Aragara menglaensis, Liu, Xiaoyan & Yang, Ding, 2014

Liu, Xiaoyan & Yang, Ding, 2014, Species of the genus Aragara Walker (Diptera: Chloropidae: Chloropinae: Mindini) from China with key to species of the world, Zootaxa 3895 (1), pp. 127-136 : 131-132

Aragara menglaensis sp. nov.

Figs 2 , 12–15

Diagnosis. Frontal triangle smooth with a longitudinal groove along each lateral margin and broad median groove. Antenna yellow except for blackish brown pedicel, dorsal 1/2 of first flagellomere yellowish brown; arista with short pubescence. Legs black except for yellow knees and tarsi with fore tarsomeres 2-5, mid and hind tarsomeres 4-5 black.

Description. Male. Body length 3.7 mm, wing length 2.5 mm.

Head black with grey microtomentum, 0.8x as long as high, 1.2x as wide as thorax; face somewhat concave in lateral view, facial carina distinct; frons brown except for anterior 1/4 yellow, as long as wide, projecting only slightly in front of eye; gena narrow, yellow except for black ventral margin; parafacial linear. Frontal triangle black with yellow apex, smooth, shiny, reaching anterior margin of frons, with slightly pointed apex, with a longitudinal groove along each lateral margin and broad median groove; ocellar tubercle brown. Cephalic setae and setulae black; oc and poc hair-like, oc as long as poc; vte developed, vti hair-like, 0.75x as long as vte. Antenna yellow with thick greyish microtomentum except for blackish brown pedicel, dorsal 1/2 of first flagellomere yellowish brown; first flagellomere as long as wide; arista brown except basal 1/2 yellow, with short brown pubescence. Proboscis brown to yellow with yellow setulae; palpus yellow with yellow setulae.

Thorax black with microtomentum, evenly covered with short setulae. Scutum with granulated microsculpture, 1.1x as long as wide. Thoracic pleuron shiny brown without microtomentum except for black anteroventral portion of anepisternum, ventral 2/3 of katepisternum, anteroventral margin of anepimeron and ventral 1/2 of katepimeron. Scutellum yellowish brown, 0.7x as long as wide; ap sc developed, slightly shorter than scutellum. Setae and setulae on thorax black except for yellow a npl; npl 1+2, a npl hair-like, p npl developed, a npl as long as p npl; a pa developed and p pa hair-like, p pa 0.6x as long as a pa; 1 dc hair-like, 1.75x as long as a pa. Legs black except for brown hind coxa and trochanter; all knees and tarsi yellow with fore tarsomeres 2-5, mid and hind tarsomeres 4- 5 black. Fore coxa very long, 0.8x as long as its femur; fore femur thickened, maximum width 1/4 its length, with two rows of stout spines arranged on sides of ventral surface, spines of outer row slightly longer, spines arranged on distal 3/5 of fore femur; fore tibia 0.85x as long as fore femur and distinctly curved. Setulae on legs yellow except for distal portions with some brown setulae. Wing 2.8x as long as wide, hyaline; veins brown. Relative lengths of 2nd: 3rd: 4th costal sections = 3.3: 2: 1; cross-veins r-m and m-m not approximated, r-m at basal 0.57 of discal cell. Halter pale yellow on knob, brown on stem.

Abdomen shiny brown except for pale yellow tergites 1+2, tergite 2 with small black lateral spot; tergite 3 yellow, laterally brown; basal 1/3 of tergite 4 yellow with 2 oblate brown spots; venter yellow. Setulae on abdomen brown.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 12–15 ): Epandrium short tubular, brown with long brown setulae and 2 band-like sclerites along posterodorsal notch; surstylus basally broad with spinous processes, attached to epandrium anteroventrally. Cercus small, triangular in ventral view with some short setulae. Gonites arranged in a row; postgonite long with some sensory setulae, distally broad and slightly incurved; pregonite short, 0.7x as long as postgonite, basally broad, distally narrowed; basiphallus longer than wide, cylindrical; distiphallus longer than basiphallus, reaching dorsal margin of hypandrium, largely membranous; phallapodeme long, extended near base of basiphallus, with basal stalk broad in lateral view. Hypandrium broad.

Female. Unknown.

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂ ( CAU), CHINA: Yunnan: Mengla, Yaoqu, 6. VIII. 2010, Coll. HuiYu.

Distribution. China (Yunnan).

Remarks. The new species is somewhat similar to A. femorata Cherian in having the body stout; frontal triangle smooth with a longitudinal groove along each lateral margin and broad median groove; all femora and tibiae black, the maximum width of fore femur 1/4 its length. It can be separated from the latter by the following features: antenna yellow except for blackish brown pedicel, dorsal 1/2 of first flagellomere yellowish brown; proboscis brown to yellow, palpus yellow; second sector of costa 1.65x as long as third sector. In A. femorata , pedicel is brownish black and first flagellomere is yellowish to dark brown with dark tinge in distal 1/2; proboscis is dark brown, palpus is brown; second sector of costa is 1.3x as long as third sector ( Cherian 1984). Etymology. The species is named after the type locality Mengla.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Aragara menglaensis sp. nov., male. Body, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 12 – 15. Aragara menglaensis sp. nov., male. 12 epandrium, posterior view; 13 epandrium, lateral view; 14 hypandrium and phallic complex, ventral view; 15 hypandrium and phallic complex, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.