Poecilosomella longicalcar, Papp, 2002

Papp, L., 2002, Eighteen New Oriental Species Of Poecilosomella Duda (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 48 (2), pp. 107-156 : 126-129

Poecilosomella longicalcar sp. n.

( Figs 24–30 )

Holotype male ( CMNH): TAIWAN: Nantou Hsien, Meifeng , 2130 m, 10–17 July 1993. A. Smetana, T147 – yellow pan traps.

Paratypes: 21 males, 20 females ( CMNH, 4 males, 4 females in HNHM): same as for holotype ; 17 males, 10 females ( CMNH, 3 males, 2 females in HNHM): TAIWAN: Taichung, Anmashan , 2230m, 30 Apr–4 May 1990, A. Smetana ( T32 ) .

Measurements in mm: body length 3.83 (holotype, abdomen downcurved), 3.70–3.95 (paratype males), 2.64–4.00 (paratype females), wing length 3.57 (holotype), 2.98–3.88 (paratypes), wing width 1.66 (holotype), 1.54–1.72 (paratypes).

Body dark, mostly dull greyish brown,

Facial plate yellow, occiput black dusted, frons reddish except for the silvery spots. Antennae rather long, red, first flagellomere darkened apically. Arista less than twice as long as antenna, aristal cilia rather short, cilia on flagellomere not much longer. Palpi yellow. No strong genal seta. Anterior fronto-orbital much shorter and thinner than posterior one. Three pairs of ifr, anterior and posterior pair medium long, but median pair rather long, 0.23 mm on holotype.

Mesonotum rather dull, silvery spots tend to be confluent into silvery lines. Both dorsocentral pairs strong. Anterior katepisternal much thinner than posterior and only 1/3 to 2/5 as long. Scutellum 0.65 mm long, 0.77 mm broad, apical scutellar seta 0.95 mm (male paratype).

Wing light brown, veins ochreous but brown on the area of dark spots. Wing with vein appendage on R 2+3, but there are also specimens without it. Rather large and well demarcated dark brown spots around apical section of R 2+3, and from costa at junction with R 1 down into the discal cell, including apical part of R 1 and R 2–5 fork. Costa overruns apex of R 4+5 by a distance of 1.5 its width. Medial part of R 2+3 concave, apex of R 2+3 upcurving to costa perpendicularly, angularly, arcus usually eral view. Scale: 0.2 mm for Fig. 26 , 0.1 mm for Figs 24–25, 27

with a vein appendage (stump vein). Premedial part of vein R 4+5 slightly bent towards the costa but apical half almost straight. Second costal section shorter than third section (0.90 vs. 1.125 mm on a male paratype). Cross-vein dM-Cu is much longer than intercrossvein section of M (0.27 mm vs. 0.22 mm on a paratype male).

Legs largely black, tibiae without light medial rings, bases and apices of tibiae light. Fore and hind femora much thickened. Male fore tibia ventrally and posteriorly with long hairs; hairs on fore tarsomeres somewhat longer than their own diameter. Male mid tibia in apical 3/5 ventrally with very long hairs, longest hairs 0.30 mm long: No mid ventral seta but an extremely long curved spur present, 0.25 mm on a male paratype vs. 0.49 mm long basitarsus. Apex of fore basitarsus, as well as whole 2nd and 3rd fore tarsomeres yellow, whole mid tarsomeres 1–3 yellow, apex of 2nd tarsomere and whole 3rd tarsomere of hind tarsi yellow.

Male sternite 5 strongly asymmetrical, the well sclerotized medial part of sternite 6 rather short (narrow), complex sternite 5 & 6 with a hairy, caudally broadened medial process ( Fig. 26 ). Subepandrial sclerite ( Fig. 24 ) sagittally with a long blunt process, which is slightly dentate around; this process is bordered by 2 pairs of setae. Otherwise subepandrial sclerite is without long setae. Male surstylus bilobed ( Fig. 25 ), anterior lobe almost straight in profile, rounded apically, posterior lobe with a blunt ventrally directed tooth. Posterior lobe basally with a hairy ridge, which bears long setae. Postgonite ( Fig. 27 ) rather slender, curved along a fine arcus with a few minute hairs only.

Female terminalia small, sternite 8 unsclerotized mediocaudally, there a pair of minute medioclinate setae present. Epiproct ( Fig. 28 ) broad, undivided with a pair of medium long thin setae. Hypoproct ( Fig. 30 ) divided; parts broadly rounded apically, with short hairs and with 2 pairs of medium long hair-like setae. Cerci small, rounded apically with 4 pairs of long or medium long thin for all setae. Spermathecae ( Fig. 29 ) black, slightly collapsed even in water, initial ducts joining spermathecae are thin, followed by a small bulbus.

Etymology: The name of this species refers to its extremely long curved ventral spur on mid tibia.

Distribution: Taiwan.

P. longicalcar sp. n. is an interesting species, whose specimens are usually with a vein appendage (stump vein) on R 2+3 subapically, i.e. at the turning point of curvature to costa. Indeed, I think it is related to species with this character. It is distinct enough to be separated easily from all those species by the key below. However, there are specimens without vein appendage on R 2+3, which are to be identified carefully. The species “sp. near brunettii” of DEEMING (1969: 65) and PAPP (1991 a: 107) might be an aberrant specimen of P. longicalcar .

Figures

Figs 24–27. Poecilosomella longicalcar sp. n., paratype male, terminalia. 24 = subepandrial sclerite, caudal view, 25 = surstylus, lateral view, 26 = sternites 5 and6, ventral view, 27 = postgonite, true lat-

Figs 28–30. Poecilosomella longicalcar sp. n., paratype female, terminalia. 28 = epiproct and cerci, dorsal view, 29 = the three spermathecae, 30 = sternite 8 and hypoproct, ventral view. Scale: 0.1 mm