Ulidia amnoni, Kameneva & I., 2019

Kameneva, Elena P. & I., Valery A. Korneyev I., 2019, New species and synonymies in the genus Ulidia (Diptera: Ulidiidae) from the Middle East, Israel Journal of Entomology (Oxford, England) 49 (2), pp. 243-266 : 249-253

Ulidia amnoni n. sp.

( Figs 1–12)

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0B5B6628-AC85-4CAC-A2A4-E8742B55BA27 .

Etymology: The species is named in honour of Amnon Freidberg.

Diagnosis: This species can be easily recognized from all known species of Ulidia by the postpronotal lobe with prominent tubercle bearing one thickened, short nail-like postpronotal seta; presence of a dark spot over wing apex; entirely brown cells bc, c, sc; and combination of predominantly shining brownish yellow frons, facial carina and gena; ventral and posterobasal setae on fore femur and anteroventral setae on hind femur strongly thickened; mesonotum elongate, mostly matt rugulose, and prescutular acrostichal setae lacking.

Description: Head ( Figs 2–4) black, with mostly brown to yellowish brown frons, facial carina and gena. Head ratio h:l:w=1:0.8:1.3. Frons 0.8× as long as wide, reddish or yellowish brown medially, with black orbit, shining, with narrow silvery white microtrichose vitta turning cuneiform at border of frons and parafacial ( Figs 3, 4, arrowed); medially frons conspicuously depressed, finely and sparsely yellowish setulose in anterolateral part. Vertical plates and ocellar triangle shining black; 2 pairs of black orbital setae (anterior fine and short); ocellar setae lateroclinate, 0.9× as long as posterior orbital seta.

Face reddish yellow to brown, lunule black, facial carina mostly reddish yellow 1.7× as wide as antennal groove and 1.3× as wide as high, subshining, finely shagreened; epistome black, smooth, without metallic sheen; subgena moderately low. Antennal groove 1.9–2× as high as wide, deep, entirely black, white microtrichose except medioventral surface shining black. Gena reddish yellow to brown, 0.4–0.5× as high as eye; parafacial matt brownish or reddish yellow, with very narrow white microtrichose stripe along eye; gena posteriorly separated with rather blunt genal ridge from entirely black postgena. Occiput entirely black, mostly subshining, rugulose, except vertex, occipital sutures and anterior margin of postgena shining black. Ventral half of occiput conspicuously swollen. Medial vertical seta 0.25–0.45× as long as frons width, 1.1–1.2× as long as lateral vertical and 1.5–2.2× as long as ocellar, orbital, and postocellar setae.Antenna: scape black to brown, pedicel deeply incised, brown or sometimes apically yellow; flagellomere 1 short oval, 1.5× as long as wide, yellow or brownish yellow, white microtrichose; arista bare, brown. Clypeus black. Palp dark brown, gray microtrichose, with 8–9 black lateroventral setae setose. Mouthparts black.

Thorax ( Figs 2, 5). Scutum and scutellum black, finely rugulose, almost matt; posterior portion of postpronotal lobe, posterior surface of notopleural triangle, postalar lobe, anterior half of katepisternum, and whole anepimeron shining black; postscutellum black, subshining; posteroventral margin of scutellum without microtrichose area; anatergite, katatergite and lateroventral parts of mediotergite subshining black. Scutum 1.5× as long as wide, with fine, poorly visible brownish setulae in intra-alar area and regular row of 8–11 dorsocentral setulae and 1 dorsocentral seta ( Fig. 5); acrostichal seta lacking, at most 6–7 tiny setulae between dorsocentral setae; postpronotal lobe with short and thickened, nail-like seta inserted into conspicuous projection; proepisternal ridge strongly expressed, bearing 2 rows of 8–10 short, sometimes thickened, nail-like setulae; proepisternal seta at most 1.2× as long as proepisternal setulae; other setae moderately long, black: 2 postsutural supra-alar, 1 intra-alar and 1 postalar. Scutellum transverse, 2.8× as wide as long, finely wrinkled, subshining black, with 2 pairs of black scutellar setae.

Wing ( Fig. 6). Hyaline, with dark spot at wing apex and entirely brown cells r1, bc, c, and sc; veins brown; cell r 4+5 apically narrowed, apical section of M straight or slightly arcuate, ending anterior of wing apex; section of costal vein between apices of R 4+5 and M very narrow, ≤0.25× as long as vein DM–Cu. Postero-apical extension of cell cup shorter than transverse shoulder of vein Cu 2. Calypters with long white fringe. WL= 3.9–4.2 mm. Haltere with base and stem black, knob creamy white.

Legs black; most setae and setulae black, except fore basitarsus ventrally with brush of dark yellow setulae; fore femur conspicuously thickened, posterodorsally, postero- and anteroventrally with 4–5 short thickened setae inserted into tubercles; mid femur slender, with row of 15–17 long and thin setae posteroventrally and 2 rows of slightly shorter setae on anterior surface; mid tibia apically with 1 long and 2 shorter setae; hind femur slightly thickened apically, with 2 strong preapical setae dorsally and 2 rows of 3–5 thickened setae, some inserted into tubercles, ventrally.

Abdomen entirely black, dorsally matt, finely shagreened, laterally subshining, only tergite 1 with inconspicuous and sparse microtrichia laterally; syntergite 1+2 anteriorly narrow, widened posteriorly, with short black setae laterodorsally, tergites 3–4 almost bare; tergite 5 of male and female conspicuously shagreened, with sparse and relatively long setae posteriorly; female abdominal tergite 2 without dimple-like structures; female tergite 6 transverse, entirely developed, but hidden underneath of tergite 5, with 2 rows of setulae. Sternites wide in both sexes, separated by rather narrow, black membrane from tergites; sternite 1 wider than long; sternite 2 moderately wide, 1.3× as long as wide, with desclerotized “window” in anterior ⅓; sternites 3–4 of male and 3–5 of female subquadrate, with few sparse setae (4–6 longest at posterior margins); tergite and sternite 6 of female conspicuously narrower than preceding tergites, as wide as and half as long as oviscape, both with 2 rows of setae, setae of posterior row moderately long. Sternites 4–6 of female without anteromedial apodemes.

Male postabdomen brown to black; pregenital sternites moderately long; sternite 8 with numerous subequal setulae. Epandrium as in Figs 7, 8, cerci deeply separated, with long, anteroventrally directed apices ( Fig 7: cyan arrows); lateral surstylus simple, with one mesally directed lobe; medial surstylus entirely flat, forming no lobes, bearing 20–25 uniformly thin, moderately long setulae, and no prensisetae. Phallus 1.0 mm long, with stipe almost as long as preglans (without glans); membranous inflatable valve as long as preglans, basally with caecum 2–3× as long as stipe width; preglans without spines; glans with one wide, moderately sclerotized lobe ( Figs 9, 10, cyan arrows) and small, strongly sclerotized inner structure. Hypandrium ( Fig. 8) asymmetric, with strongly developed lateral sclerite (pregonite) at right side and pair of button-like sensory plates at both sides of basiphallus; phallapodeme dorsoventrally compressed. Ejaculatory apodeme fan-like.

Female terminalia: oviscape black, 0.95× as long as tergite 5, aculeus 0.8–0.85 mm long, 7–7.5× as long as wide, with long and thin setae on tergite and sternite 8 and cercal unit ( Fig. 11); 3 subspherical spermathecae with smooth surface and inverted necks ( Fig. 12).

Holotype: ♂ Afghanistan: 10 km S of Bamyan [34.7160°N 67.8400°E], 2800 m, 22–30.v.2010, Yu. Skrylnik ( SIZK).

Paratypes: 5♂ 2♀, same data as holotype ; 2♀, same locality, 12.vi.2016, Yu. Skrylnik ( SIZK, SMNHTAU) .

Biology: Unknown.