Tomosvaryella vasta Motamedinia, Skevington & Földvari, 2023

Motamedinia, Behnam, Földvari, Mihaly, Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Kelso, Scott, 2023, Revision of Australian Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera: Pipunculidae) with description of 100 new species, Zootaxa 5599 (1), pp. 1-271 : 225-227

Tomosvaryella vasta Motamedinia, Skevington & Földvari sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3342A670-D2C9-4371-992A-23728E4A465E

Figs 102A–E , 137

Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by the hind femur having 10–15 equally spaced bristles posteroventrally; hind trochanter with a keel; surstyli straight in dorsal and lateral views ( Fig. 102A, D–E ); gonopods triangle-shaped; hypandrium large, with two small protrusions towards gonopods ventroapically ( Fig. 102B ), phallus with three spines emerging before ejaculatory ducts; phallic guide with 3–6 dorsolateral spines of different size.

Description: MALE: Body length: 3.1 mm. Head. Scape and arista dark, pedicel brown, flagellum light brown and tapering, tips lighter. Face silvery pollinose. Frons, upper part shining black; lower part distinctly silver pollinose; eyes touching for distance equal to 2 times the length of ocellar triangle. Occiput silvery pollinose, less so on upper 1/3. Thorax. Postpronotum pale, with 3–4 short pale bristles. Mesonotum (viewed obliquely from front) silvery pollinose, anterior part greyer. Dorsocentral bristles short, dark, longer in frontal half, numerous pale bristles around postpronotum present. Scutellum silvery brown pollinose and with 4–8 short dark bristles along distal edge. Halter, knob pale, stem brown with 3–4 short bristles, base dark. Legs. Mid coxa with 4–5 long dark bristles. Trochanters brown, femora black, silvery pollinose posteriorly except shiny hind femur; knees and basal 1/6 of tibiae yellow (tibiae otherwise brown), tarsal segments light brown. Hind trochanter with a keel; hind femur without ventroapical spines, except 10–15 equally spaced bristles posteroventrally, longer on distal half, longest up to the width of hind tibia at distal end. Subapical (distal) spines on first four tibiae present (short). Hind tarsomeres flattened (t1–3), hind metatarsus almost as long as 2–4 combined, dorsally all tarsomeres with erect bristles. Pulvilli shorter than last tarsal segment. Wing. Length: 3.2 mm. Upper side of basal costal cell with one long dark brown bristle. Fourth costal section 3 times as long as third costal section. Cross-vein r-m at middle of discal cell. 1–2 tiny setulae on tegula. Abdomen. Viewed obliquely from front tergites black, tergite 1 silvery grey, Lateral bristles on first tergite present, 2–4 dark bristles up to as long as half of hind femur’s width at base. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium wider than long (MLE:MWE = 0.7), more widened at its base. Both surstyli straight, left surstylus longer, right one with pointed projection before apex on inner margin ( Fig. 102A ). Genital capsule in ventral view: both gonopods widened at base, extended towards surstyli, triangle-shaped; hypandrium large, the height is twice the gonopods height with two small protrusions towards gonopods ventroapically, phallus trifid with three spines emerging before ejaculatory ducts; phallic guide with 3–6 different-sized dorsolateral spines, one is longer and bent downwards at its tip; subepandrial sclerite small ( Fig. 102B ); Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli straight ( Fig. 102D–E ). Ejaculatory apodeme tube-like, bent, with a bulb in its middle ( Fig. 102C ).

FEMALE: Unknown.

Etymology: From the Latin vastus, desert, in reference to the species being found in the vast desert of central Australia.

Examined material: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: South Australia: N[ea]r Victory Well, Everard P [ar]k St [atio]n, 27°3’S, 132°30’E, 5.XI.1970, G.F. Gross, Malaise trap, JSS8723 (1♂, SAM).

Distribution: Australia (South Australia) ( Fig. 137 ).

Figures

FIGURE 102. Male genitalia of Tomosvaryella vasta sp. nov. (JSS8723, SAM) A) dorsal view, B) ventral view, C) ejaculatory apodeme, D, E) lateral view.

FIGURE 137. Distribution of Tomosvaryella quadrata sp. nov., T. uncinata sp. nov., T. vasta sp. nov. in Australia.