Manota aculifera, Hippa, Heikki & Kurina, Olavi, 2012

Hippa, Heikki & Kurina, Olavi, 2012, New species and new records of Afrotropical Manota Williston (Diptera, Mycetophilidae), with a key to the species, Zootaxa 3455, pp. 1-48 : 7-9

Manota aculifera sp.n.

Figs 3 A–C

Male. Colour. Head pale brown, vertex and dorsal part of occiput dark brown. Antenna brown. Mouthparts pale yellowish. Thorax pale brown. Legs pale yellowish, apical third and base of femur 3 infuscated. Wing pale brown; haltere pale brown with dark brown knob. Abdomen pale brown, sternites paler than tergites. All setosity pale, yellowish or brownish, the thicker setae seeming darker than the finer setae and trichia. Head. Antennal flagellomere 4, Fig. 3 A. Palpomere 3 of maxillary palpus with apicomesial thumb-like extension, with 5 apically expanded curved sensilla; palpomere 4 with parasegment, palpomere 5 ca. 1.4 times longer than palpomere 4. Number of strong postocular setae 11–12. Thorax. Anepisternum setose, with 53( Ghana)–77( Uganda) setae, anterior basalare non-setose, preepisternum 2 setose, with ca. 25 setae, laterotergite non-setose, episternum 3 setose, with ca. 25 setae. Legs. Mid and hind tibial organs absent. Wing. R1 meeting C well on the basal half of the costal margin; the sclerotized part of M extending to the level of the tip of R1, wing length 1.7 mm. Hypopygium, Figs 3 B, C: Sternite 9 slightly less than half the ventral length of gonocoxa, lateral margin sharply delimited, posterior margin transverse, slightly concave, anterior margin deeply incised, the setae similar to the ventral setae of gonocoxa. Ventral mesial margin of gonocoxa simple, slightly angled at the middle. Parastylar lobe subtriangular with 3–6 tranverse setae on the mesial side. Paraapodemal lobe large, exposed in ventral view. Dorsal mesial margin of gonocoxa simple, convex, posterior margin simple, the posteromesial angle drawn into a thumblike setose lobe. On the ventral side of the latter, there is a finger-like lobe bearing a strong apical seta. Two juxtagonostylar setae present, both are strong curved megasetae, the ventral one with blunted, the dorsal one with acute apex, the dorsal one arising from a basal body which is as long as the megaseta, the ventral one from a small body arising from the side of the former. Gonostylus about half the length of gonocoxa, narrow, very elongate oval, without lobes or megasetae, the setae on the ventral side similar to those on gonocoxa, the dorsal side non-setose except for the distal fourth where there are rather short needle-like setae. Aedeagus subtriangular, without lateral shoulders, the apex curved ventrad. Hypoproct posteriorly extending to the basal part of gonostylus, posterolaterally angled, the ventral setae forming a mesial longitudinal row of ca. 8 setae on each half. Cerci medially separate, simple, the setae short, the longest ones less than twice the apical width of cercus.

Female unknown.

Discussion. Manota aculifera is similar to M. clurina , M. ephippiata , M. simina and M. usubi particularly by its unusually small aedeagus and by its juxtagonostylar megasetae which arise from separate basal bodies. It differs from all of them by its simple elongate oval gonostylus. M. aculifera also resembles M. pilosa and M. whiteleyi but is distinguished as follows: 1) the microtrichia of the parastylar lobe are not unusually long, 2) the gonocoxa lacks a large dorsal posterolateral setose lobe, 3) the two jusxtagonostylar setae are similar megasetae arising from separate basal bodies instead of being dissimilar (megaseta + normal seta) on a common basal body, and 4) gonostylus has an aggregation of short needle-like setae apicodorsally. The angular lateral margin of the hypopygium ( Fig. 3 C) is probably also a distinctive character of this species.

Etymology. The name is Latin, aculifera , bearing small needles, referring to the needle-like setae apicodorsally on the gonostylus.

Types. Holotype. Male, GHANA, Central Region, Kakum nr. Entwi Hrom, Malaise trap 8–15.xi.1999, leg. T. Andersson (on slide, in MZLU).

Other materal. 1 male, UGANDA, Kibale NP, Kanyawara Biol. St., 0 0o 33’54,2’’ N, 0 30o 21’31,3’’ E, 1513m, Malaise trap (No 3), 3–7.iii.2010, leg. O. Kurina & Co. (on slide, in IZBE); 2 males, same data except 20.ii–5.iii.2011 (1 on slide, 1 in alcohol, both in IZBE); 1 male, same data except 5–13.iii.2011 (in alcohol, in IZBE); 3 males, same data except 17.iv–1.v.2011 (on slides, in IZBE); 1 male, same data except 12–19.vi.2011 (in alcohol, in IZBE); 2 males, same data except 17–24.vii.2011 (1 on slide, 1 in alcohol, both in IZBE).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Manota aculifera sp. n. (holotype). A. Antennal flagellomere 4, lateral view. B. Hypopygium, ventral view. C. Hypopygium, dorsal view. Scale 0.1 mm. 1 = sternite 9, 2 = gonocoxa, 3 = ventral mesial margin of gonocoxa, 4 = parastylar lobe, 5 = paraapodemal lobe, 6 = juxtagonostylar megasetae, 7 = hypoproct, 8 = gonostylus, 9 = dorsal mesial margin of gonocoxa, 10 = lobe on dorsal mesial margin of gonocoxa, 11 = cercus, 12 = aedeagus, 13 = gonocoxal apodemes, 14 = tergite 9.