Tomosvaryella epichalca ( Perkins, 1905 )

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 : 87-88

Tomosvaryella epichalca ( Perkins, 1905)

Figs 37A–E , 124 , 156C

Pipunculus epichalcus Perkins, 1905

Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by the shape of the surstyli, in dorsal view the right surstylus is wider and the left one is longer ( Fig. 37A ); widened gonopods, pointed hypandrium in lower margin in ventral view ( Fig. 37B ); phallic guide short and broad ( Fig. 37D–E ); one of ejaculatory ducts with tooth-like projection in basal third in lateral view ( Fig. 37D–E ); ejaculatory apodeme funnel-shaped ( Fig. 37C ).

Redescription: MALE: Body length: 3.2–3.4 mm. Head. Scape, pedicel and arista brown. Pedicel with 2–3 upper bristles and 1–2 lower bristles; flagellum brown, gray pollinose and tapering. Face silvery pollinose. Frons, upper part shining black; lower part distinctly silver pollinose; eyes touching for distance 1.3 times the length of ocellar triangle. Occiput grey pollinose covered by scattered short brown bristles. Thorax. Postpronotum light yellow, with 1–3 short pale bristles in upper margin. Mesonotum (viewed obliquely from front) brown pollinose; scutum with scattered dark bristles at anterior supra-alar area, extended to posterior and uniseriate rows of intra-alar short bristles. Postalar callus dark brown with 1–2 short light brown bristles in the middle. Scutellum silvery pollinose and with 8–10 short dark bristles along the distal edge and a few scattered bristles in its middle. Halter, knob pale, stem light brown, base dark. Legs. Mid coxa with 1–2 different-sized dark brown bristles. Coxae, trochanters, femora dark, hind femur shining ventrally, knees and basal 1/3 of tibiae yellow (tibiae otherwise dark brown), tarsomeres brown ventrally, dark dorsally. Hind trochanter silvery pollinose covered by some scattered short pale bristles ventrally, its apical third shining; two ventrobasal spines absent on fore mid femur. All femora with two rows tiny spines ventroapically. Hind tibia with two rows of short brown bristle on anterior and posterior side, all tibiae gray pollinose in apical half of both anterior and posterior sides. Hind tarsomeres slightly flattened to one side, covered by short dark brown bristles, hind metatarsus as long as 2–4 combined; pulvilli shorter than last tarsal segment, last tarsomeres with longer dark bristles. Wing. Length: 3.2–3.3 mm. Upper side of basal costal cell with 1–2 long dark brown bristles. Fourth costal section 1.5–2 times as long as third costal section. Cross-vein r-m at middle of discal cell. 2–3 short dark setulae on tegula. Abdomen. Tergites 1 silvery pollinose with 5–7 different-sized lateral bristles; tergite 2–5 brown pollinose, covered by scattered short dark bristles. Syntergosternite 8 enlarged, dark brown and grey-brown pollinose. Membranous area ovate. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium wider than long (MLE:MWE = 0.8). Surstyli different in height, left is longer, right is wider, left one broadened in basal half and narrowed in apical half, right one broadened in basal three fourths and narrowed in apical fourth ( Fig. 37A ). Genital capsule in ventral view: both gonopods widened, equal in height, hypandrium pointed in lower side, upper side with two feather like projections; phallic guide too broad and short; phallus with three ejaculatory ducts, one with tooth-like projection in basal third ( Fig. 37B ); Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli curved to sternite, pointed at apex with a small projection towards gonopods at the base, phallic guide too broad with two depressions in the middle of ventral margin ( Fig. 37D–E ); ejaculatory apodeme funnel-shaped with a bubble in its middle ( Fig. 37C ).

FEMALE: Body length: 3.1 mm.As male except for the following characters. Frons, eyes separated; completely silver-grey pollinose on lower 1/3, wider in middle, shiny black only around ocellar triangle, deep depression in just before ocellar triangle. Enlarged ommatidia shining; pulvilli and claws longer than last tarsal segment. Lateral bristles on the tergite 1 shorter than male. Ovipositor. Straight in ventral view, straight and short in lateral view (piercer brown), reaching sternite 3; basal two thirds silvery brown pollinose. LP:LB = 2.1. LDP:LPP = 3.3. ( Fig. 156C ).

Examined material: LECTOTYPE [ HERE DESIGNATED]: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Cairns , [16°55’S, 145°46’E], VII.1904, JSS4154 (1♂, ZMAN) ; PARALECTOTYPES: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Cairns , 16°55’S, 145°46’E, VII.1904, CNCD5492–3 (2♀, BPBM); JSS4155 (1♀, ZMAN) ; Other Material Examined: AUSTRALIA: Brisbane, Department of Primary Industries, Indooroopilly site, 27°30’S, 152°59’E, I.1977; II.1977, Malaise trap, JSS8935 , JSS8937 (2♂, QDPC); Brisbane , 27°28’S, 153°1’E, 2.X.1962, J.W. Turner, date recorded as 2/10/1962, JSS8251 (1♂, QM); 5.IV.1962, T . Brooks , JSS454 (1♂, QM); Iron Range, North Queensland, 12°44’S, 143°17’E, 12. VI .1971, J. Feehan, JSS8700 (1♂, ANIC); James Cook University , 27°28’S, 153°2’E, dry savannah, 21–26. V .1988, A.D. Austin, JSS8645 (1♂, ANIC); Mareeba Shire, Kuranda, Russet Park, North Queensland, 16°49’S, 145°38’E, 460m, 13.X.1987, Thomas W. Davies, flight interception trap, Thomas W. Davies Collection donated to California Academy of Sciences 1987, JSS8470 (1♂, CAS) ; CAMBODIA: Siem Reap, 13.365545, 103.836101, XI.1958, N.L.H. Krauss, USNM _ ENT01261318 (1♂, USNM) ; PHILIPPINES: Mountain Province: Abatan, Buguias , 60 km S of Bontoc, 16°43’N, 120°49’E, 2000m, 25. V .1964, H.M. Torrevillas , CNCD5488–9 (1♂, 1♀, BPBM) ; Palawan: 13 km N of Puerto Princesa, ex. grass, 18.IV.1968, D. E. Hardy, CNCD5483–7 (3♂, 2♀, BPBM); 9.916624°N, 118.713946°E, 18.IV.1968, D.E. Hardy, JSS8488–9 (1♂, 1♀, BPBM); 15–17.IV.1968, M. D. Delfinado, CNCD5467–82 (13♂, 3♀, BPBM); Luzon: La Trinidad, 1388m, 4–5.IV.1968, D. E. Hardy, CNCD5490 (1♂, BPBM); Mindanao: Maninit Str., Manolo Fortich Bukidnon, 24.IV.1968, M. D. Delfinado, CNCD5491 (1♂, BPBM) .

Distribution: AUSTRALIA (Queensland), CAMBODIA, PHILIPPINES (Luzon, Mindanao, Mountain Province, Palawan) ( Fig. 124 ).

Notes: This is one of the few Australian species of Tomosvaryella that occurs in other countries. Unlike most Australian Tomosvaryella which favour dry habitats, T. epichalca is coastal. It should be expected in Indonesia and New Guinea as well. Perkins (1905) described this species and never indicated the holotype. There are four specimens in the syntype series including one male ( JSS4154 ) and three females ( CNCD5492–3 and JSS4155 ). As the male specimens present more diagnostic characteristics than female, specimen JSS4154 is hereby nominated as the lectotype to fix and ensure consistent interpretation of the name. Unlike most of Perkins species, this one was not reared .

Figures

FIGURE 37. Male genitalia of Tomosvaryella epichalca (JSS4154, ZMAN) A) dorsal view, B) ventral view, C) ejaculatory apodeme, D, E) lateral view.

FIGURE 124. Distribution of Tomosvaryella epichalca, T. minychoma sp. nov. in Australia.

FIGURE 156. Ovipositor of Tomosvaryella species in lateral view A) T. angustistyla sp. nov., paratype (JSS16223, ANIC), B) T. uncinata sp. nov., paratype (JSS16061, ANIC), C) T. epichalca, paralectotype (JSS4155, ZMAN), D) T. pseudophanes, paralectotype (JSS8480, BPBM), E) T. pterygia sp. nov., paratype (JSS15882, CNC), F) T. synadelpha (JSS15981, ANIC).