Chelipoda conica, 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 : 450-451

2. Chelipoda conica sp. nov.

( Fig. 2 )

Diagnosis. Thorax blackish or black. Antennal segments 1–2 dark yellow, segment 3 brownish; arista dark brown. Legs dark yellow, but tibiae and tarsi brownish except fore tibia brown, occasionally fore coxa to femur blackish brown except extreme tip of fore femur. Male cercus rather small, short subconical.

Description. Male. Body length 2.0– 2.65 mm, wing length 2.7–2.8 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 blackish; two long vt. Ocellar tubercle weak, with pair of long oc nearly as long as vt. Antennal segments 1–2 dark yellow; postpedicel brown to dark brown, 2.2–2.3 times longer than wide; arista dark brown, very long, 2.5–2.6 times longer than postpedicel. Proboscis mostly brownish yellow, but partly dark brown, with blackish hairs; palpus dark brown with blackish hairs and 1 blackish apical bristle.

Thorax blackish to black with pale gray pollen. All setae black; 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 dark yellow, but tibiae and tarsi brownish except fore tibia brown. Fore coxa to femur sometimes blackish brown except extreme tip of fore femur; mid and hind femora sometimes blackish. Setae and setulae on legs blackish. Fore coxa 0.8 times as long as fore femur. Fore femur rather thick, 3.6 times longer than wide, 3.4 times as thick as fore tibia, with two rows of black ventral denticles and one row of 6–7 long thick blackish outer av and 5–6 long thick blackish outer pv. Fore tibia 0.7 times as long as fore femur, with row of very short recumbent black ventral setae. Wing nearly hyaline; veins brownish. Squama brownish with dark brown hairs. Halter brownish yellow.

Abdomen straight, or apically weakly or distinctly curved downward, brown with pale gray pollen. Hairs and bristles on abdomen dark brown.

Male genitalia: Epandrium large, nearly quadrate, distinctly separated from hypandrium. Hypandrium very large, somewhat trapezoid, about two times higher than long. Cercus rather small, short subconical. Subepandrial process long, distinctly bent. Phallus very long, curved forward.

Female. Body length 2.6–3.3 mm, wing length 3.0– 3.4 mm.

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, China: Hubei, Shennongjia, Shennongding , sample line 3–5 [31°36'20"N, 110°05'03"E, 2885 m], 2022.VIII.26, Siqi Wang & Bintao Du ( CAU) . PARATYPES: China: Hubei, 26♂, same data as holotype ( CAU) ; 13♂, 18♀, same data except, sample line 3–1 ( CAU) .

Distribution. China (Hubei).

Remarks. This species is similar to C. lyneborgi Yang et Yang from Hubei of China but may be separated from the latter by the antenna dark yellow with the postpedicel brown to dark brown. In C. lyneborgi , the antenna is yellow with a dark yellow postpedicel ( Yang & Yang 2004).

Etymology. The specific name refers to the subconical cercus.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Chelipoda conica sp. nov. a. Male habitus, lateral view; b. Male habitus, lateral view; c. Male genitalia, lateral view.