Lophoteles longispinus, Rozkošný, 2013

Rozkošný, Rudolf, 2013, Two new species of Lophoteles including the first record of this genus in the Oriental Region (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 53 (1), pp. 339-346 : 343-345

Lophoteles longispinus sp. nov.

( Figs 3–4 )

Type locality. Papua New Guinea, New Britain, Valoka.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♀, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, New Britain, Valoka, caught in Malaise trap, 7.vii.1962, Noona Dan Expedition , 1961–1962 ( ZMUC) . PARATYPES: 1 J 1 ♀, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Bismarck Archipelago, Dyaul Island, Sumuna, 6.iii.1962, Noona Dan Expedition, 1961–1962 ( ZMUC). Male paratype with missing abdomen and female paratype without head.

Diagnosis. Head more rounded in profile than in preceding species ( Fig. 3 ). Anterior part of thorax tapered in lateral view ( Fig. 3 ), apical spine on scutellum stout, as long as scutellum, nearly perpendicular to plane of scutum. Legs predominantly brownish, only mid tibiae and tarsi, and last three tarsomeres of hind tarsi contrastingly pale yellow, hind tibia thickened except for base. Wing band well defined with more contrasting lateral margins.

Description. Female (holotype). Length: body 4.5 mm, wing 3.2 mm. Head more rounded than in preceding species, only 1.4 times higher than long in profile and about 1.6 times broader than long in dorsal view. Eye facets uniform, not enlarged in upper part of eyes. Eyes separated by relatively broad frons occupying slightly more than ¼ of head width in dorsal view. Ocellar triangle only slightly prominent in lateral view, vertex beyond it unusually long, about as long as ocellar triangle. Postocular area and gena narrow but visible in profile. Frons shining black, with a pair of whitish tomentose spots at eye margin above antennae. Face deeply emarginate, with short whitish hairs being denser along eye margin. Gena and postgena with narrow whitish hair stripe along eye margin. Antenna yellowish, arista densely black plumose. Pedicel and thickened basal four flagellomeres shaped as almost round complex, this brownish in upper half, yellow sensory pits large, arranged in transverse rows.

Thorax narrowed anteriorly in profile, anterior part of scutum in same plane as pronotum. Scutum black and densely punctate, postpronotal callus reddish brown. Surface pile very short and appressed, mixed from reddish brown and whitish hairs, more white in presutural and prescutellar areas, somewhat longer and almost exclusively white on pleura. Scutellum with long apical spine reaching the length of scutellum in middle. Scutellum almost upright, angle with level of scutum 90–100°. Lower lateral margin of scutellum and its spine bordered by a row of small setose cornicles. Vertical band of dense short whitish hairs on anepisternum less defined than in preceding species. Wing with brownish transverse band from brown stigma to posterior wing margin. Halter yellow, slightly darkened about middle. Legs with femora brownish, also fore and hind tibiae and basitarsi brown, whereas mid tibia and tarsi are contrastingly pale yellow. Compared with preceding species, hind tibia thickened, in middle about twice as thick as hind basitarsus.

Abdomen reddish brown, distinctly clavate, markedly dilated in area of segment 4, only 1.2 times longer than its maximum width. Abdominal pile inconspicous, whitish, short and appressed, denser at base and disc of abdomen. Whitish hairs on venter slightly longer, more distinct on central area.

Male (paratype). Length: body 4.5 mm, wing 3.3 mm. Head almost round in profile, only slightly higher than long and about 1.6 times broader than long in dorsal view. Eyes contiguous in long distance, facets in upper two thirds contrastingly large. Ocellar triangle prominent in lateral view, shifted anteriorly and vertex beyond it about as long as ocellar triangle. Upper frons in front of anterior ocellus very small, almost indistinct. Lower frons subtriangular, densely covered with snow white appressed hairs, only narrow mid line more blackish. White pile continuing along eye margin also on face. Face deeply emarginate, shortly white. Gena and postocular area indistinct in lateral view. Antenna with black and densely plumose arista, arista nearly twice as long as rest of antenna. Basal antennal complex as in female, its darkening less contrasting but dense pale sensory pits distinct.

Thorax tapered toward head as in female, anterior part of presutural area of scutum nearly in same plane as pronotum. Postpronotal callus and narrow subnotopleural line yellowish brown, postalar callus partly brownish. Thoracic pile short, white and mostly appressed, longer on pleura except bare area of anepisternum. Scutellum with long terminal spine as in female but not as upright, angle between prescutellar area and scutellum greater than 90°. Wing and legs as in female including thickened hind tibia.

Abdomen missing.

Variability. All the type specimens demonstrate well the diagnostc characters of P. longispinus sp. nov., the hind tibia is thickened in both sexes. The head of the male paratype, with contiguous eyes, is almost round in profile, only slightly higher than long. Further intraspecific variability was not recorded.

Etymology. The name refers to the long apical spine on the scutellum; adjective.

Distribution. All the type specimens were collected in Papua New Guinea, holotype in New Britain and paratypes in Bismarck Archipelago, Dyaul Island, in common with Lophoteles plumula ; see JAMES (1977) and comparative material.

Figures

Figs 3–4. Lophoteles longispinus sp. nov., female in lateral (3) and dorsal view (4).