Chelipoda dorsispina, Zhang & Lin & Gao & Yang, 2024

Zhang, Leyou, Lin, Chen, Gao, Shang & Yang, Ding, 2024, Six new species of Chelipoda (Diptera: Empididae) from Shennongjia, China, Zootaxa 5523 (4), pp. 448-458 : 454-455

5. Chelipoda dorsispina sp. nov.

( Fig. 5 )

Diagnosis. Mesoscutum dark brownish yellow with brown antero-lateral margin. Antennal two basal segments brownish yellow. Fore coxa with 1 spine-like pd at extreme base; fore tarsomere 2 shortened, tarsomeres 2–3 with short spine-like dorsal bristles.

Description. Male. Body length 2.5 mm, wing length 3.2 mm.

Head black with pale gray pollen. Eyes dull black, tinged metallic purple, separated widely on frons but very narrowly on face; face much narrower than frons. Hairs and bristles on head blackish; two long vt. Ocellar tubercle weak, with pair of long oc nearly as long as vt. Antenna brownish yellow, but postpedicel and arista dark brown; postpedicel 1.6–1.7 times longer than wide; arista very long, 3.7–3.8 times longer than postpedicel. Proboscis brownish yellow, with dark brown hairs; palpus brownish yellow with dark brown hairs and 1 dark brown apical bristle.

Thorax brownish yellow with pale gray pollen, but pronotum brown and mesoscutum dark brownish yellow with brown antero-lateral margin. Hairs and bristles on thorax blackish; one anterior dc, one npl and one sa very long strong; one middle dc, one ppt, one psa and one prsc short hair-like; sc rather long and strong. Legs dark yellow except tarsomeres 4–5 brown. Setae and setulae on legs mostly blackish. Fore coxa 0.9 times as long as fore femur. Fore femur distinctly narrowed, 3.4 times longer than wide, 3.1 times as thick as fore tibia, with two rows of black ventral denticles and one row of 8 long thick dark brown outer av and 7 long thick blackish outer pv. Fore tibia 0.85 times as long as fore femur, with row of very short recumbent black setae ventrally. Wing hyaline, tinged brownish; veins brown. Squama brown with blackish hairs. Halter dark brownish yellow.

Abdomen nearly straight, dark yellow to brownish yellow with pale gray pollen except tergites 1–6 brownish; hypopygium nearly wholly brownish yellow. Hairs and bristles on abdomen blackish.

Male genitalia: Epandrium nearly band-like, more or less separated from hypandrium. Hypandrium erect, somewhat triangular, about four times higher than long. Cercus strongly sclerotized, folded below epandrium, with long straight and strong bent ventral process and short dorsal process. Subepandrial process apically broad with pointed apex. Phallus very long, apically thin and straight.

Female. Unknown.

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, China: Hubei, Shennongjia, Shennongding , sample line 3–5 [31°40'3"N, 110°28'28"E, 1588 m], 2022.VIII.26, Siqi Wang & Bintao Du ( CAU).

Distribution. China (Hubei).

Remarks. This species is somewhat similar to Chelipoda basalis Yang et Yang from Gansu of China but may be separated from the latter by the dark brownish yellow mesonotum with brown antero-lateral margins and arista dark brown. In C. basalis , the mesoscutum is yellow but brownish yellow at middle, the arista is white, and the male cercus is furcate at tip ( Yang & Yang 2004).

Etymology. The specific name refers to the fore tarsomeres 2–3 with short spine-like dorsal bristles.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Chelipoda dorsispina sp. nov. a. Male habitus, lateral view; b. Male genitalia, lateral view.