Pseudolycoriella orite, Köhler, 2019

Köhler, Arne, 2019, The genus Pseudolycoriella Menzel & Mohrig, 1998 (Diptera, Sciaridae) in New Zealand, Zootaxa 4707 (1), pp. 1-69 : 24-25

Pseudolycoriella orite sp. n.

( Fig. 17 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FB195DA5-5D08-4CE0-990C-111633F9F7E1

Material studied. Holotype male. New Zealand: North Island , Ruapehu, Tongariro NP, Mangawhero River Valley 3 km NE Ohakune, altitude 690 m, mixed podocarp/broadleaf forest, sweep net, 03– 04.02.2002, leg. M. Jaschhof ( NZAC, SDEI-Dipt-0000863) . Paratypes: 8♂♂ same locality and same date as holotype (3x NZAC, SDEI- Dipt-0001519, SDEI-Dipt-0001527 & SDEI-Dipt-0001529; 5x SDEI, SDEI-Dipt-0001520, SDEI-Dipt-0001521, SDEI-Dipt-0001524, SDEI-Dipt-0001525 & SDEI-Dipt-0001533) . 1♂ North Island , Ruapehu, Tongariro NP, Man- gawhero River Valley 7 km NE Ohakune, mixed Nothofagus /podocarp forest, sweep net, 03.02.2002, leg. M. Jaschhof ( SDEI) . 3♂♂ North Island , Masterton , Tararua Forest Park , Blue Range Hut Track 10 km SW Mt. Bruce, mixed Nothofagus /podocarp/broadleaf forest, sweep net, 02.02.2002, leg. M. Jaschhof (2x NZAC; 1x SDEI) .

Description. Male. Head. Head capsule brown. Eye bridge three facets wide, two facets at margin. Scape and pedicel concolourous with flagellomeres; fourth flagellomere 3.0–3.6 times longer than wide; necks of flagellomeres well differentiated; surface of flagellomeres rough with deep pits, sparsely scattered with long setae, which are 1.5 times as long as flagellomere width; small sensilla and longer, curved sensilla present. Maxillary palp three-segmented, first palpomere mostly as long as third, second one shortest, first palpomere with two to four bristles, one of these bristles longer and more robust. Prefrons and clypeus slightly bulging. Thorax brown, paler than head, central parts brighter. Posterior pronotum bare. Anterior pronotum with two to four setae. Episternum 1 with three to six setae. Mesonotum with four robust lateral bristles; row of dorsocentral bristles present. Scutellum with four robust bristles and several minor setae. Katepisternum longer than high. Wing. Length 1.8–2.2 mm; width/length ratio 0.34–0.36. Membrane transparent and without macrotrichia, anal area weakly developed; all posterior veins distinct, stem of M weakest, R 5 only with setae on the dorsal side; bM and r-m bare; R 1 0.5–0.7 times as long as R; c/w ratio 0.66–0.70; r-m 0.5–1.0 as long as bM. Haltere short; shaft slightly longer than knob. Legs pale. Tibial organ surrounded by a circular border and as long as half of the width of the tibial apex; tibial organ consists of an irregular transverse row of bristles. Fore tibia without robust bristles among vestiture. Mid tibia mostly with one bristle among vestiture. Hind tibia with eight to nine very robust bristles arranged in a longitudinal, posteriodorsal row; on posterior side of hind tibia one to three robust bristles among vestiture. All tibial spurs equal in length. Claws strongly toothed. Abdomen concolourous with thorax. Hypopygium ( Fig. 17 ). Gonocoxites wider than long, inner side of gonocoxites not fused basally. Gonostylus short, bean-shaped, and slightly curved, 2.0–2.3 times longer than wide, on inner median side with a clearly developed tendon insertion, apex blunt and with a large apical cavity; two robust spines present, dorsal spine on a small basal lobe; one whip-lash hair present on the ventral apex of the gonostylus. Tegmen broader than long, apicolaterally with two long, strongly sclerotized lobes, apex with a small membranous edge; parameral apodeme robust, short to medium long. Area of teeth with six to twelve small teeth. Ejaculatory apodeme brown, medium long and broad; base of ejaculatory apodeme delicate with two thin branches. Posterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme medium sized and brown. Anterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme long and broad.

Body size: 1.8–2.1 mm.

Female. Unknown.

Genetic distances. The maximum p-distance between all six available COI sequences is 0.39%. The nearest neighbour is Psl. jaschhofi , diverging by a minimum of 6.35%. The p-distance between both available 28S sequences is 0.12%. One of those sequences is identical to one sequence of Psl. puhihi .

Etymology. In Māori the word ōrite means being equal or being similar. The epithet indicates the morphologi- cal similarity of the newly described species to its sibling species.

Distribution. New Zealand.

Discussion. It is not easy to distinguish this new species from its relatives within the Psl. bispina complex. However, Psl. bispina and Psl. mahanga show diagnostic differences in the apical edge of the tegmen (fully sclerotized vs. membranous) and the base of the ejaculatory apodeme (lyre-shaped vs. narrow and bifurcated along the whole length). Pseudolycoriella puhihi can be distinguished by the shorter and wider fourth flagellomere and the more clearly developed tendon insertion of the gonostylus adductor. Pseudolycoriella teo has shorter gonocoxites and gonostyli, and a lower c/w ratio (0.59 vs. ≥ 0.66). The new species and Psl. porehu are the most similar species of this complex. Of all members, both species have the narrowest wings, and therefore the lowest ratio of width to length of wings and the least developed anal area. In order to distinguish between these species, the body size must be taken into account. On average, Psl. porehu has a larger body size, but there is some overlap with Psl. orite . However, the wing length is always less than 2.2 mm in Psl. orite , and greater than or equal to 2.2 mm in Psl. porehu . The c/w ratio also differs: it is less than 0.65 in Psl. porehu and greater than 0.65 in Psl. orite . Further minor distinguishing characters are found in the robust bristles among the vestiture of the tibiae: on the mid tibia Psl. orite bears one (or no) robust bristle while Psl. porehu has three to five bristles; on the hind tibia the longitudinal, posteriodorsal row contains three to six bristles in Psl. porehu and eight to nine bristles in Psl. orite . Unfortunately, for Psl. porehu no genetic data are available, which could be used to verify this morphological species delimitation.

Figures

FIGURES 14–19. Pseudolycoriella bispina complex, hypopygia. 14. Pseudolycoriella bispina Mohrig. 15. Pseudolycoriella teo sp. n. 16. Pseudolycoriella puhihi sp. n. 17. Pseudolycoriella orite sp. n. 18. Pseudolycoriella mahanga sp. n. 19. Pseudolycoriella porehu sp. n. Abbreviation: ti = insertion of the tendon of the gonostylus adductor.