Acroceratitis sachini David, Hancock & Noor, 2025

David, K. J., Noor Mahammed, N. R., Hancock, D. L., Gracy, R. G., Ningthoujam, Kennedy & Sushil, S. N., 2025, Taxonomic notes on Oriental bamboo-shoot fruit fly genus Acroceratitis Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae: Gastrozonini), with description of a new species from India, Zootaxa 5637 (1), pp. 83-98 : 86-88

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5637.1.3
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E8297E11-ECD4-440F-A656-CF1E58E905A4
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15562047
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EC87A6-FFCB-B643-54F2-FA18EC21FE6E
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Acroceratitis sachini David, Hancock & Noor
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Acroceratitis sachini David, Hancock & Noor , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:62BB1BD3-863E-49B3-B2B9-86FABCF8C465

( Figures 1−16 View FIGURES 1−2 View FIGURES 3−4 View FIGURES 5−9 View FIGURES 10−16 )

Acroceratitis striata View in CoL : David & Ramani, 2011: 12, 28, figs 52, 78; David et al., 2014: 418, fig. 26. Misidentifications.

Description: Female ( Fig. 1 View FIGURES 1−2 ). Large-sized (9.46 mm including oviscape), predominantly orange with dark-brown/ black markings ( Figs. 1 View FIGURES 1−2 , 3 View FIGURES 3−4 ); wing length (7.14 mm).

Head ( Fig. 5 View FIGURES 5−9 ): Frons fulvous with 3 pairs of frontal, 2 pairs of orbital, 1 pair of ocellar, 1 pair of postocellar, 1 pair of medial and lateral vertical setae. Occiput fulvous with row of black postocular setae, gena fulvous with diffused brownish subocular marking and well-developed genal seta. Face flat without prominent concavity, devoid of any markings. Scape, pedicel fulvous, first flagellomere fulvous with dorsoapical point, arista long plumose; combined length of antennal segments shorter than face.

Thorax ( Fig. 6 View FIGURES 5−9 ): Scutum predominantly orange with black markings as follows; a medial black vitta from scapular seta (basal portion faint in preserved specimens) broadened posteriorly near level of dorsocentral seta to a broad bulbous spot ending at prescutellar acrostichal setae; broad vitta from postpronotal lobe to anterior notopleural seta and just beyond transverse suture to postalar seta; three broad quadrate patches laterally, one before transverse suture and two beyond transverse suture. Yellow lateral poststutural vittae present and posterior margin of scutum with U-shaped xanthine, arms extended anteriorly to dorsocentral setae. Postpronotal lobe with a broad black spot, notopleuron black with narrow fulvous area including the posterior notopleural seta. Chaetotaxy (all setae black): 2 scapular, 1 postpronotal, 1 anterior and 1 posterior notopleural, 1 presutural and 1 postsutural supra-alar, 1 postalar, 1 intra-alar, 1 dorsocentral (aligned with postsutural supra-alar) and 1 prescutellar acrostichal setae. Pleura entirely fulvous with 2 anepisternal, 1 anepimeral and 1 katepepisternal setae. Scutellum predominantly black with broad basal white band extended to basal setae and 2 pairs of scutellar setae, subscutellum black, mediotergite yellow, haltere fulvous.

Legs ( Fig. 7 View FIGURES 5−9 ): all segments fulvous, forefemur with 6−7 stout ventral setae, hind femur with 5−6 dorsal setae and 8−9 ventral setae.

Wing ( Fig. 9 View FIGURES 5−9 ): Hyaline with broad, costal band (orange basally, brown apically) extending from apex of cell sc to wing apex with hyaline submarginal area in cells r 1 and r 2+3, discal band fused with costal band, subapical band and posterior apical band separated from costal band. Crossvein r-m placed before middle of cell dm in posterior margin of discal band, cell cua extension shorter than cell.

Abdomen: Tergites fulvous in fresh specimens ( Figs. 1−4 View FIGURES 1−2 View FIGURES 3−4 ), grey-brown in preserved specimens ( Fig. 8 View FIGURES 5−9 ); tergites 3−5 without narrow basal black band. Oviscape ( Figs 1 View FIGURES 1−2 , 13 View FIGURES 10−16 ) concolorous with abdomen, as long as or slightly longer than abdomen; aculeus tip ( Fig. 14 View FIGURES 10−16 ) pointed with 4 preapical setae, of which two distal setae longer than the proximal one, spicules on the eversible membrane with 8−10 conical projections ( Fig. 15 View FIGURES 10−16 ), spermathecae ( Fig. 16 View FIGURES 10−16 ) dark brown, tightly coiled.

Male ( Figs. 2 View FIGURES 1−2 , 4 View FIGURES 3−4 ): Similar to female except smaller (total body length, 6.49 mm; wing length, 6.45 mm). Male genitalia ( Figs. 10, 11 View FIGURES 10−16 ) with fulvous epandrium shorter than lateral surstylus and not demarcated from surstylus; posterior lobe of surstylus as long as anterior lobe. Proctiger concolorous with epandrium, setose, much larger than epandrium and densely covered with fine hairs. Phallus elongate (5.44 mm) with well-developed glans (0.49 mm) and a basal lobe ( Fig. 12 View FIGURES 10−16 ).

Material examined: Holotype ♀, INDIA, Karnataka, Uttarakannada, Halamaddi , 27.viii.2021, Sachin, K . Paratypes: 1♀, 7♂♂, same data as holotype ; 1♀ INDIA, Karnataka, Shimoga, Shettihalli, 06.i.2006, Naveen Kumar ( NIM) .

Etymology: The species is named after the collector, Sachin, K.

Diagnosis: Resembling A. striata (Froggatt) and A. parastriata David & Hancock in having a large black spot on postpronotum; scutellum mostly black with yellow basal area and elongate oviscape, but can be differentiated from A. parastriata by the yellow mediotergite, entirely fulvous abdominal segments, absence of apical spots on the scutellum, wing with subapical and posterior apical band not fused with costal band, and from A. striata by the oviscape longer than the abdomen and absence of yellow apical scutellar spots. It also resembles A. tenmalaica Hancock & Drew in scutellar and wing markings but can be separated easily by postpronotal lobe with fuscous/ black marking and abdominal tergite 3 fulvous/ yellow without black markings.