Lamprolonchaea vila, MacGowan, 2021

Macgowan, Iain, 2021, The Lonchaeidae of Vanuatu (Diptera: Schizophora), Zootaxa 4926 (3), pp. 342-362 : 347-349

Lamprolonchaea vila sp. nov. ( Figures 17-19 ).

Description. MALE: Body length 2.7mm

Head: Eyes bare. Frons sub-shining black covered with rather dense microsculpture. Frontal and interfrontal setulae 0.25x length of orbital seta. Orbital plate dulled by microsculpture, bare apart from orbital seta. Lunule, ground colour dark with only slight greyish dusting which extends onto parafacials and face. Anterior genal setulae short, in a single row of five-six along mouth margin. Antennae; black, postpedicel length to depth ratio 1.5:1.

Thorax: scutum dark emerald green, almost black from some angles. Anepisternum, one strong anterior seta, two posterior setae, remainder of sclerite with a scatter of setulae approximately 0.5x length of setae. Katepisternum, one seta near dorsal margin otherwise almost bare. One seta on both proepimeron and proepisternum. Scutellum shining dark green, margin bare apart from the four setae. Calypteres light brown with a darker margin, fringe yellowish-brown. Wing length 2.6mm, wing slightly yellow tinged with yellow veins. Legs, including all tarsomeres, entirely black.

Male terminalia: In lateral view epandrium slightly higher than wide, broadly rectangular with a large pointed process anteriorly, posterior margin with four strong, long setae, a fringe of setae along ventral margin. Cerci small and membranous, a row of small setulae near ventral margin. Surstyli, projecting slightly from beyond the shell of the epandrium. In internal view, exterior lobe almost circular, covered with rather coarse spicules, outer margin with five long setae, ventral process with two small setulae. Phallus, an open J-shape, apical section slightly sinuous, basally with a covering of small setulae which are replaced by small spicules towards the apex, these obvious on the margin where they project from the surface, apex slightly flared.

Type material. Holotype ♂: VANUATU: Efate , Vila, 0-100m, ii.1970, N. L. H. Krauss ( BPBM).

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to Port Vila the capital of Vanuatu where the Holotype was captured.

Remarks. The Lamprolonchaea fauna of the Oceania region is not well known. Although McAlpine described some twelve species from the area ( McAlpine, 1964a) there have been few further records since that time apart from those from Fiji ( MacGowan, 2014). The original species descriptions by McAlpine, 1964a were rather brief and did not include any illustrations of the male genitalia, although it is possible to identify some of the species from drawings made in his PhD thesis (McAlpine, 1962). It is perhaps not surprising that further species are still to be found. L. vila with its completely black legs is perhaps most similar to L. ustulata McAlpine, 1964 and L. lustrata McAlpine, 1964 but as with all Lamprolonchaea species dissection of the male terminalia is required to confirm identification. L. vila with its distinctive phallus and rather circular exterior lobe of the surstyli is easily distinguished from other members of the genus.

Figures

FIGURES 17-19. Lamprolonchaea vila sp. nov. 17. Epandrium and associated structures, lateral view. 18. Phallus, lateral view. 19. Surstylus, medial surface.