Psilota smaragdina Young, 2020

Young, Andrew D., Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Steenis, Wouter Van, 2020, Revision of the Psilota Meigen, 1822 flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Australia, Zootaxa 4737 (1), pp. 1-127 : 73

Psilota smaragdina Young sp. nov.

(Species plate: Fig. 31 ; Genitalia: Fig. 44 E–F; Map: Fig. 62B )

Diagnosis: Metallic blue species with frons pale pilose, pleuron shiny and white pilose, with a few black pile on the lower katepisternum. Hind femur with a distinct rounded apicoventral setulose carina. Hind tibia simple. Calypter brown, pile on border of calypter yellow except at corner where upper and lower caypter meet, where pile is dark brown. Tergite 4 white pilose. Body length: 11.6–12.7 mm.

Description: MALE: Head: Head black, face densely pale pollinose. Face and frons yellow pilose, vertex black pilose. Antenna usually entirely orange, rarely dull brown dorsally on postpedicel. Eye densely yellow pilose.

Thorax: Thorax dark, metallic blueish-green. Legs mostly dark brown, with apices of femora, and entire fore and mid tibia sometimes pale brownish-orange. Hind femur with a distinct rounded apicoventral setulose carina. Hind tibia simple, with no basoventral spur. Pleuron shining, pollinosity free. Pile on pleuron mostly white with a few black pile on the lower katepisternum, posterior anepisternum, and anepimeron. Scutum and scutellum entirely black pilose. Wing colourless, almost entire microtrichose with only a bare area on the apical half of cell bm. Shaft of halter yellow with knob dark brown. Calypter brown, pile on border of calypter yellow except at corner where upper and lower caypter meet, where pile is dark brown. Abdomen: Abdomen metallic blueish-green. Tergites 2 and 3 with white pile on basal half and black pile on apical half, tergite 4 entirely white pilose. Sternites shining, white pilose. Genitalia: Epandrium compact, about as long as tall. Cercus approximately triangular. Outer lobe of surstylus inserted below mid-height of inner lobe, curved downwards sharply at one-quarter its length, slightly swollen at apex. Inner lobe of surstylus broad, approximately 4 times as long as wide, with slight ventral excavation at midpoint, otherwise gradually broadening towards a rounded apex. Phallapodeme with a small ventral projection. Gonostylus broad, no darker than remainder of genitalia.

FEMALE: Unknown.

Etymology: The specific epithet smaragdina derives from the Latin “smaragdinus”, which means “emeraldgreen”. This is in reference to the distinctive emerald-green colouration of the pleuron of this syrphid.

Specimens examined: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Mt. Marlay , near Stanthorpe, S.E.Q., - 28.655786 151.947128; 6-9.XI.1984, coll. D.K. Yeates; UQIC_ Reg 94644; (1♂ QM) . PARATYPES: Queensland: same data as holotype, UQIC_ Reg 94645 (1♂, QM); The Blunder , -27.526975 153.040322, 29.IX.1968, C.F. Ashby, USNM _ ENT249823 , (1♂, ANIC) .

Discussion: Nothing is known about the biology of this species. Although it closely resembles Psilota coerulea , the calypter colour character appears to be invariant and is supported by DNA Barcodes.

Figures

FIGURE 31. P. smaragdina sp. nov., A) male dorsal habitus, B) male anterolateral face, C) male lateral habitus. Scale bar =1 mm.

FIGURE 44. Lateral and dorsal male genitalia of A, B) P. mcqueeni sp. nov.; C, D) P. metallica sp. nov.; E, F) P. nigripila sp. nov., and G, H) P. nitida (Macquart). Scale bar =1 mm.

FIGURE 62. Known range of A) P. purpurea sp. nov.; B) P. smaragdina sp. nov.