Doliopteryx fratris, Gharali & Evenhuis, 2017

Gharali, Babak & Evenhuis, Neal, 2017, First record of the genus Doliopteryx Hesse, 1956 (Diptera: Mythicomyiidae: Glabellulinae) from Iran, with description of two new species, Zootaxa 4358 (2), pp. 393-400 : 397-399

Doliopteryx fratris , sp. nov.

( Figs 3 , 4 )

Type material. Holotype ♂ (dried by HMDS), 20 ♂ and 20 ♀ paratypes (in 96% alcohol), Nodahak, 13 July 2017, N 35°58'32.86" E 49°35'45.57", 1328 m a.s.l., Leg. B. Gharali (HMIM); 44 ♂ and 56 ♀ paratypes, same data as holotype (in alcohol) ( BPBM) ; 31 ♂ and 26 ♀ paratypes, same data as holotype (in alcohol) ( MTD) ; 20 ♂ and 20 ♀ paratypes, same data as holotype (BG).

Diagnosis. In the key to the world species of Doliopteryx ( Evenhuis, 2000) , Doliopteryx fratris , sp. nov. runs to couplet 10 where our species is easily separated from the two described species, Doliopteryx tigrina, Evenhuis and D. arava, Evenhuis by the color patterns of mesonotum and scutellum. In Doliopteryx fratris , sp. nov. the black lateral stripes of the mesonotum do not reach the scutellum; the lateral portion of the mesonotum posterior to the postpronotal lobe and the entire scutellum are yellow while in the two mentioned species, the mesonotal black lateral stripes reach the scutellum, and the lateral portion of the mesonotum posterior to the postpronotal lobe is black while the scutellum is yellow only medially.

Description. Lengths: body: 1–1.2 mm; wing: 0.70–0.76 mm. Head ( Fig. 3a, b ) oval, occiput and mentum expanded posteriorly so that head is longer than high; mentum yellow, brownish basally; face yellow except oral margin narrowly black; frons yellow; occiput black dorsally, yellow laterally with oblong brownish mark on gena; vertex black except narrow yellow line just behind anterior ocellus; lateral ocelli situated at level equal to posterior eye margin, farther from each other than from anterior ocellus; eyes dichoptic; antenna ( Fig. 3c ) with scape wider than long, yellow; pedicel brownish, wider than long; first flagellomere brown, oblong oval, length 1.6 times greatest width; second flagellomere brown, cylindrical, length 1.4 width, style hyaline, slightly smaller than second flagellomere; proboscis brownish, pointed apically, subequal to head length.

Thorax. Mesonotum ( Fig. 3a ) yellow with three black stripes, lateral one starting just behind postpronotal lobes and extending to postalar calli, medial one starting from anterior margin of mesonotum and ending much before scutellum leaving yellow prescutellar area; postpronotal lobes yellow; notopleural stripe yellow from humeral callus to post alar calli; scutellum yellow; prosternum brown; lower half of katepisternum brown, upper half yellow; anepisternum yellow except brown mark at anteroventral corner; basal half of anepimeron brown, upper half yellow; katepisternum brown except upper margin narrowly yellow; meron anteriorly yellow, posteriorly brown; scutellum yellow; halter stem and knob yellow. Legs. Coxae brownish; femora yellow at base and apex, brownish medially, in lower margin darker; tibiae yellow; basal three segments of tarsi yellow, apical two segments brownish. Wing ( Fig. 3d ). Hyaline; costa brown, ending at junction with R4+5; Sc very narrow, incomplete, ending much before costa; Rs shorter than r-m crossvein; R2+3 turning up perpendicularly, meeting R1 and forming a small triangular cell; remainder of veins evanescent; M1 straight, basally separated from M2 by a distance longer than r-m crossvein; CuA1 fairly straight to wing margin; CuA2 slightly curved at wing tip.

Abdomen. Tergites brown except posterior and lateral margins yellow, abdominal sternites completely yellow; hypopygium yellow. Genitalia. Epandrium ( Fig. 4a ) narrowing lateroventrally as two processes; cercus hyaline, triangular; gonocoxites ( Fig. 4b ) rectangular; gonostyli triangular, hollow basally; lateral aedeagal apodeme narrow, sinuous, basal aedeagal apodeme ( Fig. 4c ) very large, with two small processes proximally.

Female. Similar to male.

Female genitalia. Furca U-shaped ( Fig. 4d ), indented in lateral arm, extending inwardly as two subquadrate plates; common spermathecal duct long, same as sperm pump in width and structure; two lateral spermathecal pumps shorter than median pump, median pump 1.5 times longer than lateral ones, apical valve of sperm pump present; apical spermathecal duct very short; spermathecal reservoir darkly sclerotized, bulbous, with long beakshaped process.

Etymology. The name of species, fratris , is Latin meaning “brother” and used in honor of Hamid Gharali, the brother of the senior author, whose curiosity led to finding the plant ( Polygonum aviculare L.) that seems to be adult food source of this new species. After placing pan traps close to this plant we collected many specimens.

Distribution. This species is currently known only from Nodahak village (Qazvin city) in northern Iran. Variability. Sometimes the black pattern on the mesonotum is coalesced into a large black mark instead of three separated stripes. The color of the prescutellar area varies from yellow to brownish yellow.

Remarks. Specimens were collected from an area ( Fig. 5 ) densely populated by different species of composite plants such as Carthamus oxyacantha M.Bieb. but we think these tiny flies are likely pollen feeders on tiny flowers of Polygonum aviculare L. because when we put our pans (about 100 pan traps) close to this plant, the number of adults increased noticeably and we were able to collect hundreds of specimens. It is worthy to note that many specimens of Iranotrichia insolita Winterton & Gharali, 2011 (Scenopinidae) and an undetermined species of gall midge ( Cecidomyiidae ) were collected along with these tiny flies.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Doliopteryx fratris, sp. nov., male and female genitalia: a. epandrium; b. gonocoxites and gonostyli; c. genitalia without epandrium (dorsal view); d. female genitalia

FIGURE 5. Type locality:a. typelocality;b. Polygonum aviculare L.; c. a part of Polygonum aviculare L. with tiny flowers d. a white pan trap

FIGURE3. Doliopteryx fratris, sp. nov., male holotype: a. dorsal view; b. lateral view; c. antenna(lateral view); d. wing