Drino latifrons, Liu & Zhang & Xi, 2023

Liu, Shidie, Zhang, Chuntian & Xi, Xinqiang, 2023, Two new species of Eryciini (Diptera: Tachinidae) from the Eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China, Zoological Systematics 48 (2), pp. 184-190 : 185-187

Drino latifrons sp. nov. ( Figs 1–10 )

Diagnosis. Eye bare. Vertex about 0.4 times of head width or 1.3–1.4 times of eye width; fronto-orbital plate with a row of 5–7 reclinate orbital setae and short black hairs on outer surface, outer vertical seta about 2/3 as long as inner vertical seta, ocellar seta absent. Antennal scape erect, arista thickened on basal 2/3 to 3/4, prementum 1.5–2.0 times as long as width. Scutellum reddish yellow except for black base, 3 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae; mid tibia with 3–4 anterodorsal, 3 posterior and 2 ventral setae; abdominal tergites 3 and 4 without median discal and lateral discal seta, tergites 4 and 5 of male each with large sexual hair patches of appressed hair ventrally.

Description. Body length ( Figs 1–2 ) 7.2–9.6 mm.

Male. Head ( Figs 3–4 ) black in ground color. Eye bare, frontal vitta dark brown, fronto-orbital plate, parafacial, gena and occiput covered with grayish white pruinosity; lunule brown to dark brown. Antenna dark brown, palpus dark brown except for apex reddish yellow, prementum gleaming black. Frons slightly longer than facial height, about 0.4 times of head width or 1.3–1.4 times of eye width, frontal vitta parallel or slightly widened posteriorly, slightly wider than fronto-orbital plate at middle; parafacial at middle about 2 times as wide as antenna and bare below lower frontal setae; genal height 0.2– 0.3 of eye height; 7–8 frontal setae and upper 3–4 setae reclinate, lowest one descending to level of arista base, fronto-orbital plate with a row of 5 reclinate orbital setae and short black hairs on outer surface, ocellar seta absent, outer vertical seta about 2/3 as long as inner vertical seta, latter about 0.9 of eye height; postocular setae short and straight. Face appreciably sunken with a low middle facial ridge, lower margin of face slightly protruding forward, facial ridge with setae only on lower 1/5, vibrissa slightly inserted above lower facial margin, a row of 9–10 strong subvibrissae about 0.4 times as long as vibrissa. Occiput mostly with white hairs except a row of black setulae behind postocular setulae. Antenna with postpedicel about 3 times as long as pedicel, scape with a hook-like prolongation basally, arista thickened on basal 2/3–3/4, first aristomere as long as diameter, second aristomere 1.5 times as long as diameter. Palpus slightly longer than postpedicel. Prementum thick and short, 1.5–2.0 times as long as wide, labellum large.

Thorax ( Figs 1–2 ) black with gray pruinosity, 4 narrow dark longitudinal vittae on presutural scutum, 5 narrow dark longitudinal vittae on postsutural scutum, inner vittae ending at front 2/5 of postsutural scutum. Scutellum reddish yellow except for base black, 3 presutural and 3 postsutural acrostichal setae, 3 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae, 1 presutural and 3 postsutural intra-alar setae, 3 supra-alar setae, first one about as long as notopleural seta and longer than postsutural intra-alar seta, postpronotal lobe with 4 setae, 3 of them arranged in a straight line and anterior one located between inner two setae, scutellum with 4–5 pairs of marginal setae, apical scutellar setae crossed and about as long as scutellum, 1–2 (if two, one seta-like) lateral scutellar setae 0.5–0.6 times as long as subapical setae, a pair of discal scutellar setae. Prosternum with setulae on both sides, proepisternum bare, anepisternum with 1–3 setae anteriorly and a row of 7 to 8 setae posteriorly, anepimeron with two setae, one of them weak, katepisternum with four setae, katepimeron and anatergite bare. Wing wholly hyaline and brownish, tegula and basicosta dark brown. Calypters white, margins wholly yellowish, costal spine short and indistinct, 2nd and 3rd costal sectors bare ventrally, relative lengths of 2nd, 3rd and 4th costal sectors approximately in ratio of 3.0: 3.8: 2.3, base of R 4+5 with one setula dorsally and ventrally, about same length as crossvein rm, vein M blunt at bending, vein M from bend to crossvein dM-Cu shorter than distance between bend and wing hind margin (5: 7). Halter yellow on basal half and dark brown on distal half. Legs dark brown, pulvilli yellowish, fore claw slightly longer than or equal to 5th tarsomere. Fore tibia with a row of short anterodorsal setae, two posterior setae, one preapical anterodorsal and one preapical dorsal seta, one long preapical posteroventral seta mid tibia with 3–4 anterodorsal, 3 posterior and 2 ventral (upper one short) setae. Hind tibia with a row of irregular long anterodosal setae in which one stronger, three ventral setae (upper one short), 4–5 posterodorsal setae, 2 preapical dorsal setae, 1 preapical anterioroventral seta and preapical posteroventral seta absent.

Abdomen ( Figs 1–2 ) long ovate, black in ground color, covered with yellowish gray pruinosity, a narrow black median vitta on tergites 3 (distinctly) to 5, reddish yellow on both sides of tergite 3. Mid depression of syntergite 1+2 extending to its posterior margin, syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 each with 2 median marginal setae and one pair of lateral marginal setae, median discal and lateral discal seta absent on tergites 3 and 4, and a complete row of marginal setae present on tergite 4. Tergites 4 and 5 of male each with two large sexual hair patches of appressed hairs ventrally. Sternite 5 nearly square, lateral lobe with 2 long and strong setae, bluntly round at apex, median V shape craft about 3/5 length of sternite 5 as Fig. 5 . Male terminalia ( Figs 6–10 ). Cerci slender, evenly narrowed, slightly pointed at apex, narrowly separated on apical 1/ 3 in caudal view, in lateral view cerci nearly straight, narrowed to apex. Surstylus about same length as cerci, bluntly round at apex in caudal view, widely blunt in lateral view. Pregonite with several setae on dorsal surface; postgonite slender and hook-like slightly; epiphallus straight at base and hook-like at apex, longer than postgonite; basiphallus and distiphallus rather long, distinctly sclerotized; distiphallus weakly expanded in lateral view; acrophallus sharp at apex and outer rim not exceed behind part of distiphallus.

Female. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype ♂ ( SYNU), No. 2 experimental field (32°48′N, 102°33′E), Waqie , Hongyuan, Aba, Sichuan, China, 5.VII.2021, Zixuan Huang leg. Paratypes. 11♂ ( SYNU), same data as holotype .

Distribution. China (Sichuan).

Etymology. Specific epithet is taken from a diagnostic character of this species, wide frons. It is derived from the Latin adjective latus- (= wide) and the noun frons.

Remarks. The new species is closely similar to D. adiscalis (Chao & Shi, 1982) from China (Tibet), but distinguished from the latter by having narrower frons of male, wider parafacial at middle, fronto-orbital plate with with 3–4 reclinate frontal setae, a row of 5–7 reclinate outer orbital setae on outer surface, palpus dark brown except for apex reddish yellow, cerci pointed and longer surstyli on caudal view. And the new species is also close to D. galii (Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1891) distributed in Mongolia, Russia and Europe, but differs from the latter by frontal vitta slightly widened posteriorly, nearly parallel, palpus dark brown except for apex reddish yellow, arista thickened at 2/3–3/4, a narrow black median vitta on tergites 3 (distinctly) to 5.

Figures

Figures 1–8. Drino latifrons sp. nov., male. 1–2. Body in dorsal and lateral views. 3–4. Head in anterior and lateral views. 5. Sternite 5. 6. Bacilliform sclerite, ejaculatory apodeme, hypandrium, phallapodeme, pregonite, postgonite, basiphallus, distiphallus, epiphphallus, and acrophallus in lateral view. 7–8. Cerci, surstyli and epandrium in lateral and caudal views. Scale bars: 1–4=1.0mm, 5–8=0.2mm.

Figures 9–10. Drino latifrons sp. nov., male terminalia. 9. Lateral view. 10. Caudal view.