Tanzanimyia flavicauda, Freidberg & Zonstein & Friedman & T. & T., 2020

Freidberg, Amnon, Zonstein, Irina, Friedman, Ariel-Leib-Leonid, T., T. & T., T., 2020, Tanzanimyia, a new Afrotropical genus of Schistopterini with four new species (Diptera: Tephritidae: Tephritinae), Israel Journal of Entomology (Oxford, England) 50 (1), pp. 19-39 : 30-31

Tanzanimyia flavicauda n. sp.

( Figs 2, 8)

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4665F65E-E658-4036-AAA5-0A7C06D9C016 .

Etymology: The species name is a noun in apposition, formed from Latin flavus (yellow) and cauda (tail), in reference to the unique shiny, brownish yellow color of the oviscape and aculeus.

Diagnosis: This species differs from all other congeners in the following combination of mostly unique characters (character states in the three other species are given in parenthesis): preocellar setae absent (present); ocellar seta about as long as posterior frontal seta (shorter); 1 st flagellomere about 1.75× as long as high at base (less elongate); central dark area in cell r 2+3 with about 15 small to mediumsized round white spots (fewer, mostly only large spots); oviscape uniformly shiny yellow (partly blackened), elongate; tergal-oviscapal measure 2.

Description: Head. Structure and coloration: 1.08× as high as long; fronto-facial angle about 105°; eye 1.33× as high as long; frons 1.16× as wide at vertex as long; face 0.84× as high as frons length; antenna ( Fig. 2): pedicel about 1.7 as high as long; 1 st flagellomere about 0.9× as long as face height, about 1.75× as long as high at base, obclavate, conspicuously tapered in distal half to slightly blunt point, mostly yellowish, distinctly brownish to blackish dorsally; arista about 1.7× as long as 1 st flagellomere, basal 0.33 yellowish, apical 0.67 whitish, with dense, short pubescence. Chaetotaxy: Orbital setae whitish, anterior orbital seta 1.68× as long as posterior orbital seta; anterior frontal seta whitish, about 0.8× as long as middle frontal seta, middle frontal seta brownish, with darker base, posterior frontal seta brown, 1.27× as long as middle frontal seta; ocellar seta yellowish, about as long as posterior frontal seta; preocellar seta lacking; postocellar seta whitish, as long as, parallel to, and longitudinally aligned with ocellar seta; medial vertical seta brownish, 1.76× as long as posterior frontal seta; lateral vertical seta black, 0.33× as long as medial vertical seta; paravertical seta black, 0.36× as long as postocellar seta; genal seta blackish, 0.83× as long as anterior frontal seta; gena and postgena with many whitish setulae, these setulae about 0.50–0.75× as long as genal seta.

Thorax. Structure: Scutum about 1.2× as long as wide; scutellum about 0.3× as long as scutum, slightly convex. Coloration and vestiture: Generally fitting generic description; scutum grayish, laterally paler; scutellum mostly blackish, with brownish yellow spot between apical setae and erect whitish preapical setae and similar spot basolaterally between scutoscutellar ‘rib’ and base of basal seta. Chaetotaxy: Dorsocentral seta aligned about 0.33 distance between transverse suture and level of postsutural supra-alar seta; acrostichal setulae in about 4 irregular rows; anepimeron with three whitish setae, one long anterodorsal, about twice as long as both anteroventral; dorsoapical scutellar seta erect, white (setae broken, only basal part of one seta present in holotype); basal scutellar seta 2.45× as long as apical scutellar seta; white subbasal seta about half as long as apical seta.

Legs. Coloration: All femora only with brownish subapical ring. Chaetotaxy: Forefemur with setae of posteroventral row long, mixed brownish and whitish, mostly acuminate but some slightly lanceolate; setae of posterior and posterodorsal rows slightly lanceolate, mostly white, but brown toward apex of femur; midfemur with fine white basoventral seta.

Wing ( Fig. 8): Length 3.5 mm. Length/width ratio about 2.1. Venation: Pterostigma about 1.5× as long as wide; vein R 1 dorsally with 27 setulae, 19 proximal to gap opposite bend of subcosta and 9 distal to gap, ventrally with 4 setulae along posterior margin of pterostigma; vein R 4+5 dorsally sparsely setulose to beyond crossvein DM–Cu level, ventrally with 3 setulae at fork. Pattern: Dark area in cell R 2+3 medially with 6–7 small, dot-like hyaline spots and 8 larger hyaline spots; rays reaching vein C, especially anterior to vein R 2+3, generally narrow, dark and well-defined; 4 rays over and between veins R 2+3 and R 4+5 somewhat paler; rays to posterior wing margin beyond vein M considerably wider and generally paler, grayish; cell M with apicomedial ray reduced to small costal spot, touching apex of ray over vein M; anal lobe with 4 transverse brownish bands; alula centrally with 1 brownish transverse band. Bullae: Large black oval bulla in cell r 4+5, about 1.5× as long as crossvein R–M; basal hyaline spot bordering this black bulla large and about equal to hyaline spot distal to this bulla; cell r 4+5 with 1 large elongate brown bulla between black bulla and vein R 4+5; cell dm with 3 small dark areas (not bullae), each with central white spot, and about twice as large oval brown bulla along vein M, extending from approximately opposite crossvein R–M to slightly more than halfway between crossveins R–M and DM–Cu; cell m with large conspicuous more or less round brown bulla near anterobasal corner.

Abdomen: Coloration and chaetotaxy: Tergites 1–5 brownish black, tergite 6 mostly brownish yellow; median vitta on tergites grayish, inconspicuous; dark acuminate setulae scattered on tergites, and whitish lanceolate setae in 1–2 irregular rows on posterior margins of tergites; tergite 6 microtrichose, with 4 long brownish setae; sternites yellowish. Female terminalia (not dissected, but aculeus everted): Oviscape uniformly brownish yellow, shiny, with scattered blackish setulae; tergal-oviscapal measure 2; aculeus ca. 5× as long as wide, in dorsal view more or less pointed.

Holotype: ♀ Tanzania: Usambara Mts , Rt. B 124, Lukozi [4°40'S 38°17'E], 1800 m, 12.ix.1992, A. Freidberg (SMNHTAU). The holotype is double-mounted, on a minutien pin in a plastic block, the left wing is mounted on a slide, and some setae are missing. Otherwise it is in good condition.

Distribution: Tanzania (West Usambara Mountains).

Biology: Unknown.

Comments: Although this species is known from the holotype female only, the specimen is distinctive enough to allow its recognition as a good species. The characters of the cephalic chaetotaxy (lack of the preocellar seta), wing pattern (with numerous small hyaline spots) and color of the oviscape (see Diagnosis) are especially significant. This is the second species of Schistopterini found to be endemic to the Usambara Mountains ( Zonstein & Freidberg 2006).