Aprionus surtri, Jaschhof & Jaschhof, 2017

Jaschhof, Mathias & Jaschhof, Catrin, 2017, New species of Aprionus (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae, Micromyinae) from Sweden and other parts of the Palearctic region, European Journal of Taxonomy 378, pp. 1-38 : 26-28

Aprionus surtri sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:55935E69-BFB9-422F-A794-4A7BD72C84FD

Fig. 15

Diagnosis

Aprionus surtri sp. nov. is another distinctive member of the smirnovi group, distinguished by male genitalic characters, as follows ( Fig. 15A ). The gonocoxites, including their dorsal apodemes, are unusually short; the gonostyli are big (↓) in relation to the gonocoxites; and the tegmen is short and wide—altogether this results in a massive appearance of the terminalia. The dorsal wall of the tegmen is sclerotized and has a V-shaped slit along the longitudinal axis (↓). This structure should not be confused with the ventral plate, which is situated more dorsally and mainly apparent by two small, dot-like sclerotizations at the anterior corners.

Etymology

Surtr, whose feature is a sword made entirely of fire, is the leader of the fire giants.

Material examined

Holotype

SWEDEN: ♂, Öland , Borgholm, Skepparsäng Nature Reserve, 57.31° N, 17.04° E, mixed coniferous/ broadleaf forest, Malaise trap, M. and C. Jaschhof leg., 11 May–10 Jun. 2015 ( NHRS, no. CEC191 ).

Paratype

SWEDEN: ♂, Öland, Mörbylånga, Färjestaden, 56.63° N, 16.47° E, backyard with shrub and young birch trees, MT, MCJ leg., 19 Aug.–6 Oct. 2015 ( DEI, no. CEC 303).

Other characters

Body size 1.9 mm.

HEAD. Postfrons setose. Eye bridge 3–4 ommatidia long dorsally. A rather sparse row of 8–9 postocular bristles. Flagellomeres with up to 3 complete crenulate whorls. Neck and node of fourth flagellomere almost same length, both hair-shaped and branched translucent sensilla (↓, Fig. 15B ). Palpus long, 3-segmented, apical segment very long, clearly the result of two segments merged into one.

WING. ApicR 1 3.5 times as long as Rs.

LEGS. Claws subrectangular, 2–3 teeth. Empodia rudimentary.

TERMINALIA ( Fig. 15A ). Ninth tergite subrectangular, anterior margin only laterally sclerotized. Gonocoxites rounded ventroposteriorly; dorsal apodemes and bridge short, not extending beyond anterior gonocoxal edge. Gonostylus elongate, slightly bent, evenly tapered towards apex; apical tooth small, 2–3 inconspicuous bristles subapically. Tegmen twice as long as wide, parallel-sided on basal

half, then tapered to tip; with fold-like structuring subapically, possibly indicating rudimentary fingers. Subanal plate inconspicuous, membranous rather than sclerotized.

Distribution and phenology

Sweden (Öland). The two specimens known of this species were collected in late spring and early autumn in habitats as different as dense forest and open grove.

Figures

Fig. 15. Aprionus surtri sp. nov., holotype, ♂. A. Genitalia, ventral. B. Third flagellomere, lateral. Scale lines: 0.05 mm. Arrows indicate diagnostic characters.