Chelipoda curva, Zhang & Lin & Gao & Yang, 2024

Zhang, Leyou, Lin, Chen, Gao, Shang & Yang, Ding, 2024, Six new species of Chelipoda (Diptera: Empididae) from Shennongjia, China, Zootaxa 5523 (4), pp. 448-458 : 451-452

3. Chelipoda curva sp. nov.

( Fig. 3 )

Diagnosis. Thorax yellow, but dorsally blackish except mesoscutum with large dark yellow antero-lateral portion. Hairs and bristles on head and thorax brownish yellow. Antenna dark yellow, arista dark brownish yellow. Fore femur distinctly narrowed.

Description. Male. Body length 2.0– 2.1 mm, wing length 2.6–2.7 mm.

Head black with pale gray pollen. Eyes dull black, tinged metallic purple, separated widely on frons but very narrowly on face; face much narrower than frons. Hairs and bristles on head brownish yellow; two long vt. Ocellar tubercle weak, with pair of long oc nearly as long as vt.Antenna dark yellow, arista dark brownish yellow; postpedicel 2.2 times longer than wide; arista very long, 2.5 times longer than postpedicel. Proboscis brownish yellow, with brownish yellow hairs; palpus brownish yellow with brownish yellow hairs and 1 brownish yellow apical bristle.

Thorax yellow with pale gray pollen, but dorsally blackish except mesoscutum with large dark yellow antero-lateral portion and laterotergite blackish. Hairs and bristles on head and thorax brownish yellow; one anterior dc, one middle dc, one npl and one sa very long strong; one ppt, one psa and one prsc small hair-like; sc rather long and strong. Legs yellow. Setae and setulae on legs mostly brown. Fore coxa 0.8 times as long as fore femur. Fore femur distinctly narrow, 6.0 times longer than wide, 2.3 times as thick as fore tibia, with only one row of black ventral denticles and one row of 6 long thick brownish yellow outer av and 5 long thick brownish yellow outer pv. Fore tibia 0.7 times as long as fore femur, with row of very short recumbent black setae ventrally. Wing nearly hyaline; veins brownish. Squama brownish with dark brown hairs. Halter brownish yellow.

Abdomen apically weakly or distinctly curved downward, dark yellow with pale gray pollen except tergites 1–6 dark brown and hypopygium brownish. Hairs and bristles on abdomen dark brown.

Male genitalia: Epandrium rather small, subtriangular, widely separated from hypandrium. Hypandrium rather small, somewhat triangular, 2.2 times higher than long. Cercus basally rather thick, apically distinctly narrowed and curved backward. Subepandrial process thick, strongly curved forward. Phallus very long, curved forward.

Female. Body length 2.7–3.4 mm, wing length 3.3–3.6 mm. Similar to male, but mesoscutum with rather small dark yellow antero-lateral portion brownish yellow; abdomen brownish yellow except tergites 1–8 blackish.

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, China: Hubei, Shennongjia, Shennongding , sample line 3–1 [31°34'01"N, 110°30'53"E, 2885 m], 2022.VIII.26, Siqi Wang & Bintao Du ( CAU) . PARATYPES: 1♂, 7♀, same data as holotype ( CAU) .

Distribution. China (Hubei).

Remarks. This species is somewhat similar to C. wudangensis Yang et Yang from Hubei of China but may be separated from the latter by the mesoscutum with large dark yellow antero-lateral portion, arista dark brownish yellow and male cercus acute at extreme tip. In C. wudangensis , the mesoscutum is wholly blackish, the arista is white, and the male cercus is somewhat obtuse at tip ( Yang & Yang 2004).

Etymology. The specific name refers to the backwardly curved cercus.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Chelipoda curva sp. nov. a. Male habitus, lateral view; b. Male genitalia, lateral view.