Teuchophorus longipecten, Meuffels & Grootaert, 2004

Meuffels, Henk & Grootaert, Patrick, 2004, The genus Teuchophorus in South-East Asia and New Guinea, description of new species, species-groups and their phylogeny (Insecta, Diptera, Dolichopodidae), Journal of Natural History 38 (2), pp. 143-258 : 159-161

Species 6: Teuchophorus longipecten sp. nov. (male)

(figures 32–37)

Etymology. From Latin longus ‘long’ and pecten ‘comb’, alluding to the long ventral setae on hind tibia.

Diagnosis. A small species. Eyes nearly touching below middle of face. Third antennal segment nearly twice as long as deep, rather pointed. Costa feebly thickened. Mid femur with a very strong anteroventral bristle just beyond middle. Mid tibia with two long ventral bristles, arising from small darkened swellings. Hind femur with a row of long av on apical three-sevenths. Hind tibia ventrally with two rows of long setae.

Material examined. H   male: Papua New Guinea, Madang province: Baiteta , in primary rain forest along a brook, 25 May 1995, four males (No. 95069, leg. P. Grootaert) .

Male

Body length 1.2–1.5 mm. Wing length 0.95–1.0 mm.

Head. Frons broad, with blackish green ground colour, feebly shining. Face blackish, narrowing downwards; eyes nearly touching each other below middle of face. Palpi small, yellow with a narrow brown margin, with a short brown apical bristlet. Rostrum yellow. Occiput convex, blackish green. Chaetotaxy as usual; two minute postocellars. Postocular cilia uniseriate, black, very short beneath. Antenna (figure 32): with basal segments dark brown; third segment with dark brown base and brownish yellow apical part. Third segment nearly twice as long as deep, rather pointed. Arista slightly more than three times as long as third antennal segment.

Thorax. Mesoscutum and scutellum with shining dark metallic green ground colour. Pleurae dark brown or brown, with a small black spot on mesopleuron. Neck yellow. Chaetotaxy as usual, acr uniseriate. Scutellum with two marginals. No propleural bristle.

Legs. Legs, including coxae yellow. Hind femur gradually feebly browned towards tip.

Fore leg. Coxa anteriorly with a few short yellowish bristly hairs. Femur with only a minute preapical pv. Tibia a little shorter than femur, without bristles or serration. Segments 2, 3 and 4 of tarsus short, about equally long (figure 34). Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.29:0.12:0.045: 0.04: 0.045: 0.05.

Mid leg. Coxa bare. Femur (figure 35) slightly thickened ventrally towards middle, narrowing thereafter, bearing just beyond middle, at the very beginning of the slope, a strong dark anteroventral bristle, longer than greatest diameter of femur. At base of femur a short black ventral bristlet, followed at some distance by two similar bristlets; in between the last of these bristlets and the large anteroventral bristle, a few short hairs; a short and weak preapical av. Tibia (figure 35) a little shorter than femur, gently curved on its basal half; ventrally, at two-fifths from base and just beyond middle, two slightly swollen dark spots, from which arise long yellow adjacent bristles, nearly one-third to one-quarter as long as tibia; three rather long and strong black apical bristles. First tarsal segment with a small ventral bristle near base. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.35: 0.17: 0.1:0.07: 0.06:0.07.

Hind leg. Coxa with a small brown exterior bristlet. Femur (figure 33) on basal third ventrally with rather short yellowish hairs. On apical three-sevenths a row of about seven long dark brown av. Tibia (figure 33) about as long as femur, ventrally on whole length with two rows of long brownish setae, the longest of which are twice as long as diameter of tibia; some very weak and short dorsal bristlets. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.42:0.08:0.1:0.07:0.06: 0.07.

Wing. Wing (figure 36) hyaline. Costa feebly thickened. Halter with yellow stem and dark brown knob. Squamae small, yellowish, with a few short dark cilia.

Abdomen. Abdomen dorsally brown, yellowish on sides. Hairs and bristlets very short, dark. Hypopygium (figure 37) small, dark brown.

Female Unknown.

Discussion

Belongs to the group of T. conspicuus Mf. & Gr. by the adornment of mid femur and tibia, and the shortening of tarsal segments of fore leg. Its mid tibia, however, is not swollen, and the costa is only feebly thickened.