Tomosvaryella dirigostyla Földvari, Skevington & Motamedinia, 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 : 79-81

Tomosvaryella dirigostyla Földvari, Skevington & Motamedinia sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5B9944C3-CF08-4939-B1A1-68FD8A900CD3

Figs. 33A–F , 121

Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by the hind trochanter bearing a few short dark bristles in a row ventrally; surstyli elongated in dorsal view ( Fig. 33A ); gonopods extended towards surstyli in ventral view ( Fig. 33–B ); phallic guide with four spines dorsomedially (one is longer); both surstyli straight, curved towards sternite in apical third in lateral view ( Fig. 33D–F ).

Description: MALE: Body length: 2.6–3 mm. Head. Flagellum acuminate; yellow. Face silvery pollinose. Frons, upper part shining black, lower part distinctly silver pollinose; eyes touching for distance equal to 1.5 times the length of ocellar triangle. Occiput silvery pollinose, less so on upper 1/3. Thorax. Postpronotum pale, with 3–4 extra-long, pale bristles. Mesonotum (viewed obliquely from front) brownish pollinose, anterior part more grey, grayish also from the side. Scutellum brownish pollinose and with 10–12 bristles along the distal edge. Dorsocentral bristles well developed, somewhat longer along frontal edge, numerous long pale bristles around postpronotum. Halter, knob pale, stem brown. Legs. Mid coxa with 2–3 long bristles. Trochanters and femora brown, shining ventrally, silvery pollinose posteriorly except shiny hind femur; knees, basal 1/4 and distal extremity of tibiae yellow (tibiae otherwise brown), tarsomeres yellow ventrally and brown dorsally, last segment same, brown. Hind trochanter without a keel, but with a few short dark bristles (7–8) in a row ventrally, equally spaced. Ventrobasal spines (2) present on fore and absent on mid femur. Ventroapical row of spines on fore femur absent; 5–6 short, black spines on mid femur; no spines on hind femur, only 22–24 long dark bristles equally spaced, longest at 2/3 from base (up to as long as 1.5–1.8 times the width of hind tibia at the distal end). Subapical (distal) spines on first four tibiae present (very short). Hind tarsi flattened (1–3), metatarsus almost as long as 2–3 combined. Pulvilli slightly shorter than the last tarsal segment. Wing. Length: 3.0– 3.1 mm. Upper side of basal costal cell with one short dark bristle. Fourth costal section 2 times as long as third costal section. Cross-vein r-m distal to middle of discal cell. 3–4 distinct brown setulae on tegula, mostly along the edges. Abdomen. Viewed obliquely from front tergites subshining black, tergite 1 silvery grey, sides silvery pollinose on tergites 4 and 5 (both very small). Dispersed strong dark bristles on all tergites, longest on tergite 5, up to 1.2–1.4 times as long as the width of hind tibia at base. Lateral bristles on first tergite present, 4–5 short pale bristles in a row up to 1–1.2 times as long as the width of hind femur at distal tip in lateral view. Postabdomen in dorsal view: T6, S7 invisible; T5 1–1.2 times as long as ST8. Genitalia without dissection: ST8 large and wide, brown and with the occasional abdominal bristles; membranous area elongated, slim, directed posteroventrally; epandrium brown, surstyli yellow, elongated. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium and surstyli brown. Epandrium longer than wide (MLE:MWE = 1.1). Surstyli rather symmetrical, broadened at base, elongated, right surstylus pointed towards left one at apex, left is wider and longer than right one ( Fig. 33A ). Genital capsule in ventral view: gonopods equal in height, more extended towards surstyli and surrounding outer margin of subepandrial sclerite; hypandrium broad, subepandrial sclerite widened and covered by scattered short bristles in its upper half close to surstyli ( Fig. 33B ); phallus with three short ejaculatory ducts; phallic guide with four spines dorso- dorsolaterally (the longest one twice as length as others). Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli widened at base, straight, curved towards sternite in apical third ( Figs 33D–F ).

FEMALE: Unknown.

Etymology: From the Latin dirigo, set straight or arrange in a straight line, in reference to the straight surstyli of the males.

Examined material: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Australian Capital Territory: Black M [oun]t[ai]n, 35°16’S, 149°6’E, xii.1987, M. Irwin, Malaise trap, JSS8531 (1♂, ANIC) ; PARATYPES: AUSTRALIA: South Australia: Wilpena Pound, Flinders Range , 31°25’S, 138°45’E, 1.x.1975, Z. Liepa, JSS 9163–4 (1♂, ANIC; 1♂ CNC); Gammon Ranges National Park, south end of Weetootla Gorge , 30°29’S, 139°16’E, 537m, hilltop, 11.X.1997, J. Skevington & C. Lambkin, JSS 8355 (1♂, QM) ; New South Wales: 20 km E of Forbes , 33°23’S, 148°1’E, in Callitris forest, 9.IV.1977, Z. Liepa, JSS 9179 (1♂, ANIC) .

Distribution: Australia (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia) ( Fig. 121 ).

Notes: This is a southeastern Australian species. One specimen was captured hilltopping. This species is genetically closest to T. macrostyla sp. nov. (4.4% pairwise divergence) (Supplementary file 3).

Figures

FIGURE 33. Male genitalia of Tomosvaryella dirigostyla sp. nov. (JSS8531, ANIC) A) dorsal view, B) ventral view, C) ejaculatory apodeme, D, E) lateral view, F) phallus in lateral view.

FIGURE 121. Distribution of Tomosvaryella deltastyla sp. nov., T. dirigostyla sp. nov., T. eucalypti sp. nov. in Australia.