white.

Head. Broader than deep and deeper than long. Frons about as long as broad, lateral margins almost parallel. Surface of frons not dusted, with very thin wrinkled and thickly covered with white setulae. Ocellar triangle extends to ½ of frons and continues as line nearly to anterior margin, it is poorly distinguished from rest of frons, not covered with setulae. Other parts of frons covered with setulae. Setae of head white. Postocellar setae parallel, nearly equal in length to outer vertical; inner vertical, and ocellar and orbital setae not distinguished from frons setulae. Antennae set within deep antennal fovea, enclosed by concave face and strongly developed facial carina. Carina a broad triangle upper and below. Face narrowing ventrally. Postpedicel with slightly developed upper angle, arista bare. Eyes short oval without hairs. Gena dulled, as broad as ¾ high as diameter of eye and twice as broad as postpedicel, not strongly projecting before eye margin. Proboscis very long geniculate. Palpi long. Occiput dulled.

Thorax. Scutum about as long as broad. Scutum and scutellum shining, evenly covered with white setulae. Postpronotal seta short. Prescutellar dorsocentral seta shorter than postocellar seta, placed very close to scutalscutellar suture, posterior supraalar seta shorter than dorsocentral. Scutellum semicircular, dusted at base. Apical scutellar setae wide apart, no longer than scutellum, a pair of subapical setae nearly ½ long as apical. Pleura shining, notopleural setae 1+2. Wing clear, slightly whitish, veins white. Cell br not widened. R1 strongly, R2+3 and R4+5 more gently curved to costa. Transverse vein m-cu oblique. Transverse vein r-m on outer half of discal cell.

Abdomen flat on disc, subshining. 5th tergum of male and female nearly twice as long as 4th tergum. Pregenital sclerite of male very narrow. Round membranous vesicula is between 5th tergum and pregenital sclerite, situated inside of abdomen. Epandrium with separate cerci and surstyli. Hypandrium open, gonites membranous, phallus short.

Body length 1.5 mm.

Taxonomical notes. The new species shares with P. asiatica high gena and long proboscis, but the body is significant smaller and distinguished by other characters.

The new species was collected only in desert. Polyodaspis asiatica was described from a montane locality: “Togur Tjurae, Kogart Tau (1902, III 30, leg. Tancré)”. Now the locality is in Kyrgyzstan. Becker noted that material had been kept in the Zoological Museum in Hamburg and in the collection of Becker. The latter collection is now in the Zoological Museum of Humboldt University in Berlin. No additional material of this species was published after its description. Some short notes are in Becker (1912: 238), a redescription in Duda (1932 –1933: 106), the species is listed in the Palaearctic catalogue ( Nartshuk, 1984: 234) and in the list of types (Wendt, 1975: 85). Wendt listed 3 syntype females in the Zoological Museum of Humboldt University in Berlin. I have seen syntypes in Berlin. Duda (1932 –1933: 106) had seen 1 male and numerous females in the Zoological Museum in Hamburg. Dr M. von Tschirnhaus kindly inform me that Siphonella asiatica (and asiatica in connection with the other generic names Goniopsita or Fiebrigella ) is not present in the Hamburg Museum (letter from 0 9.09. 2015).

Synonymy of Siphonella levicola Becker in Becker and Stein, 1913: 649.

The species was described from Iran. Becker has only one specimen from “ Pers. Beludshistan von Oase Megas”. Holotype female with two handwritten labels “P. Beludshist. 13.II. 1901 ” and “ Siphonella levicola Beck. det. Becker” is kept in the collections of Zoological Institute of Russian Academia of Sciences in St. Petersburg. The holotype has white hairs on thorax and abdomen, white inner and outer vertical setae and 1+2 notopleural setae. Apical setae of scutellum are lost. Halteres are yellowish (not black as in Becker’s description). 5th tergum of abdomen twice as long as 4th.

The species is now listed in the genus Polyodaspis Duda, 1932 ( Nartshuk, 1984: 233) . It has no characters to distinguish it from the widely distributed species P. sulcicollis (Meigen, 1838) . The species is very variable in the colour of setae and setulae from black to white and has 8 synonymous names, partly described as variations. Similar variation of colour of setae from black to white is described for another species of the genus— P. ruficornis (Macquart, 1835) ( Nartshuk, 2010) .

Polyodaspis sulcicollis (Meigen, 1838) = Siphonella levicola Becker in Becker and Stein, 1913, syn. nov.

Additional examined material of P. sulcicollis from Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Kazakhstan: 1 ♀, Mountains Baizhanzhal, Akmolinsk district, 11.07. 1957 (Nartshuk); 1 ♂, 3 ♀, Mountains Kokshetay, near Tersakkan River, Akmolinsk district, 13.08. 1957 (Nartshuk); 9 ♂, 12 ♀, 10 km N Zharkol Lake, Akmolinsk district, 13.08. 1957 (Nartshuk); 1 ♀, Borovoe, Akmolinsk district, 12.06. 1932 (V. Popov); 3 ♀, Mountains Kent, Karaganda district, 23.07. 1957 (Nartshuk); Mountains Kysyl-Tau, 120 km S Zhana-Arka, Karaganda district, 20.07. 1960 (Kerzhner); 1 ♀, Akyr-Tyube, Muyunkum desert, 27.08.1932 (Veltishchev).

Turkmenistan: 56 spm (25♂, 31♀) Khasly, 15 km SE Karakala, Kopet-Dag, 13.07.1973 (Nartshuk); 1♂, 1♀, Arvasa, 30 km SW Bakharden, 30.06. 1972 (Nartshuk); 1 ♂, 2 ♀, Ipaikala River, 40 km SW Bakharden, 25.06. 1972 (Nartshuk).

Tajikistan: 1 ♂ Kondara, Varsob River, 8.09.1946 (V. Popov); 1♀, 10 km N Ishkashim, West Pamir, 20.07.1965 (Nartshuk).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Polyodaspis ferulae sp. n.: 1 — head, anterior view, 2 — head, lateral view, 3 — abdomen, lateral view, 4 — male genitalia epandrium, 5 — surstylus, lateral view, 6 — male genitalia, hypandrium and phallic complex.