Conops (Conops) occultus, Stuke, 2019

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2019, New conopid records from the Afrotropical Region (Diptera: Conopidae). Part 2: Conopinae excluding Physocephalini, Israel Journal of Entomology (Oxford, England) 49 (2), pp. 277-349 : 314-317

Conops (Conops) occultus n. sp.

( Figs 68–76)

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:86B8C67F-2640-40CE-8246-66A1C2B84B50 .

Etymology: The name is derived from Latin occultus , meaning ‘hidden’. The species was for a long time concealed amongst specimens of C. pallidemarginatus .

Diagnosis: At the first glance C. occultus is very similiar to C. pallidemarginatus , and the holotype was stored with material of C. pallidemarginatus with a questionmark for a long time. The species is easily recognised, however, using the details as described in Key 8. The colouration pattern of the scutum ( Fig. 74) is unique in the genus. In addition, if the lack of tufts of black setulae laterally on tergite 2 turns out to be a constant character, this may also be a unique character within the genus.

Description: Male. Body length ca. 11 mm. Wing length 8.9 mm. Head height 3.0 mm.

Head without setae. Antenna orange. Arista stylus-like, with 3 aristomeres at tip of first flagellomere ( Figs 72, 76). Basal aristomere distinct and about as long as medial aristomere. Apical aristomere reduced, about as long as basal aristomere, and not pointed. Medial aristomere ventrally protruding and directed forward. Scape about 3× longer than maximum width, apically and laterally with black setae. Pedicel about 4× longer than maximum width, completely covered with black setae. First flagellomere about as long as pedicel, ventrally with a hardly visible membranous area. First flagellomere without setae dorsally. Lunule between base of antennae and ptilinal suture distinctly developed, longer than width of scape. Eyes brown, without ommatrichia. Facets in middle of medial margin distinctly enlarged compared to surrounding facets. Posterior margin of eye convex, with indistinct indentation. Genal height of head/eye height (measurements taken from head in lateral view) = 0.3. No ocellar tubercle, no ocelli and no ocellar triangle. Frons ( Fig. 73) shorter than broad, distinctly concave, not projecting above eyes, and without setulae. Frons slightly silver dusted, with narrow silver dusted lateral margins. Frons without grooves.Anterior margin of frons almost straight. Frons orange-brown with indistinct narrow brownish central stripe ( Fig. 73). Distinct black frontofacial spots ( Fig. 72). Vertex slightly narrower than frons, separated from latter by indistinct ridge. Ridge between vertex and frons without longitudinal grooves. Vertex covered with black setulae. Vertex anteriorly with obviously roughened surface. Face yellow to yellowish brown. Facial keel ventrally and frontoclypeal tubercle with small black spot. Gena light brown. Parafacial and antennal grooves silver dusted. Facial ridge and gena only inconspicuously dusted. Gena without setulae. Distinct facial carina reaching from bases of antennae to distinctly broadened and outstanding frontoclypeal tubercle. Ptilinal suture stretching on either side beneath antennal bases. Mouth opening tapering dorsally. Postcranium not obviously invaginated. Postcranium orange-brown. Adjacent to posterior margin of eye, obvious stripe of silver dusting, remaining postcranium slightly dusted. Postcranium with black setulae. No setulae on small area adjacent to eye margin and on bottom portion of postcranium. Postgena not widened and therefore not separated from occiput. Bottom portion of postcranium distinctly demarcated. Proboscis orange-brown with dark brown labellum. Frontoclypeal membrane narrow, hardly broadened basally, orange-brown and clearly distinguished from clypeus. No palps recognised. Proboscis capitate. Labium about twice as long as head length, distinctly thickened basally, anterior section completely fused into tube. Labrum cannot be examined in holotype. Labellum short, completely divided, not broader than adjacent haustellum, and covered with single, short, black setulae. Pseudotrachae invisble due to collapsed labella.

Thorax brown with small anteromedial black spot on scutum ( Fig. 74). Mediotergite and pleura blackish in ventral half of thorax ( Fig. 68). Thorax slightly to strongly silver dusted all over, depending on viewing angle. A distinct dusted stripe reaches from middle coxa to notopleuron. Presternum distinct, only slightly narrower than compound basisterna, with which it is fused. Basisternum broad, not narrowed to a tip, without setulae. Proepisternum with 1–2 black setae and 1–2 smaller setulae. Mediotergite convex, without setae, and projecting distinctly over scutellum. Subscutellum inconspicuous. Scutellum small, with scattered black setulae. No scutellar setae recognised. Scutum with short black setulae, no setulae medially and sublaterally. Setae cannot be distinguished safely from long black setulae on scutum. 1 long black seta dorsally on katepisternum, but with no seta ventrally. Metakatepisternum without setae.Anepisternum and anepimeron without setulae nor setae. Wing tinged light brownish with the exception of an obviously yellow anterobasal area ( Fig. 71). Yellow area seen best when looking from wing tip. Yellow wing base comprises subcostal cell sc, radial cell r 1, basal radial cell br and base of basal medial cell bm. In this area veins yellow, contrasting with brown colouration of veins outside this area. Darker brown colouration present in radial cell r 2+3 and radial cell r 4+5. Wing completely covered with microtrichia. Basal-medial-cubital crossvein bm–cu very short and incomplete. Vein R 1 and R 2+3 terminate close together in costa, well beyond end of subcosta. Vein R 4+5 with a shallow and even anterior curve in distal section. Cell r 4+5 pedunculate, with vein R 4+5 +M distinctly expressed and longer than r–m crossvein. Cubital cell cup elongated (distinctly longer than vein A 1 +CuA 2) and pointed distally (cubitus CuA 2 and anal vein A 1 meet at an acute angle). Cubital vein CuA 1 and crossvein bm–cu separated. Upper and lower calypters yellowish white, upper calypter with long white setulae on margin. Alula broad (about 2× broader than long), with short setulae on posterior margin. Obvious vena spuria in radial cell r 4+5. Haltere yellowish white with light brown base. Base and stem of haltere each with areas of sensillae. No setulae recognised on haltere. Legs light brown, with silver to golden dusting. Posterior surfaces of fore and middle tibiae with densely silver dusted fields. Legs with black setulae. Areas with dense golden-brown setulae ventrally at tip of fore tibia and dense black to brown setulae posteriorly at tip of hind tibia. Apical half of middle femur posteriorly with row of regularly arranged, long black setulae. Hind femur dorsally with slightly outstanding longer setulae at tip. No praeapical seta recognised. No setae ventrally on tibiae. Femora ventrally with rows of short, stout black setae more or less arranged in lines. Hind coxa with 1 outstanding black seta. Pulvilli whitish yellow. Claws yellow with distinct black tips. Empodium whitish yellow.

Abdomen mainly orange-brown ( Figs 68, 69). Tergite 3 blackish anteriorly and laterally. Tergites 4+5 almost completely black. Tergite 6 black laterally. Syntergite 8+9 black anteriorly. Abdomen with scattered, short black setulae all over. Tergite 1 with indistinct silver dusted hind margin. Tergite 2 with silver to golden dusted hind margin, and silver to golden dusted lateral margins. Tergites 3–6 almost completely silver to golden dusted, syntergite 8+9 dusted in anterior half. Tergites 1–3 fused but distinctly demarcated from each other. The female holotype was not dissected, therefore the description of the postabdomen remains incomplete. Abdomen parallel-sided, only slightly broader at segment 2. Sternites 1–2 fused but still distinct. Sternites 3–4 not protruding ventrally. Tergite 5 and sternite 5 fused laterally to form syntergosternite with obvious theca below. Theca long and distinctly protruding. Shape of theca as in Fig. 70. Anterior surface of theca without setulae. Posterior surface of theca with close-set spicules arranged in broken horizontal lines. Sternite 6 almost completely covered with spicules that are more or less arranged in horizontal lines of palisade groups. Tergite 7 distinctly bent ventrally, without longitudinal gap, and without tooth. Tooth on syntergite 8+9 distinct, its base elongated anteriorly. Long setulae lateral to base of tooth on syntergite 8+9. Paired cerci distinct, with dense erect black setulae.

Holotype: ♂ Ethiopia: (1) “ Ethiopia - S / 20km SE Konso / 05°15'N 37°32'E 850m /m / J. Halada, 11–13.V.2015 ”; (2) “ Holotypus / Conops / occultus / spec. nov. ♀ / det. Stuke 2018” ( CULSP). The specimen is pinned. Right fore leg, both hind tarsi and apical segments of arista are missing, otherwise the specimen is in a good condition ( Fig. 68).