Physocephala ssymanki, Stuke & Clements, 2019

Stuke, Jens-Hermann & Clements, David K., 2019, New conopid records from the Afrotropical Region (Diptera) - Part 3: Physocephalini, Bonn zoological Bulletin 68 (2), pp. 209-273 : 229-232

P. ssymanki spec. nov.

( Figs 30–35 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7476796B-0C67-44D8-AA85-1313BC97B38C

Holotype ♂. (1) “98/99/79”; (2) “visiting white fls / Brownanthus kuntzei /( Schinz ) Ihlenf. & Bittrich / Aizoe- ceae: Mesembryanthema ”; (3) “ Namibia / NW of Cape Cross / 21.44S 13.59E / 14.iii.1999 / F. W. and S. K. Gees; (4) Holotypus / Physocephala ssymanki / spec. nov. / 2018” . Holotype is deposited in AMGS. The specimen is pinned and in perfect condition .

Description of holotype (male)

Length 11.7 mm; Wing-length 7.0 mm; Head-height 2.6 mm.

Head. Antenna black, tip of pedicel and base of first flagellomere brown. Arista stylus-like, with 2 aristomeres situated at tip of first flagellomere ( Fig. 32 ). Both ari- stomeres minute, length of apical aristomere shorter than height. Scape about twice as long as maximum width, apically with black setae. Pedicel about six times longer than maximum width, mainly dorsally and apically cov- ered with black setae. Pedicel lacking any ridge at base, and expanded towards apex. First flagellomere long and conical, about 2.5 times as long as high, pointed, ventral- ly lacking a membranous area. Lunule between base of antennae and ptilinal suture distinct, shorter than width of scape. Eye brown, lacking ommatrichia, with facets all of about the same size. Posterior margin of eye lack- ing any shining indentation. Gena height / eye height (measurements taken from head in lateral view) = 0.2. No ocellar tubercle, no ocelli and no ocellar triangle evi- dent. Frons ( Fig. 31 ) broader than long, slightly concave, slightly projecting above eyes posteriorly, and lacking setulae. Anterior margin concave. Frons yellow, with no frontofacial spot and with indistinct dusting all over. Ver- tex as broad as frons, separated from latter by a more or less distinct ridge. Vertex shining, and in posterior half covered with black setulae; apically with an indistinct depression. Ridge of vertex with minute longitudinal grooves. Face yellow, lacking dusting except for some silver dusting along eye margin. Gena yellow, lacking setae. Distinct facial grooves reaching mouth edge, and facial carina reaching from base of antennae to a distinct- ly broadened and outstanding frontoclypeal tubercle. Ptilinal suture extending well beneath antennal bases on either side. Oral cavity tapers dorsally. Postcranium not obviously invaginated, black to dark brown. Whole post- cranium slightly dusted, with dusting adjacent to posteri- or margin of eye obviously denser. Occiput and postgena covered with black setulae. Postgena not widened and not delimited from occiput. Bottom portion of postcra- nium not delimited and not setulose. Proboscis black to reddish-brown, labellum black. Frontoclypeal membrane long, light orange-brown and hardly delimited from or- ange-brown clypeus. Palps absent. Labium longer than head-length in lateral view, distinctly thickened basally, and with anterior section completely fused into a tube. Labrum not visible in the holotype. Labellum short, com- pletely divided, hardly broader than adjacent haustellum, and covered with very short setulae only.

Thorax mainly black, with pleura black to brown. Post- pronotum orange-brown. Thorax grey-dusted all over, with distinct dust-stripe reaching from middle coxa to notopleuron and becoming wider dorsally. Anterior half of anepisternum and posterior half of anepimeron shining ( Fig. 34 ). Presternum distinct, broad. Basisternum broad, ventrally narrowed to a point, lacking setae or setulae. Proepisternum lacking setae or setulae. Scutum covered with small black setae. Notopleuron with several stronger setae. Postalar callus with a few strong, short black setae above several curved setulae. Katepisternum with 2 setae posterodorsally and no setae ventrally. Metakatepis- ternum lacks setae. Anepimeron with 12 long setulae about as long as maximum width of tibiae. Mediotergite convex, with minute and barely visible black setae. Sub- scutellum inconspicuous. Scutum covered with scattered small black setae, and with no outstanding setae. Wing as Fig. 35 : Fore margin of wing tinged brown, with brown membrane between subcosta and radius R 4+5. Cell r 2+3 hy- aline apically and cell r 4+5 brown basally. Veins brown, subcosta paler brown than radial veins. Wing mostly covered with microtrichia, but with basal cell, basal me- 230 Jens-Hermann Stuke & David K. Clements dial cell, base of discal-medial cell and base of cubital cell cup lacking microtrichia. Radial-medial crossvein small but complete. Basal-medial-cubital crossvein also complete. Radius R 1 and R 2+3 terminate close together in costa, well beyond insertion point of subcosta in costa. Radius R 4+5 with shallow and even curve in distal section directed towards fore-edge of wing. Cell r 4+5 pedunculate, with vein R 4+5 +M 1 well expressed and distinctly longer than radial-medial crossvein. Basal cell lacks any thick- ening. Cubital cell cup elongated, distinctly longer than

New conopid records from the Afrotropical Region ( Diptera ) – Part 3: Physocephalini 231 vein A 1 +CuA 2, and pointed distally (i.e. cubitus CuA 2 and anal vein A 1 meet at an acute angle). Vein A 1 +CuA 2 not reaching hind margin of wing. Cubital veins CuA 1 and crossvein distinctly separated. Upper and lower calypters yellowish-white to brown, margin of upper calypter with white setulae. Alula almost square, about as long as broad, lacking setulae on posterior margin. Venae spuriae pronounced in cell r 4+5 and cubital cell cup. Haltere white, with light brown base. Knob of haltere with brown set- ulae. Legs orange, with hind femur and hind tibia black in apical half. Legs with inconspicuous silver dusting or shining, hind coxa densely silver-dusted. Posterior sur- faces of fore and middle tibiae with obvious silver-dusted fields distally. Legs generally with short, adpressed black setulae. Base of fore and middle femora basally with denser black setulae. Areas of dense black to brown set- ulae anteroventrally on tip of fore tibia and ventrally and posteriorly at tip of hind tibia. Middle femur lacking any distinct row of regularly arranged setulae. Hind femur lacking outstanding setulae. No preapical setae dorsally, and no setae ventrally on tibiae. Femora ventrally lacking rows of short black setae. Coxae with several setae, but lacking any outstandingly long ones. Hind femur slight- ly thickened in basal half. All tibiae thickened in apical half. Each metatarsus with 0–1 stronger seta ventrally at base. Pulvilli yellowish-white. Claws brown, with broad black tips. Empodium light brown, and about as long as pulvilli.

Abdomen orange to dark brown, with diffuse paler markings. Abdomen with short black setulae all over. ♂ abdomen strongly dusted from posterior half of tergite 3 to tip (in anterior view) and almost shining laterally on tergites 1–3. No obvious dusting at hind margin of tergites. Tergites 1–3 fused but remain distinct. Abdomen of holotype not dissected. Tergite 1 with obvious black setulae on bulbous lateral projections. Tergite 2 elongat- ed, about four times as long as smallest width, lacking obvious lateral tufts of setulae. Tergite 3 slightly widened posteriorly, about twice as wide posteriorly than ante- riorly. Tergite 5 and sternite 5 separate. Sternite 5 with scattered long black setulae and denser small black setulae forming an indistinct field. Protandrium broader than epandrium and projecting over it. Sternite 8 distinctly de- limited from protandrium. Indistinct line of small black setulae at border between sternite 8 and protandrium. Paired cerci distinct, completely sclerotised and covered with scattered setulae. Epandrium not fused behind cerci, but with a slightly sclerotised connection at both sides of epandrium.

Diagnosis

Physocephala ssymanki belongs to the P. antiqua species-group and can easily be recognised from the anepi- meron, which has several characteristically long setulae which are about as long as the maximum width of the tibiae. The dusting stripe on the pleura obviously con- trasts with the shining anepisternum and anepimeron, and becomes wider dorsally ( Fig. 34 ). The hind tibia and femur are black in the apical two-thirds, contrasting with the remaining orange-brown legs ( Fig. 30 ).

Etymology

This species is dedicated to Axel Ssymank (Bonn) who generously loaned numerous Conopidae specimens for this project.

Distribution

To date P. ssymanki is only known from the locus typicus on the coast of southern Namibia.

Figures

Figs 30–35. Physocephala ssymanki spec. nov. (holotype). 30. Habitus, lateral view; 31. Frons, dorsal view; 32. Antenna, lateral view; 33. Basal cell, dorsal view; 34. Anepisternum, dorsolateral view; 35. Wing, dorsal view.