Blepharella kinabalensis Shima and Tachi, 2025

Shima, Hiroshi, Tachi, Takuji & Zhang, Wenxia, 2025, The genus Blepharella Macquart (Diptera: Tachinidae) from the Oriental Region, Journal of Natural History 59 (21 - 24), pp. 1647-1687 : 1657-1660

Blepharella kinabalensis Shima and Tachi sp. n.

( Figure 3 )

Diagnosis

A small shining black goniine without distinct pruinosity on thorax and abdomen; occiput with black setulae behind a row of postocular setae; palpus black; apical scutellar setae short and hair-like, at most 1/3 as long as scutellum; lower calypter dark brown; legs black; mid-tibia with 2 (male) or 3 (female) anterodorsal setae; hind tibia with a rather regular row of anterodorsal setae, a submedian strong seta present among them; male claws and pulvilli longer than 5th tarsomere; abdominal syntergite 1 + 2 and 3rd tergite each with a pair of median marginal setae, each about 1/2 as long as following tergites; male abdominal venter with small and short sexual hair patches.

Description

Holotype male, MALAYSIA: Sabah / Mt. Kinabalu / P. Head Q., 1000 m / 1–2.v.1979 / Leg. H. Kurahashi ( BLKU) . Paratype 1 female, Borneo, Sabah, Mt . Kinabalu, 1300–2000 m, 6–7 . xi .1975, H. Shima ( KUM) .

Male. Fronto-orbital plate to parafacial of lowest portion of frontal seta with dark greyish pruinosity; frontal vitta dark brown; parafacial from lowest portion of frontal seta to level of lower margin of eye with dark greyish yellow-brown pruinosity; face with dark greyish pruinosity; genal dilation, lower portion of facial ridge and occiput shining black except for narrow mid-central dark greyish portion; antenna and palpus dark brown to black. Frons at narrowest point about 0.18 of head width; frontal vitta weakly widened anteriorly, subequal in width to fronto-orbital plate at middle; parafacial about 2/3 as wide as postpedicel at mid-height; genal dilation almost entirely occupying gena, about 0.27 of eye height; facial ridge widened below on lower 1/3, with several strong hairs; vibrissal base slightly above level of lower margin of face; occiput flattened. Inner vertical seta 3/8 as long as eye height; outer vertical seta indistinct; 2 subequally long reclinate orbital setae, 2/3 as long as inner vertical seta; 9 frontal setae, lowest seta nearly level with base of arista; fronto-orbital plate with 1–2 rows of fine short black hairs, which do not descend below frontal setae; parafacial bare; facial ridge with several strong hairs on lower 1/3, extending below to sub-vibrissal area and rather many strong and short setae; genal dilation with dense, strong hairs; occiput with a row of fine short black hairs behind a row of postocular setae. Antenna falling short of lower margin of face by about length of pedicel; postpedicel about 2.5 times as long as pedicel; arista thickened at most on basal 1/3; 2nd aristomere shorter than wide. Palpus nearly cylindrical, weakly widened near middle, as long as postpedicel.

Thorax entirely brown-black in ground colour, with thin greyish brown pruinosity on dorsal part of postpronotal area. Prosternum with a long seta and several fine hairs on each side; 4 postpronotal setae, anterior seta short and 3 basal setae set in a straight line; distance between base of subapical scutellar setae about 1/2 as wide as that between basal and subapical setae of corresponding side; basal scutellar seta subequal in length to subapical seta, and about 2 times as long as scutellum; lateral scutellar setae double, posterior seta stronger than anterior seta and slightly longer than scutellum; apical scutellar setae fine, about 1/2 as long as scutellum crossing each other erectly; 3 katepisternal setae.Wing hyaline, weakly tinged with pale brown especially on basal portion and on anterior margin; upper and lower calypteres pale brown; relative lengths of costal sectors 2nd, 3rd and 4th approximately 2:3:1.5; length of vein M1 from crossvein dm-cu to bend about 2 times distance between bend and wing margin; crossvein dm-cu weakly sinuate, about 1.3 times as long as last section of CuA1. Legs black, pulvilli pale brownish; mid-tibia with 2 anterodorsal setae; hind tibia with a regular (but rather sparsely set) row of anterodorsal setae, a submedian strong seta distinct; claws and pulvilli longer than 5th tarsomeres.

Abdomen shining black, without pruinosity on dorsum and venter. Dorsa of 3rd and 4th tergites with rather long suberect to erect hairs; syntergite 1 + 2 and 3rd tergite each with a pair of median marginal setae, at least 1/2 as long as following tergite; 5th tergite with rows of strong discal and marginal setae, hairs confined on anterior marginal area; venter with long and strong hairs except for dense short and decumbent hairs of sexual hair patches occupying posterior 3/4 and lateral 2/3 on 4th tergite; 5th sternum with deep median cleft, about posterior 1/6 of sternite, median membranous area about 1/3 of each side, posterior lobe with 3–4 long setae and several sparse hairs scattered around it.

Male terminalia. Sixth tergite reduced to two small elliptic sclerites without hairs; syntergosternite short, about as long as epandrium at anteromedian portion, with scattered long hairs; cerci in lateral view narrowed from base to apical 1/5, then parallel-sided, apical 1/6 portion rather weakly curved dorsally, apex rounded, in dorsal view apical portion well separated from each other on apical 1/3; surstylus in lateral view shorter than cerci, nearly parallel-sided, apex rounded, evenly with long hairs; epiphallus short, inclined posteriorly; distiphallus with dorsal sclerite long extension; dorsal arms of hypandrium fully connected to each other; posterior margin of pregonite with 3 rather long hairs; postgonite shorter than pregonite, apically pointed; ejaculatory apodeme short.

Female. Differing from male as follows: Fronto-orbital plate and upper parafacial with shining dark brown pruinosity, lower part of parafacial, genal dilation and face with brownish pruinosity; occiput black; vertex 0.28–0.29 of head width; frontal vitta weakly widened anteriorly, only slightly narrower than fronto-orbital plate at middle; outer vertical seta weakly developed, at most 1/3 as long as inner vertical seta which is about 3/4 as long as eye height; anterior reclinate orbital seta about 3/4 as long as inner vertical seta, posterior reclinate orbital seta about 1/2 as long as inner vertical seta; 2 subequally long proclinate orbital setae present, about as long as anterior reclinate orbital seta; parafacial subequal in width to postpedicel; gena about 0.31 of eye height; antenna with postpedicel about 2.2 times as long as pedicel; palpus weakly paler at apical portion, clavate apically, subequal in length to postpedicel; mid-tibia with 3–4 anterodorsal setae, upper and lower setae shorter; claws and pulvilli shorter than 5th tarsomeres; abdominal syntergite 1 + 2 and 3rd tergite each with a pair of median marginal setae, each about 2/3 as long as following tergite; 4th tergite without sexual hair patches.

Body length: 7.2–7.7 mm.

Host. Unknown.

Etymology

The specific name is taken from the name of the mountain where the type specimen was collected, Mount Kinabalu.

Distribution

Malaysia (Sabah, Mt. Kinabalu).

Remarks

This is a shining black species with black antenna and palpus and long male claws and pulvilli. This species resembles B. bomolocha and B. persimilis Shima, Zhang and Tachi sp. n. in general appearance, but is different in the male terminalia with the dorsally curved apex of the cerci.

Figures

Figure 3. Blepharella kinabalensis Shima and Tachi sp. n. (A) Adult male lateral in view. (B) Same in dorsal view. (C) Adult female head in lateral view. (D) Epandrium, cerci and surstylus in latero-dorsal view. (E) Same in lateral view. (F) Same in latero-dorsal view. (G) Same in dorsal view. (H) Hypandrium, pre- and postgonite, epiphallus and aedeagus in lateral view. Scale bars: D–H = 0.2 mm.