Scenopinus stephanos, Winterton, Shaun L., 2008

Winterton, Shaun L., 2008, An unusual new species of Scenopinus Latreille (Diptera: Scenopinidae) from Australia, Zootaxa 1895, pp. 66-68 : 66-67

Scenopinus stephanos sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Greek: stephanos ; crown, diadem, referring to the crown-like frontal callus of the female.

Type material. Holotype female, AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Charleville, 5.5 km on road to Augathella; 5.iii.1989; E. Dahms, G. Sarnes; sweep. coccoid inf[ested] Aristida sp. Condition: good (glued on card). Type specimen (T.156204) is deposited in the Queensland Museum ( QMBA) in Brisbane, Australia.

Diagnosis. Wing clear hyaline, venation brownish; frons with large, crown-like callus; halteres dark-brown; front legs much more robust than mid or hind legs; abdomen uniform black.

Description. Body length: female 3.0 mm. Head: ( Fig. 1 ) Glossy black, frons much wider than ocellar tubercle, overlain with short, fine white setae; large truncated callus above antenna projecting anteriorly; sides of callus wrinkled in texture, truncated surface verrucous with short tubercles, slightly cleft longitudinally; face smooth with sparse white setae; antennae projecting ventrally, brown with short pale setae on scape and pedicel; mouthparts reduced, but apparently not vestigial; ocellar tubercle flattened with sparse white setae; postocular ridge smooth, without macrosetae; fine white setae laterally on occiput and gena.

Thorax: Glossy dark brown-black; scutum sparsely overlain with elongate, fine white setae; pleuron mostly glabrous, anterior part greatly recessed to accommodate enlarged forelegs when raised against pleuron; legs with coxae and femora glossy dark-brown, tibia and tarsi light brown; pale setae on femora, longer on posterior surfaces; anterior legs distinctly shorter and more robust than mid and hind legs, fore-tarsal claws enlarged; wing hyaline, venation brown; haltere dark brown, knob with narrow pale stripe ventrally.

Abdomen: Glossy black, overlain with sparse pale setae, longer laterally and on terminalia. Genitalia not dissected; sternite 8 slightly emarginate laterally; lateral areas and intersegmental membrane pale.

Male. Unknown.

Comments. Scenopinus stephanos sp. nov. is distinct from all other Scenopinidae based on the large truncated frontal callus and the grossly enlarged forelegs (based on the female). It is placed in the genus Scenopinus based on the characteristic wing venation and antennal shape (see Kelsey 1969). The frontal callus is highly sclerotised and has a distinct verrucous longitudinal cleft. As the closely related S. pallidipennis male lacks the frontal callus of the female, it is also likely that the male of this new species also lacks a frontal callus. Scenopinus stephanos sp. nov. differs from S. pallidipennis by the larger size, darker wing venation, larger and differing shaped frontal callus, abdominal segments without white margins and enlarged fore legs. It appears that both S. stephanos sp. nov. and S. pallidipennis are inland species as all collecting records are from far inland sites in central Australia.

Acknowledgements. Thank you to Dr Chris Burwell (Queensland Museum) for loan of the Scenopinus specimen. This research was supported by a National Science Foundation ( USA) grant (DEB-0614213) on Scenopinidae systematics. Statements and viewpoints expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of NSF.

Figures

FIGURE 1: Scenopinus stephanos sp. nov. female type, lateral view. Scale line = 1.0 mm.