Trichonta sandalyon, Chandler, 2009

Chandler, Peter J., 2009, The fungus gnats (Diptera: Bolitophilidae, Keroplatidae, Mycetophilidae) of Sardinia, with description of six new species *, Zootaxa 2318 : -

99. Trichonta sandalyon sp. nov.

( Figs 19–23)

Type material. Holotype ♂: I-Sardegna (Cagliari), Iglesias Marganai, 700 m, Plot Conecofor SAR1, UTM 32 S 462853 4355582, 16.XII.2005 - 3.I.2006, Malaise trap, G. Chessa legit, Conecofor Programme CNBF ( CNBFVR).

Diagnosis. A dark coloured species including genitalia, with legs yellow except entirely brown mid and hind coxae and brownish trochanters, hind coxa without a basal seta, hind tibia with antero- and posteroventral setae absent, differing from other species in the structure of the male genitalia with short broad gonocoxites lacking any medial emargination and the gonostylus with a simple broad ventral lobe about as long as gonocoxites, a rounded bristly mesal lobe, a strongly setose apically tapered dorsal lobe and two internal lobes bearing corrugations.

Description. Male. Head dark brown with dark bristling. Antenna brown, about 1.5 times as long as head and thorax; flagellomeres about 4 times as long as broad. Palpus brown, slender.

Thorax brown with short pale bristling on mesonotum and scutellum. Pleura bare except for a few short setae on upper edge of anepisternum, laterotergite with a few setae on disc and metepisternum with short weak setae on posterior margin. Mediotergite bare. Wing yellowish, with a faint brown shade on apical quarter and apical half of hind margin; veins brown, especially costa and radial veins. Vein Sc ending in R at 0.6 distance to base of Rs. Costa extends only slightly beyond tip of R 5. Base of Rs very short; r-m about as long as stem of median fork. Posterior fork beginning level with to slightly beyond level of base of median fork. Vein A 1 ending at level of base of stem of median fork. Radial veins and fork veins (except their bases) setose, other veins including Rs, r-m, tb, stems of fork veins and vein A 1 bare. Haltere yellow. Wing length 3.0 mm. Legs yellow, with mid and hind coxae entirely brown and trochanters brownish; all setulae dark; hind coxa without a basal seta; hind tibia with rows of anterodorsal and posterodorsal setae, which are less than tibial width in length. Fore metatarsus about as long as its tibia. Tibial spurs long, yellow, 1:2:2.

Abdomen dark brown with short brownish bristling. Genitalia ( Figs 19–23) brown with short broad gonocoxites lacking any medial emargination; gonostylus ( Figs 22–23) with simple broad ventral lobe about as long as gonocoxites, a rounded bristly mesal lobe, a strongly setose apically tapered dorsal lobe and two internal lobes bearing corrugations; aedeagus short with apically rounded lobes. Tergite 9 ( Fig. 20) short and broad; cerci elongate and tapered apically but a little shorter than gonocoxites.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. An early name for the island of Sardinia and is a noun in apposition.

Chorotype. Type 6 [3.02 of Vigna Taglianti et al. (1999)]. Mediterranean.

Italian distribution. Sardinia only.

Notes. This species resembles T. falcata in genital structure but has the gonostylus larger relative to the gonocoxites and differs in several other respects such as lacking the hind coxal seta and absence of antero- and posteroventral setae on the hind tibia. In the key by Gagné (1981) it runs to couplet 64 but differs from both alternatives in having r-m and stem of median fork subequal while vein A 1 is asetose.