Apterobiroina flavipes, Papp, 2021

Papp, László, 2021, New Species Of Apterobiroina L. Papp And Bentrovata Richards (Diptera, Sphaeroceridae) From Australia, Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 67 (2), pp. 101-117 : 105-107

Apterobiroina flavipes sp. n.

( Figs 7–17)

Holotype male ( HNHM): AUSTRALIA, NSW, Kioloa State Forest , 4. 1. 1979, No. 1225, pitfall traps.

Paratypes: 2 males 5 females ( HNHM, 1 m and 1 f with gen. prep, 1 m and 1 f in AM): same as for the holotype ; 1 male ( HNHM): ibid., Middle Brothers S. F., 24. 9. 1978 .

Body length in mm (holotype): 1.35 (head plus thorax 0.60), paratypes 1.56 (males), 1.67–1.81 (females).

Head. All parts of head, incl. Antenna, yellow. Lunule rounded apically, so not trapezoid as in Bentrovata . Facial plate similar to that of Bentrovata . 2 ors but anterior pair only 3/5 as long as posterior pair and definitely thinner. 2 pairs of strong ifr, apexes of anterior pair crossing. Postocellar minute, hardly discernible, both vte and vti strong, vti emerges 0.4 mm anteriorly to vte. Occipitals (occe, occi) missing. Minute orbital setulae: hardly discernible or wholly missing. Vibrissa only 0.13–0.14 mm long. Gena broad and strongly broadening towards rear, 0.10 mm broad below eye, height of eye 0.20 mm. Genal seta only part of synsternite, ventral view; 10 = ventro-medial part of synsternite, ventral view; 11 = hypandrium, ventral view; 12 = genital complex, lateral view; 13 = right postgonite and phallus, dorsal view; 14 = surstylus, broadest dorsal view; 15 = same, broadest ventral view. Scale: 0.4 mm for Figs 7–8, 11; 0.2 mm for Fig. 9; 0.1 mm for Figs 10, 12–15

0.07 mm long, gena incl. peristoma with only 3–4 minute setulae. Scape length less than 0.03 mm but its medial seta 0.08–0.09 mm long. Pedicel with very long dorsal and medial apical-subapical setae, longest one is the medial one, 0.09 mm long. Antennal length 0.165 mm, 1st flagellomere with long (0.03 mm) cilia, arista curved, not precisely measurable, at least 0.40 mm, its cilia c. 0.02 mm long.

Thorax. Thoracic chaetotaxy: 1 ppnt, 1 np, 1 very long sa, 1 pa, 1 posterior dc, bsc both broken on holotype, asc 0.41 mm. Katepisternal seta not seen. Halter brown.

Legs. Yellow, fore tibia dark. Fore femur and tibia thickened, much more than in Bentrovata . Microchaetae on legs all short. Mid tibia 0.375 mm long, antero-dorsal setae at 0.28 and 0.78 of tibia, posterodorsal at 0.28 and 0.77, i.e. basal pair is precisely paired, all those setae are strong. A short anterior seta at 0.70. No medial ventral seta on mid tibia. No long dorsal preapical seta on hind tibia.

Abdomen. As in the other species of the genus, i.e. preabdominal tergites and sternites meet laterally.

Male genitalia. Structurally same as that of A. australis . Sternite 1 strongly reduced ( Fig. 7). Ventro-medial part of synsternite ( Figs 9–10) with 16 (8+8) strong blunt black thorns/pegs. There is a second row of 8-9 pegs more proximally. Dorsal part of synsternite rather long ( Fig. 8). Hypandrium V-shaped ( Fig. 11). Surstylus in 2 lobes; anterior lobe smaller, with numerous long setae ( Figs 14–15). Postgonite broad, not long, with narrowly rounded apex ( Figs 12–13). Basiphallus rather narrow in lateral view. Distiphallus about as long as postgonite ( Figs 12–13).

Female genitalia. Preabdominal sternites as large as tergites. Tergites 6 to 9 wholly membranous. Epiproct better sclerotised, with a pair of long setae. Hypoproct comparatively broad ( Fig. 17), sternite 9 as broad as hypoproct, with at least 2 pairs of long and thin setae. Cercus ( Figs 16–17) comparatively long, 0.07 mm but only 0.015 mm broad; its apical seta 0.05 mm. Hypoproct U-shaped, very thin. Spermathecae similar to those of A. truncata .

Remark. Spermathecal ducts are long, they are similar to the ducts of Rudolfia ( ROHÁČEK 1983) .