Musca fragilis, Couri & de Carvalho & Pont, 2012

Couri, Márcia Souto, de Carvalho, Claudio J. B. & Pont, Adrian C., 2012, Taxonomy of the Muscidae (Diptera) of Namibia: a key to genera, diagnoses, new records and description of a new species, African Invertebrates 53 (1), pp. 47-47 : 58-60

Musca fragilis sp. n.

Figs 1–5

Etymology: From Latin fragilis (fragile).

Diagnosis: Musca fragilis sp. n. is very small with a shiny brown scutum, contrasting markedly with the shiny translucent yellow abdominal tergites 1+2–4.

Description (based on holotype):

Overall length: 3.8 mm.

General colouration: Scutum shiny brown, abdomen shiny yellow, with translucent tergites 1+2–4, tergite 5 brown, with grey pollinosity; fronto-orbital plate and parafacial brown, silver pollinose from certain angles; lunule reddish brown; antenna, arista and palpus dark brown; anterior spiracle brown; calypters whitish; haltere with yellow knob. Wing hyaline. Legs uniformly brown, pulvilli white.

Head: Eyes well developed, closely approximated, separated at vertex by distance slightly wider than diameter of ocellar triangle. Fronto-orbital plate narrow. Vertical setae VKRUW.)URQWDO URZ ZLWK VHULHV RI YHU\ ¿QH SDLUV RI VHWDH, SDLU FORVHVW WR OXQXOD VOLJKWO\ more distinct. Antenna inserted below mid level of eye; postpedicel about 1.8× as long DV SHGLFHO. $ULVWD ZLWK ORQJ SOXPHV. 3DOSXV ¿OLIRUP, RI HTXDO GLDPHWHU WKURXJKRXW LWV length.

7KRUD[: $FURVWLFKDOV o+ƚ; GRUVRFHQWUDOV ƻ+4, ¿UVW WZR SRVWVXWXUDO VHWDH VKRUW, ODVW ORQJ; 2 postpronotals; 1 presutural; 2 intra-alars; 1 supra-alar; prealar absent. Notopleuron with 2 setae, similar in size, disc without setulae. Postalar ridge bare. Scutellum with basal and apical pair of long setae and short preapical pair. Anepisternum with series RI ƽ ¿QH VHWDH..DWHSLVWHUQDOV ƚ+ƻ, DOO RI VLPLODU VL]H; GLVF RI NDWHSLVWHUQXP ZLWK VRPH ¿QH VHWXODH.$QHSLPHURQ VHWXORVH; PHURQ EDUH. /RZHU FDO\SWHU RI WKH Musca - type. Wing veins bare. Fore femur with complete rows of posterodorsal and posteroventral setae; fore tibia without posterior median seta. Mid femur with 1 anterior median seta; 1 ventral seta in basal third and 2 subapical posterior setae; mid tibia with 2 posterior setae on mid third and one strong apical ventral seta. Hind femur with complete rows of setae on anterodorsal and anteroventral surfaces, the setae on anteroventral row are stronger on apical half than on basal half; hind tibia with long dorsal preapical seta .

Abdomen: $OO WHUJLWHV FORWKHG LQ ¿QH VHWDH, WKH VHWDH DUH D OLWWOH ORQJHU RQ PDUJLQDO URZV and on discal row of tergite 5.

Terminalia: Cercal plate as high as wide; surstylus large ( Figs 2, 3 ). Aedeagus as in Figs 4, 5 .

+RORW\SH: ƃ 1$0,%,$:.KRUL[DV 'LVWULFW, /HHXNRS ϬϬ4, ƚ9°ƽ ‵ƚƽ̎6 ƚ4°ƻƚ‵44̎(, ƻϬ± o.[.ƻooƚ, $.+. Kirk-Spriggs & E. Marais, Malaise trap sample riverbed (NMNW).

3DUDW\SH: ƃ VDPH GDWD DV KRORW\SH (015-).

Figures

Figs 1–5. Musca fragilis sp. n., male: (1) sternite 5; (2, 3) cercal plate and surstyli, dorsal (2) and lateral (3) views; (4, 5) phallic complex, dorsal (4) and lateral (5) views.