Megaselia yaseri n. sp.

(Figs 272–282)

Material examined. Holotype male, West Azerbaijan province, Khoy city, Pere region, 38°36.722’ N, 44°53.336’ E, 1323 m, grassland, 9.VII.2011, S. Khaghaninia (39, CUMZ—13-96).

Description. Male. Whole fly as Fig. 272. Head as Fig. 273. Frons as Fig. 274, with very fine microtrichia restricted to the margins (Fig. 275). Cheek with 2 bristles and jowl with 1 that is longer and more robust. Postpedicels as Fig. 276 and lacking SPS vesicles. Proboscis very pale and labella lacking spinules below. Thorax brown. Three notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these. Mesopleuron with small hairs and a bristle (Fig. 277) and scutellum with and anterior pair of small hairs and a posterior pair of bristles. Abdominal tergites brown with small hairs but a little longer at rear of T6. Venter brown, and with hairs on segments 3–6. Hypopygium as Figs 278 & 279, the left hypandrial lobe being broad and the right narrow and shorter. Legs yellow. Fore tarsus with posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1–4 and 5 clearly longer than 4 (Fig. 280). Dorsal hair palisade of mid tibia extends about 0.68 its length. Hairs below basal half of hind femur longer than those of anteroventral row of outer half (Fig. 281). Hind tibia with 8 differentiated posterodorsal hairs, without anterodorsals, and spinules of apical combs simple. Wings (Fig. 282) 1.16 mm long. Costal index 0.42. Costal ratios 4.21: 1.97: 1. Costal cilia (of section 3) 0.06 mm long. Vein 3 hair 0.04 mm long. 2 axillary bristles, the outermost being 0.0.06 mm long. Sc not reaching R1. Haltere gray brown.

Recognition. In the key to the Megaselia males of the British Isles (Disney 1989) it runs to couplet 59, where the all yellow legs exclude the first option and M. spinata (Wood) differs in its frontal bristle arrangements, its front tarsus having dorsal hair palisades on all five segments and details of its hypopygium. An excluded species and 4 subsequently described species run to the same couplet. Three of these have brown hind femora, but these are yellow with brown tips in the other 2. One of the latter has the anal tube clearly shorter than the epandrium. The other has dorsal hair palisades on all five segments of the front tarsus and its basitarsus has rows of short spinules. In Schmitz’s (1958) key to Abteilung III it runs to couplets 25 to 27, where apart from M. spinata, the hind femora are brown. The subsequently described M. haranti Delage & Lauraire (19700 has 5 axillary bristles not 2. In Borgmeier’s (1964) key to Nearctic Group III it runs to M. dreisbachi Beyer at couplet 14, but its hind femora are brownish.

Etymology. Named after Yaser Gharajedaghi, Former MS. student of Prof. Khaghaninia.