Megaselia sarae García-Romera, 2014

García-Romera, Carlos & Barrientos, Jose Antonio, 2014, Nine new species of Phoridae (Insecta: Diptera) from Spain, Zootaxa 3857 (2), pp. 244-260 : 255-257

Megaselia sarae García-Romera sp. nov.

( Figs 16–17 )

Etymology. The species is named after CG-R’s daughter, Sara.

Diagnosis. Palps yellow brown with longest bristle clearly longer than maximum width of palp; labella enlarged, with a few short pale spinules below; upper supra-antennal bristles about as long as lower pair; mesopleuron with hairs, bristles absent; scutellum with an anterior pair of small hairs and a posterior pair of bristles; left side of epandrium with hairs, at most, as strong as those on cerci and proctiger; hypandrium with a long hair on each side as strong as longest hairs of epandrium; front legs with a posterodorsal hairs palisade on tarsal segments 1–4 and metatarsus enlarged and with longitudinal rows of short blunt spines on ventral face; hairs below basal half of hind femur clearly shorter than those of anteroventral row of outer third; with 4–5 axillary bristles; knob of haltere brown; costal index less than 0.44; costal cilia (section 3) longer than longest axillary bristle; first costal section, at most, 1.5 × longer than second and third together.

Description (male). Head. Frons dark brown, about as broad as long, with 44–58 hairs. Upper supra-antennal bristles about as long and a little stronger than lower pair, and they are, at most, slightly closer together than preocellars, which are a little lower or about the same level on frons than mediolaterals and about as closer together as either is from a mediolateral bristle. Upper supra-antennal bristles at about the same level on frons than antials, which are lower on frons than anterolaterales, and clearly closer to these than to upper supra-antennal bristles. Gena with 2–4 long bristles and 4–6 shorter ones. Antennal postpedicel subglobose, dark brown and relatively small (diameter 0,10–0,14 mm), without SPS vesicles. Palps yellow brown, 0.15–0.20 mm long and 0.05 mm maximum width, with short hairs and 7–8 bristles, longest bristle longer than greatest width of palp. Labella enlarged, yellow, with a few short spinules below and several long hairs. Labrum yellow brown, about 0.7–0.9 × as wide as an antennal postpedicel.

Thorax. Brown. Mesopleuron with 8–14 hairs. Three notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these. Scutellum with an anterior pair of small hairs and a posterior pair of bristles. Propleura with 2–4 hairs on the posterodorsal edge, 3–4 on the posteroventral one and 2–3 hairs in middle, situated well forward of hindmargin.

Abdomen. Tergites brown, with scattered short hairs, with those of the rear margin a little longer than the rest, especially those on posterodorsal edge of T6 (0.11–0.13 mm long), which are longer and stronger than hairs on cerci and proctiger. Venter light brown, with only hairs on segment 6, arranged in two rows, a posterior one with 6–8 long hairs and an anterior one with two shorter hairs.

Hypopygium ( Figs 16–17 ). Left side of epandrium brown, with hairs, at most, as strong as those on cerci and proctiger. Anal tube yellow brown, about twice longer than dorsal face of epandrium. Hypandrium, yellow brown, with only left posterior lobe developed and with minute hairs below; with a long hair on each side of hypandrium as strong as longest hairs of epandrium.

Legs. Mainly light brown, clearing from posterior to anterior legs, with the fore tarse and tibia yellowish. Front legs with a posterodorsal hairs palisade on tarsal segments 1–4 and metatarsus enlarged and with longitudinal rows of short blunt spines on ventral face. Length ratios of fore tarsal segments 2.7–3.7:1–1.6:0.8–1.1:0.7–0.8:1, with fifth segment wider than fourth one. Mid legs with a dorsal hair palisade on tibia extends about 2/3 of its length. Hairs below basal half of hind femur clearly shorter (0,6 ×) than those of anteroventral row of outer third. Hind tibia with 14–16 differentiated posterodorsal hairs and spinules of apical combs simple.

Wing. Length 1.64–1.96 mm. Membrane lightly tinged light grey and veins yellow brown; with 4–5 axillary bristles. Subcosta (Sc) not reaching R1. With 1–2 hairs at base of vein Rs. Costal index 0.41–0.44; costal ratios 3.2–3.8:1.4–1.7:1. Costal cilia (section 3) 0.16–0.18 mm long, longer than longest axillary bristle (0.12–0.14 mm). Knob of haltere brown.

Recognition. In the keys to the males of the British species of Megaselia ( Disney, 1989) this species runs to couplet 80, to M. fenestralis (Schmitz) , but it differs from the latter by having more axillary bristles, a darker palp and a clearly different hypopygium. In the keys of Palaearctic Phoridae keys ( Schmitz et al, 1938 –81) this species runs to couplet 38 (Abteilung V, page 640) to M. vestita (Wood) , but clearly differs from it in hypopygium.

Material examined. Holotype ♂ Spain, Barcelona: Montseny, Montseny Natural Park, beech forest, UTM 31TDG530274, 1130 m a.s.l., 16/ 05–02/06/1990. Window trap. J.A. Barrientos leg ( UAB).

Paratypes 6 ♂, five same locality and habitat as holotype, but 01–14/07/1990, 11–24/08/1990, 08–22/09/ 1990, 22/ 09–06/10/1990 (window trap) and 06/10/1990 (pitfall trap). One same habitat but different locality, Girona: Arbucias, Montseny Natural Park, beech forest, UTM 31TDG540279, 1250 m a.s.l., 22/ 09–06/10/1990. Window trap. J.A. Barrientos leg (3 ♂ UAB, 3 ♂ CCG –R).

Figures

FIGURES 16 – 17. Megaselia sarae García-Romera sp. nov. male. 16, left face of hypopygium. 17, right face of hypopygium. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.