Dinera meridionalis, Zhang & Shima, 2006

Zhang, Chun-Tian & Shima, Hiroshi, 2006, A systematic study of the genus Dinera Robineau-Desvoidy from the Palaearctic and Oriental regions (Diptera: Tachinidae), Zootaxa 1243 (1243), pp. 1-60 : 36-38

Dinera meridionalis sp. nov.

Figs. 37–39

Diagnosis

Medium­sized and rather broad­bodied brownish fly; antenna with scape, pedical and base of flagellomere 1 reddish; thoracic dorsum with 3 broad longitudinal vittae, 3+4 dc; costal spine absent; abdomen broadly reddish brown with black median longitudinal vitta, syntergite 1+2 excavated to posterior margin with very fine median marginal setae in male, without them in female, tergites 3 and 4 without median discal seta.

Body length 12.3–13.0 mm.

Description

Male. Head broadly brownish in ground color, face yellowish and gena reddish brown, with yellowish (somewhat golden) gray pruinosity; antenna dark brown, scape, pedicel and narrow basal portion and inner side of flagellomere 1 reddish; palpus reddish yellow, sometimes reddish. Vertex about 1/7 head width; parafacial slightly widened below, about 4 times as wide as flagellomere 1 at middle height; facial carina rather broad and flattened on anterior surface, nearly straight in lateral view; lower margin of face weakly protruding forward, slightly extending beyond vibrissal base; gena about 4/9 eye height. Fronto­orbital plate without hairs outside row of frontal setae; parafacial bare; inner vertical seta fine hair­like, about 1/2 eye height; outer vertical seta indistinct; ocellar seta strong, about 1.5 times as long as inner vertical seta; 16–18 rather fine inclinate frontal setae; vibrissa inserted above lower margin of face by about length of pedicel; occiput with 2–3 rows of fine black hairs behind postocular setae. Antenna falling short of lower margin of face by about 3/4 length of flagellomere 1; base of antenna nearly level with lower 1/4 of eye height; pedicel with 1–2 fine long setae about 2/3 as long as flagellomere 1; flagellomere 1 about 3 times as long as pedicel; total width of arista including plumosity about twice as wide as flagellomere 1; prementum about 0.7 times as long as eye height; palpus about 1.5 times as long as pedicel and flagellomere 1 combined.

Thorax broadly blackish brown in ground color, with grayish white pruinosity; postpronotal lobe, notopleural region, supra­alar region, posteromedian portion of postsutural scutum, scutellum, anterior portion of anepisternum and katepisternum and posterior portion of meron reddish brown; dorsum with 5 longitudinal vittae on presutural area of scutum, outer vittae very broad and 3 narrow inner vittae diffusing marginally, on postsutural scutum all vittae fused with each other except for posteromedian portion. Postpronotal lobe with 4–5 setae; 1+3 ac, 3+4 dc, 0+2 ia, 3 sa; scutellum with basal seta about twice as long as scutellum and subequal in length to subapical seta, apical seta slightly shorter than subapical seta. Wing hyaline, evenly tinged with pale brown; tegula black; basicosta dark brown; calypter pale brown. Costal spine absent; relative length of costal sections second, third and fourth approximately as 3:4:1.5; vein M from dm­cu crossvein to its bend about 3 times distance between the bend and wing margin; cell r 4+5 open. Legs black, tibiae somewhat reddish brown especially on median portion; pulvilli dull yellowish. Fore tibia with 2 fine p; mid tibia with 2 p and 1 very fine v, without ad; hind tibia with several fine and irregular ad on upper 1/2, 3 pd and 2 v, without apical pv.

Abdomen broadly reddish brown, black median longitudinal vitta distinct on syntergite 1+2 to anterior 1/2 of tergite 5; thin whitish pruinosity on narrow anterolateral portion of tergites 3, 4 and on entire anterior 2/3 of tergite 5. Syntergite 1+2 excavated to posterior margin, with 4 very fine median marginal and 2 strong lateral marginal setae, median marginal seta nearly 1/3 as long as tergite 3; tergite 3 with 2 median marginal and 1–3 lateral marginal setae; tergite 4 with a row of marginal setae; tergite 5 with an irregular row of rather short discal and a row of strong marginal setae; discal setae absent on tergites 3 and 4; hairs on abdominal dorsum fine dense and suberect. Male terminalia. Cerci in dorsal view rather narrow, separated from each other on apical 2/5, in lateral view weakly curved ventrally; surstylus broad, rather quadrate, with short fine hairs; aedeagus with apical membraneous portion of distiphallus with very minute spinulus, shorter than basal sclerite.

Female. Differing from male as follows: Frons wide, vertex about 1/4 head width; frontal vitta slightly widened anteriorly, slightly wider than fronto­orbital plate at middle; parafacial about 4 times as wide as flagellomere 1; gena about 4/7 eye height; inner vertical seta strong, about 1/2 eye height; outer vertical seta about 3/4 as long as inner seta; ocellar seta subequal in length to inner vertical seta; prevertical seta absent; 2 proclinate fronto­orbital setae subequal in length to each other and to ocellar seta; 10–12 frontal setae; flagellomere 1 about 4 times as long as pedicel; palpus twice as long as flagellomere 1 and pedicel combined; mid tibia with 2 ad, 2 pd and 1 v; claw and pulvillus distinctly shorter than 5th tarsomere; syntergite 1+2 without median marginal seta; tergite 5 without marginal seta.

Type material

Holotype ♂, SRI LANKA, N.E. District, Horton Plains , 3–4.x.1970, 7000 feet, O.S. Flint, Jr. ( USNM) . Paratype 1 female, same data as holotype ( USNM) .

Etymology

Latin adjective meridionalis (= southern) refers to the locality of this species, southern Asia.

Remarks

This species resembles D. orientalis , but differs from it in its broad abdomen, broadly reddish thoracic dorsum, and abdominal syntergite 1+2 with very fine hair­like median marginal setae in male.