Teuchophorus acinaces, 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 : 210-212

Species 38: Teuchophorus acinaces sp. nov. (male)

(figures 171–174)

Etymology. Gr. akinákès, ‘a short Persian sword’, alluding to the shape of third antennal segment.

Diagnosis. Medium-sized species with third antennal segment very long and pointed. No wing stigma. Mid femur ventrally on basal third with some very short bristlets. Hind femur with two av in front of apex. Hind tibia dorsally with three longer and some very short bristles; anteroventrally at apical third with one bristle, preceded by a few hairs. Eyes broadly separated on face.

Material examined. Type material: Indonesia: Irian Jaya, Nabire , km 61.7, river banks in swamp forest; shaded and sun-lit areas, 25 April 1979,    male and      four males (No. 970040, leg. P. Grootaert and Ph. Hoyois) .

Male

Body length 1.35–1.6 mm; wing length 1.3–1.35 mm.

Head. Frons broad, with shining greenish black ground colour. Face with blackish ground colour, rather broad (about as wide as the distance between the ocellar bristles). Palpi yellowish brown, each with a black apical bristlet. Rostrum yellow. Occiput blackish. Chaetotaxy as usual; two tiny postocellars. Postocular cilia uniseriate, black. Antenna (figure 171): long, brown; first segment and lengthened apex of third segment lighter coloured, more yellowish. First segment very small. Second segment cup-shaped, with a circlet of very short marginal bristlets, that are longest above. Third segment about twice as long as deep at base, with its basal part slightly deeper than second segment, and with a very long, pointed apical part. Arista dorsal, inserted on tip of basal part of third antennal segment, about twice as long as antenna; basal aristal segment long, about as long as third antennal segment.

Thorax. Mesoscutum and scutellum with shining, greenish black, metallic ground colour. Pleurae brown; anterior part of metapleura blackish. Chaetotaxy as usual; acr short, uniseriate. Scutellum with two marginals, without lateral hairs. No propleural bristles.

Legs. Legs, including coxae, yellow.

Fore leg. Coxa anteriorly with very short, brownish hairs; at apical rim a row of short, thin, brownish hair-like bristles. Femur with a very weak and short preapical pv. Tibia a little longer than femur, without bristles or serration. First tarsal segment ventrally at base with two tiny black spinules. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.33:0.2: 0.1:0.07:0.05: 0.07.

Mid leg. Coxa anteriorly and apically with short brownish hairs. Femur ventrally on basal third with two or three very short bristlets; anteroventrally on apical twofifths a row of three or four lengthened hairs. Tibia about as long as femur; two ad, one pd; ventrally some lengthened hairs and one bristle at middle. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.45: 0.2:0.1: 0.08:0.06:0.07.

Hind leg. Coxa with a weak, black exterior bristle. Femur (figure 172) with one longer and one weaker and shorter av on apical fourth, preceded by a few hairs. Tibia (figure 172) slightly longer than femur; dorsally an irregular row of very short, hair-like bristles, and two or three longer bristles; one av at apical third, preceded by a few curled hairs. First tarsal segment feebly thickened. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.5:0.11: 0.15: 0.1:0.08: 0.07.

Wing. Wing (figure 173) hyaline, without stigma; costa not thickened. r4+5 and m1+2 apically very feebly diverging. Halters yellow. Squamae yellow, with brown margin, and black cilia.

Abdomen. Abdomen brown or dark brown. Hairs and bristles on terga very short, dark. Hypopygium (figure 174) brown, with yellowish white cerci; surstyli yellowish, pointed.

Female Unknown.

Comments

This species has to be compared with T. gladiator sp. nov. and T. ensicornis sp. nov. both described from Borneo.