Sobarocephala recava, Lonsdale, Owen, 2014

Lonsdale, Owen, 2014, Revision of the Old World Sobarocephala (Diptera: Clusiidae), Zootaxa 3760 (2), pp. 211-240 : 230

Sobarocephala recava spec. nov.

Figs 9, 51–53

Description (Fig. 9). Male. Body length 3.1mm. Aristae and first flagellomeres missing. Setae brown. Presutural intra-alar seta present. Two dorsocentral setae with slightly more developed setula in front of anterior dorsocentral (missing, but follicles distinct). Acrostichal seta absent. One lateral scutellar seta. Head yellow with face light yellow, ocellar tubercle brown, occiput white, and parafacial and gena white and pilose. Thorax yellow with notopleuron light brown, lateral postsutural margin narrowly light brown, one pair of small, pale, elongate spots behind transverse suture, and scutellum and posteromedial quadrate spot on scutum brown. Legs yellow with fore coxa white and fore tibia and tarsi brown. Halter entirely white. Wing clear. M1+2 ratio 3.3. Abdomen yellow with central brown stripe from posterior half of tergite 3 to annulus.

Female. Unknown.

Male terminalia. (Figs 51–53) Annulus well-developed, not enclosing 7th spiracle. Cerci small, slightly projecting and emarginate; setae short. Surstylus approximately 2/3 height of epandrium, arched inwards and posteriorly, and with apex truncated and covered with numerous tubercle-like setae. Hypandrial arm long and arched posteroventrally, obscuring most of pregonite; ventral lobe with three short to medium-length setae. Pregonite long and thin with one distomedial seta. Postgonite rounded with one setula and three short tubercle-like nubs. Basiphallus and epiphallus relatively large. Distiphallus nearly half length of phallapodeme; paraphallus thin and minutely spinulose marginally.

Etymology. The specific name is Latin for “arched inward”, referring to the shape of the surstylus.

Holotype: MADAGASCAR. Foret de Zombitsy nr. Sakaraha , 650m, 16.xii.1959, E.S. Ross (1♂, CASC).

Comments. Sobarocephala recava is characteristically pale and one of only three Sobarocephala presently known from Madagascar. Examination of the male genitalia reveals a very close relationship with the Tanzanian S. laticrinis (Fig. 10), which is readily identified on the basis of external colouration.