Rhabdomastix (Rhabdomastix) ostensackeni Skuse, 1890

Theischinger, Günther, Billingham, Zacariah D., Martin, John & Growns, Ivor, 2019, The genus Rhabdomastix Skuse in Australia (Diptera: Tipuloidea: Limoniidae), Zootaxa 4661 (1), pp. 65-100 : 83

Rhabdomastix (Rhabdomastix) ostensackeni Skuse

( Figs. 33–35 )

Rhabdomastix ostensackeni Skuse, 1890: 829 .

Material examined. Holotype ♂: Australia , New South Wales , Berowra ( ANIC); seen: dry, pinned, wing and terminalia on slide on pin. New South Wales: 2 ƋƋ, Heathcote Brook , 8–x–1985, G. Theischinger ( AM); 2 ƋƋ, Kanangra Boyd N. P., Mt Kanangra , 1100 m, montane woodland, 2–i–1993, pans, D.J. Bickel ( AM); 1 Ƌ, Mulerindi, 10 km N Tamworth, 16–xi– 19976, G. Theischinger ( AM); R. ostensackeni Ƌ Type, F.A.A. Skuse (on permanent loan from MACLEY MUSEUM University of Sydney) ( ANIC); 1 Ƌ, Sydney, 19.9.25 (Health Dept.) ( ANIC); 1 Ƌ, Stoney Ck, 77 km N of Windsor, 7–x–1974, Z. Liepa ( ANIC); 1 Ƌ, Terrey Hills near Sydney, 21–iii–1970, D.K. McAlpine ( AM); 1 Ƌ, Tianjara Falls, 10–xi–1985, G.Theischinger ( AM).

Only the male of R. ostensackeni has been described ( Skuse, 1890). The female remains undescribed.

Additional details of the male (from dry, pinned material and material preserved in 80% ethanol) ( Figs. 33– 35 ).

Head. Antenna brown, 4–6 mm long; pedicel much shorter than flagellomeres; flagellomere 1 long, slender cylindrical; flagellomere 3 many times as long as wide.

Wing. Very narrow, particularly basally. Veins R 4 and R 5 apically diverging; cell dm about half as long as vein M 4; vein A 2 almost straight, very short, ending well before level origin of Rs; anal angle hardly developed.

Terminalia. Gonocoxite about three times as long as wide. Outer gonostylus more than half as long as gonocoxite and about twice as long and largely about as thick as the inner gonostylus that is attenuated rather abruptly to a thin tip. Interbase pointed, rather strongly but evenly arched. Aedeagus at least as long as rather slim vesica plus moderate size apodeme.

Distribution. South-eastern: New South Wales ( Map 1 ).

Discussion. The male of R. (R.) ostensackeni stands out from all consubgeneric species known from Australia by very long antennae (longer than wing) with very thin flagellomeres (f3 many times as long as wide), by anal angle of wing hardly developed (cell A 2 very shallow), by outer and inner gonostyli similar in width, the outer not distinctly armed, apically rounded, the inner largely parallel sided with rather long, much narrower tip and by strongly arched interbases.

Figures

MAP 1. Distribution of the Australian species of Rhabdomastix (Rhabdomastix) ostensackeni group. R. borroloola sp. nov. R. dobrotworskyi sp. nov. R. dooragana sp. nov. R. hirsuta sp. nov. R. minima R. nivalis sp. nov. R. ostensackeni R. ponticulus sp. nov.

FIGURES 33–35. Rhabdomastix (Rhabdomastix) ostensackeni Skuse, male. 33: habitus and insert antennae; 34, 35: terminalia, two different aspects. Scale bar = 0.2 mm for 34, 35.