Cephalodromia freidbergi, Evenhuis J., 2019

Evenhuis J., Neal L., 2019, The genus Cephalodromia (Diptera: Mythicomyiidae) in China, Israel Journal of Entomology (Oxford, England) 49 (2), pp. 1-9 : 3-4

Cephalodromia freidbergi n. sp.

( Figs 1, 3)

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:79C3336A-32D8-45CD-94B4-A9DC63789142 .

Etymology: The species is named in honor of Amnon Freidberg (see Remarks).

Diagnosis: This species can be separated from its congeners in China by the incomplete yellow crossbands on the posterior tergites of abdomen (crossbands complete in C. gobica and C. seia ) and the interhumeral marks not coalesced with the yellow of the humeral callus (coalesced in C. gobica and C. seia ); from C. gobica it is additionally separated by the yellow epandrium (black in C. gobica ) and yellowish brown legs (black in C. gobica ).

Description: Lengths. Body: 1.5–1.7, wing: 2.2–2.5 mm.

Male. Head. Shining black, pruinose only on posteromedial portion of occiput; occiput and vertex with short appressed yellowish brown hairs; eyes dichoptic, separated at vertex by 1.3× distance between lateral ocelli; antennae black; scape small, cylindrical, length subequal to width; pedicel cylindrical, slightly wider than long, slightly flared apically; first flagellomere linear-ellipsoid, length about 2.3× greatest width; second flagellomere with minute hairs laterally and apically, about ⅓ lenGth Of fiRst, with lOnG, thin apical stYle; venteR Of heaD black, extenDeD pOsteriorly as single medial ridge; proboscis black, tubular, length ca 2.3× head height; labRum ⅔ lenGth Of pRObOscis.

Thorax. Mesonotum shining black with yellow patterning, with scattered admixture of white and bronzy hairs dorsally, white hairs laterally; yellow on following: humeral callus, notopleural line to postalar callus, interrupted at transverse suture, interhumeral marks lozenge-shaped, separate laterally from humeral callus marking ( Fig. 3); scutellum yellow with brown spot basomedially; pleura with propleuron and anepisternum shining, remaining pleura pruinose; propleuron yellow, anepisternum black with yellow only at posteroventral corner, katepisternum and meron yellow above, dark brown to black below; katepimeron yellow; anepimeron and katatergite black with yellow dorsally; halter stem yellow, knob white.

Legs. Yellowish brown; tarsi brown; claws black.

Wing. Hyaline, slightly smoky at extreme apex; veins yellowish brown; costa ends midway between end of R 4+5 and M 1; costal cell milky opaque on apical third; vein Sc incomplete, ending at level about equal to origin of vein R 2+3; R 2+3 slightly upcurved apically, ending in costa equidistant between end of R 1 and end of R 4+5; R 4+5 slightly downcurved to wing margin on apical third; anal cell open in wing margin by width subequal in length to crossvein r–m; fringe of hair on posterior margin of wing minute.

Abdomen. Dorsum black with scattered yellowish brown hairs; tergite II with yellow posterior laterally; tergites II–VI with weakly defined yellow fascia posteriorly; remaining segments black; sternites dark brown to black.

Genitalia (not dissected). Epandrium yellow; gonocoxa black.

Female. Lengths. Body: 2.0– 2.2 mm, wing: 2.5–2.8 mm. As in male except: generally darker in thoracic and abdominal patterning, with yellow markings present, but not as contrasting as in male. Genitalia not dissected.

Holotype: ♂ China: Beijing Province, Badaling, Great Wall [40.359731°N 116.020014°E], 600 m, 1.x.1993, A. Freidberg & F. Kaplan (SMNHTAU).

Paratypes: 2♀ same Data as hOlOtYpe (SMNHTAU).

Remarks: In June 1995, I traveled to Beijing for the 18 th Pacific Science Congress. One of the post-congress tours was a trip north of Beijing to the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall. When we were returning to our busses at the Great Wall, I spotted specimens of a species of Cephalodromia (probably this one) hovering over flowers of an undetermined white Asteraceae and then ‘dropping’ onto them to feed. Frustrated I did not have anything with which to collect, I was forced to finally leave the area to meet our busses that were returning us back to our hotel in Beijing. I was upset at missing out on a rare opportunity (traveling to China and seeing Mythicomyiidae on the hoof as it were!) but eventually just chalked the event up to bad timing; however, I knew I was still fortunate to have seen specimens in China of a genus I had previously only known from reading Séguy’s (1963) paper. Sometime later I told Amnon Freidberg about my bad luck in not being able to collect the specimens and he said not to worry; that he was pretty sure he had gotten them for me when he was there two years earlier and would check. A few years later, I had forgotten my lament to Amnon, and was pleasantly surprised when a package arrived with the specimens he promised! It is a pleasure to be able to thank him by naming this new species in his honor.