Tachydromia stuckenbergi, Shamshev & Grootaert, 2010

Shamshev, Igor & Grootaert, Patrick, 2010, The genus Tachydromia Meigen (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Afrotropics, African Invertebrates 51 (1), pp. 207-207 : 213-215

Tachydromia stuckenbergi sp. n.

Figs 5–8 , 12

Etymology: The new species is dedicated to memory of Brian Stuckenberg (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa).

Diagnosis: Recognised by a combination of the following characters: eyes with upper hind corner extending beyond ocellar tubercle, vertex narrower than frons; thorax largely densely tomentose; wing almost uniformly brownish infuscate, narrowly pale basally.

Description:

Male.

Length: Body about 3.3 mm, wing 2.4 mm.

Head: Black. Eyes extending beyond ocellar tubercle and almost touching on vertex. Frons narrow, slightly widened toward ocellar tubercle, pollinose. Ocellar tubercle pollinose, ocellars minute. Occiput entirely pollinose, bearing 2 short closely set black verticals, 2 longer black setae on upper part laterally, covered with numerous whitish slightly flattened setae on lower part. Antenna with scape and pedicel yellow, pedicel and stylus missing. Proboscis brownish yellow. Palpus truncate, yellow, bearing several dark setulae near base and very long black subapical seta (missing).

Thorax: Black, almost entirely tomentose, anepisternum (= mesopleuron), katepisternum (= sternopleuron) and meron (= hypopleuron) largely shining. Postpronotal lobe very large, lacking conspicuous setae. Mesonotum with 1 notopleural and 2 short closely set scutellars; acrostichals and dorsocentrals minute, the former arranged in 2 rows, lacking on prescutellar depression; the latter uniserial, 1 prescutellar pair somewhat longer.

Legs: Long, slender, with complicated colour pattern; coxae and trochanters yellow, fore and mid femora brownish on subapical part (broader dorsally), hind femur almost entirely brownish (narrowly yellow basally), fore tibia with yellow dorsal face otherwise yellow, mid tibia entirely brown, hind tibia brown on about apical 1/3, fore and mid tarsomeres 1–3 yellow, tarsomeres 4 and 5 brownish, hind tarsus missing. Fore coxa with pale unmodified setae and tomentose anteriorly. Fore femur strongly thickened, with rows of minute anteroventral and somewhat longer posteroventral setae, pubescent ventrally. Fore tibia spindle-shaped, with row of black ventral spinules. Fore basitarsus with black ventral spinules. Mid femur slender, with rows of anteroventral and posteroventral mostly black (paler basally) spinule-like setulae. Mid tibia with hardly prominent ventral spinules but with row of several closely set spinules (1 longer) on subapical part anteriorly. Hind leg very long and slender, without prominent setae. Mid and hind basitarsi with unmodified setation.

Wing: Normally developed, almost uniformly brownish infuscate, narrowly pale basally. Costal seta short. Vein R 1 meeting costa somewhat beyond wing midway. Proximal section of vein R 4+5 considerably longer than Rs. Veins R 4+5 and M 1+2 parallel toward wing apex. Crossveins r–m and bm–cu slightly separated. Cells br and bm extending to wing midway, subequally narrow. Halter with yellowish knob and brownish stem. Abdomen: Brown, finely greyish pollinose, with scattered short black setae; segments 1–7 unmodified. Terminalia ( Figs 5–8 ) rather large, brown. Right cercus digitiform, with slight projection on about middle, bearing short unmodified setae apically and on projection. Left cercus shorter than right cercus, subrectangular, with several short strong setae apically. Right epandrial lamella conical, with numerous long unmodified setae, bearing very large elongate oval ventral projection. Right surstylus differentiated from epandrium, long, elongate oval, with several long setae, lacking spines. Left epandrial lamella small, with several short unmodified setae. Left surstylus undifferentiated from epandrium, with several unmodified subapical setae.

Female: Unknown.

Holotype: ơ UGANDA: Distr. Masindi, Budongo Forest, n. Sonso / 1°45'N 31°35'W, 11–20.vii.1995, Th. Wagner / Fogging sur Teclea nobilis n 18, swamp forest ( MNHN).

Distribution and seasonal occurrence: Uganda. The only specimen was taken from swamp forest by fogging of Teclea nobilis Delile, 1843 (Rutaceae) , or small-fruited teclea, in the middle of July.

Remarks: The new species belongs to the T. luang group (sensu Shamshev & Grootaert 2008), which was formerly known only from the Oriental and Australasian regions. T. stuckenbergi sp. n. can be readily distinguished from other species of the genus described from the Afrotropical region (see the key).

Figures

Figs 5–8. Tachydromia stuckenbergi sp. n., ơ holotype, Uganda: (5) right epandrial lamella, lateral; (6) right surstylus, dorsal; (7) terminalia, dorsal; (8) left epandrial lamella, lateral. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

Fig. 12. Known distribution of Tachydromia species: • – T. freidbergi sp. n., 9 – T. lilaniensis, 0 – T. petrabilis,: – T. stuckenbergi sp. n., ♦ – Tachydromia sp.