Minilimosina (Svarciella) archboldi Marshall , 1985

Su, Lixin, Liu, Guangchun & Xu, Jie, 2015, A review of Minilimosina Roháček (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae) from China, Zootaxa 4007 (1), pp. 1-28 : 10-11

Minilimosina (Svarciella) archboldi Marshall, 1985

( Figs. 33–38 )

Minilimosina (Svarciella) archboldi Marshall, 1985: 21 [male, phylogenetic notes, illustr.]. Type locality: USA, Florida, Highlands Co., Archbold Biological Station. HT male (CNCI).— Roháček & Marshall, 1988: 244 [key].

The original description of male provided by Marshall (1985) was a bit simple, hence the redescription given below.

Diagnosis. Body colour shining black. Antennae and arista dark brown or reddish brown to brownish black. Eye 3.0–4.0 times as high as gena. Apical scutellar seta 1.7 times as long as scutellum length. Cs1 and Cs2 coloured like the rest of C. Cs2 0.6–0.7 times as long as Cs3. Tergites 1–5 pale pigmented but finely sclerotized. Tergites 3–5 of male ( Fig. 37 ) each with a pair of very long setae directed laterally.

Redescription. Male. Body length 1.6 mm, wing length 1.4 mm. General colour shining black, including frons, gena, face and thorax; antennae and arista dark brown or reddish brown (Jiangxi) to brownish black (Hubei); middle of interfrontal plate shining, intervening areas forming a black M-shaped mark. Legs dark brown to black except for trochanters, tarsi, basal third of fore tibia, apex of fore femur, basal fourth and apical fourth of mid tibia, extreme apex and base of mid femur, basal third and apical fourth of hind tibia, extreme apex and base of hind femur reddish brown (Jiangxi) to brown (Hubei). Abdomen: tergites 1–5 pale but distinctly sclerotized; sternites 3 and 4 pale at middle, with posterolateral corners or lateral margins brownish black; postabdomen dark pigmented. Haltere with white stem and brown (Jiangxi) to black (Hubei) knob.

Head: Two orbital setae. Interfrontalia with 4 pairs of small subequal setae. Eye height 3.0–4.0 times as long as genal height. Genal seta small. Aristal hairs 3.0 times as long as arista width at base.

Thorax: Thoracic chaetotaxy: 1 long humeral seta; anterior dorsocentral seta 0.6 times as long as posterior dorsocentral, posterior dorsocentral 1.1 times as long as scutellum length, apical scutellar 1.2 times as long as scutellum, lateral scutellar seta 0.7 times as long as apical scutellar; acrostichal setae in 4 (Hubei) or 6 (Jiangxi) rows in front of suture. Sternopleuron with anterior seta very short and a posterior slightly longer. Mid tibia: proximal anterodorsal seta longer than distal anterodorsal, ventroapical seta 1.7 times as long as width of mid tibia, there seems to have a row of small posterodorsal setae. Wing and veins pale brown, C dark brown. Cs2 0.7 times as long as Cs3, crossveins r-m and dm-cu separated by twice the length of dm-cu. R2+3 almost straight, apically very slightly bent up to C. R4+5 straight. Anal vein sinuate. Alula small and narrow, apically blunt.

Male abdomen: Tergites 1–5 pale pigmented but finely sclerotized. Syntergite 1+2 large, longer than tergites 3 and 4 together. Tergites 3–5 small, but not strongly reduced contrasting with those of other species, tergites 4 and 5 with a small anterior emargination. Synsternite 1+2 small, almost desclerotized, with anterolateral parts darkened; sternites 3 and 4 large, pale pigmented, sclerotized or desclerotized (Jiangxi) at the middle, posterolateral corners of sternite 3 and lateral corners of sternite 4 dark pigmented, each with a pair of very long setae directed laterally ( Fig. 37 ). Sternite 5 ( Fig. 37 ) with a posteromedial comb of 9 (Hubei) or 10 (Jiangxi) dark, blunt setae flanked by a setose tubercle on each side; a shelf-like 4-setaed projection in front of posteromedial comb; trilobed below posteromedial comb ( Fig. 38 ); anterolateral corners dark pigmented and with a pair of very long setae directed laterally. Phallophore strongly modified, projecting somewhat basally, more posteroventrally (almost as an epiphallus) and most strongly anteriorly where connected with whip-like dorsal sclerite ( Fig. 36 ) of distiphallus being splitted in distal half. Ventral sclerite of distiphallus bifurcate in apical two thirds. Postgonite ( Fig. 36 ) thin and long, with apical fourth anteriorly curved.

Female: Unknown.

Materal examined. (LKLSU, in alcohol): 1 male: China, Jiangxi, County Anfu, Shizikou, Malaise trap, 200– 210 m, 26.Apr.2011, Tao Li; 1 male: China, Jiangxi, County Anfu, Shizikou, Malaise trap, 200–210 m, 2.May.2011, Tao Li; 1 male: China, Jiangxi, County Anfu, Shizikou, Malaise trap, 200–210 m, 13.Apr.2011, Tao Li; 1 male: China, Hubei, Mt. Ta-pieh, County Luotian, Qingtaiguan, sweep, 709 m, N 31°10′ 13.51″, E 115°42′ 57.09″, 3.Jul.2014, Lixin Su.

Comments. The species is firstly found outside the Nearctic Region.

Distribution. Oriental: China (Hubei, Jiangxi); Nearctic: USA (Florida).

Figures

FIGURES 33 – 38. Minilimosina (Svarciella) archboldi Marshall: 33, male genitalia, posterior; 34, male genitalia, lateral; 35, gonostylus, anterior; 36, aedeagus and associated structures, lateral; 37, male preabdomen, ventral; 38, male sternite 5, posterior.