Platypalpus sinevi, Kustov, Semen, Shamshev, Igor & Grootaert, Patrick, 2015

Kustov, Semen, Shamshev, Igor & Grootaert, Patrick, 2015, New data on the genus Platypalpus (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Caucasus with description of seven new species, Zootaxa 3973 (3), pp. 451-473 : 462-464

Platypalpus sinevi sp. nov.

( Figs 14–16 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE, ♂ labelled [printed in Cyrillic], [ RUSSIA: Karachay-Cherkess Republic], “Arkhyz/ Sev. Kavkaz [= North Caucasus]/ 1450 m a.s.l./ 12.ix.1965, coll. Gorodkov” ( ZIN). PARATYPES: RUSSIA: Karachay-Cherkess Republic: same data as holotype (1 ♂, KSU); Teberdinskiy Nature Reserve, env. of homestead, Caucasus, 27.viii.1965, coll. Gorodkov (1 ♀, ZIN, 1 ♀, KSU); same locality, 8.ix. 965 [1965], coll. Gorodkov (1 ♂, ZIN).

Recognition. Large grey species of the P. longicornis group; occiput with 2 pairs of black vertical bristles; antenna black with postpedicel about 4X longer than wide, stylus slightly shorter; palpus yellowish, large, oval; mesonotum faintly grey dusted with brownish bristles; katepisternum with polished patch occupying 1/3rd of its size; 2 notopleurals; acrostichals 3–4-serial; legs yellow, mid tibia with small spur, lacking posteroventral bristles; abdomen brownish yellow, tergites densely greyish pollinose leaving shiny triangular patch posteriorly; sternites shiny.

Description. Male. Body length 2.8–3.0 mm; wing length 4.1–4.3 mm. Head black. Occiput with dense grey pollinosity; with 2 pairs of long black verticals (inner convergent, outer divergent); upper part of occiput with numerous moderately long, whitish bristly hairs becoming longer on lower part. Ocellar tubercle with faint greyish pollinosity, with long lateroclinate anterior and minute posterior setae. Frons rather broad, widened before ocellar tubercle, with dense greyish pollinosity. Face narrow, with dense silvery pollinosity, slightly divergent below; clypeus shiny. Antenna black; postpedicel conical, narrow, covered with numerous minute setulae, about 4X longer than wide; stylus black, slightly shorter than postpedicel. Gena narrow, shiny. Proboscis dark brown, half as long as head height. Palpus yellowish, rather large, oval, whitish pubescent, apically with 2–3 whitish, long subapical bristly hairs.

Thorax with mesonotum faintly grey dusted; pleura with dense silvery grey pollinosity; large thoracic bristles brownish yellow to brownish; middle of katepisternum with polished black patch occupying about 1/3rd of sclerite. Postpronotal lobe with 1 long and several short setae. Mesonotum with 2 long notopleurals, 1 postalar and 4 scutellars (apical pair long, cruciate, lateral pair short); acrostichals short, hair-like, arranged in 3–4 irregular rows anteriorly and biserial before prescutellar depression, somewhat divergent; dorsocentrals 3–4-serial (usually more numerous anteriorly), similar to acrostichals, 2 prescutellar pairs long; additionally, some setulae present just behind postpronotal lobe, notopleuron and supra-alar surface.

Legs almost entirely yellow, only tarsomeres 3–5 of all legs darkened. Coxae and trochanters with yellowish ordinary setae of different lengths. Fore femur thickened, with rows of anteroventral and posteroventral yellowish setae longer on basal part. Fore tibia slightly thickened, clothed with ordinary setulae. Mid femur slightly stouter than fore femur; with double row of short black spines ventrally, those in posterior row distinctly longer; no posteroventral bristles; on anterior surface with row of several (9–10) dark bristly hairs (stronger on distal part). Mid tibia slender, slightly curved, with row of black ventral spinules; apical spur yellow, small and blunt. Hind legs long and slender, with ordinary setation. Tarsi of all legs unmodified.

Wing almost clear with yellowish brown veins. Costal bristle brownish, moderately long. Veins R4+5 and M1+2 somewhat convergent near wing margin, M1+2 slightly bowed on apical part; CuA2 recurrent. Crossveins m-cu and r-m contiguous. Calypter yellow, with yellow setae. Halter yellow.

Abdomen brownish yellow, almost all tergites (except tergite 7) densely greyish pollinose leaving shiny narrow space posteriorly; sternites shiny, segments covered with numerous long pale hairs; sternite 8 with longer posteromarginal setae. Terminalia ( Figs 14–16 ) moderately large, long, shiny; both cerci long, subequal in length; cerci ( Fig. 15 ): right cercus rather digitiform (dorsal view) narrowed on about middle, covered with short ordinary setae; left cercus (dorsal view) very narrow, covered with short ordinary setae; right epandrial lamella (lateral view) elongate ovate, with row of subapical setae of different lengths dorsally ( Fig. 14 ); right surstylus rather large, narrowed toward apex (lateral view), with some short ordinary setae; left epandrial lamella ( Fig. 16 ) long, narrow, rather subtriangular, straight ventral margin bearing several short ordinary setae.

Female. Resembling male but acrostichals and dorsocentrals slightly shorter, larger bristles darker; mid femur stouter than fore femur, abdomen often paler, with shorter hairs and bristles; tergites with broader shiny space, segments 6–8 entirely with dense greyish pollinosity; cercus long, slender, with pale hairs.

Etymology. This species is named after the Russian lepidopterist Dr. S.Yu. Sinev (St. Petersburg).

Distribution. Russia (Karachay-Cherkessia). Known only from elevations between 1450–2350 m.

Remarks. The new species is closely related to P. alpigenus Strobl known from mountains of central Europe, Alps and Carpathians (Chvála 1989, 2013). Platypalpus sinevi sp. nov. differs from P. alpigenus by somewhat longer postpedicel and shorter stylus (in P. alpigenus postpedicel at least 3X as long as deep, stylus slightly longer (Chvála 1989)); almost equal thickness of fore and mid femora (in P. alpigenus mid femur stouter and conspicuously larger than fore femur); considerably shorter bristles on the anterior surface of mid tibia; partly grey dusted terga (in P. alpigenus shiny) and details of the male terminalia.

Figures

FIGURES 14 – 16. Platypalpus sinevi sp. nov., male. 14, right epandrial lamella and surstylus, ventral view; 15, epandrium and cerci, dorsal view; 16, left cercus and left epandrial lamella, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.