Limnophora numerosa, Couri, Márcia & Pont, Adrian, 2017

Couri, Márcia & Pont, Adrian, 2017, Afrotropical Limnophora Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera, Muscidae) with the description of four new species, Zootaxa 4216 (6), pp. 501-536 : 518-519

Limnophora numerosa sp. nov.

( Figs 53–56 )

Type material. Holotype male, NAMIBIA: (30) Ameib Farm, 19 mls NW Karibib, 31.i–2.ii.1972 / Southern African Exp., B.M.1972-1 ( BMNH).

Paratypes (BMNH, except where stated), 4 males (1 OUMHN), 27 females (1 MNRJ, 1 OUMHN), same labels as holotype; 1 male (1 MNRJ), 4 females, (W 37) Otjitambi Fm., 27 mls ESE Kamanjab, 13–15.ii.1972 / Southern African Exp ., B.M. 1972–1; 4 females (1 MNRJ) (W 36) Otjikoko Sud Fm., 33 mls ENE Omaruru, 10–13.ii.1972 / Southern African Exp . , B.M. 1972–1; REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: 4 males (1 MNRJ), (16) Hester Malan N.R., 10 mls. E. Springbok, 7–8.i.1972 / Southern African Exp ., B.M. 1972–1; 2 females, ANGOLA: A (16), 2 mls N Mocamedes, 29.ii.1972 / Southern African Exp ., B.M. 1972–1; 1 male, BOTSWANA: B (22) R. Semowane, 20 0 25’S, 26 0 23’E, 23–24.iv.1972 / Southern African Exp., B.M. 1972–1.

Diagnosis. Scutum presuturally with 2 dark brown oblong spots reaching the second dorsocentral seta; postsuturally a dark brown transverse band reaching the second dorsocentral seta; scutellum with a transverse dark brown band on anterior half; dorsocentrals 2+3; mid femur with 2 posterior preapical setae; mid tibia with 2 posterior setae; lower katepisternal about twice as distant from the anterior as from the posterior one; costal spine not differentiated.

Description. General coloration. Ground-colour brown with grey dusting. Frontal vitta dark brown; frontoorbital plate, parafacial, face and gena silvery pruinose. Antenna, arista and palpus dark brown. Proboscis shining dark brown. Scutum presuturally with 2 dark brown oblong spots reaching the second dorsocentral seta, postsuturally with a dark brown transverse band reaching the second dorsocentral seta; scutellum with a transverse dark brown band on anterior half. Wing clear. Calypters white, haltere yellow. Legs dark brown. Abdomen with a dark brown band on anterior half of syntergite 1+2, 2 dark brown spots on tergites 3 and 4 and a median dark brown vitta on tergite 5.

Male. Body length: 3.0– 3.4 mm; wing length: 3.2–3.5 mm

Head. Holoptic; eye bare with margins very little diverging to vertex; 5 pairs of inclinate frontal setae and 1 pair of reclinate orbitals; inner and outer vertical setae short; ocellar seta moderate. Antenna inserted at the midlevel of eye, postpedicel short, about twice the length of pedicel; arista short-pubescent. Palpus filiform.

Thorax. Dorsocentrals 2+3; acrostichal setulae in 3 rows presuturally and 6 rows postsuturally, prescutellar pair short and fine; 2 postpronotals; 1 presutural and 1 postsutural intraalar, the anterior one absent; 1 presutural and 1 postsutural supraalar; 2 postalars, the posterior one longer; prealar absent. Prosternum setulose. Notopleuron with two setae, similar in size. Scutellum with one sub-basal pair of setae and one long apical pair, lateral and ventral surfaces bare. Anepisternum with a posterior series of 5 setae. Katepisternals 1+2, the lower posterior seta fine. Lower calypter about 1.5 times the length of the upper one.

Legs. Fore femur with rows of posterodorsal and posteroventral setae; fore tibia with 1 dorsal preapical and 1 posteroventral apical setae, both short; mid femur with an anterodorsal row on basal half and with 2 posterodorsal preapicals; mid tibia with 2 posterodorsals, and 1 strong apical ventral; hind femur with an anterodorsal row of setae, and anteroventral row on apical third, with about 6 setae; hind tibia with 1 median anterodorsal seta, 1 submedian anteroventral seta; dorsal preapical seta and ventral apical short.

Wing. Veins bare except for vein R4+5 which has 1–2 setulae on the node at base; veins R4+5 and M parallel at wing-tip; costal spine not differentiated.

Abdomen. Tergites 3–5 with medium-sized setae, mostly lateral marginals. Tergite 5 with a discal and a marginal row of setae. Sternite 1 bare. Sternite 5 as in Fig. 53 .

Terminalia. Cercal plate and surstylus as in Figs 54–55 . Aedeagal complex as in Fig. 56 .

Female. Body length: 3.5–4.0 mm; wing length: 3.5–4.2 mm

Similar to male, except that the marks on scutum are brown and not dark brown as in male; frons at level of anterior ocellus about one-thitd of head-width, margins parallel.

Distribution. Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Angola, Botswana.

Etymology. The specific name is from the Latin “numerosus”, meaning “numerous”, and refers to the large series of paratypes.

Notes. In Emden’s (1951) key to Limnophora , the new species runs to L. angustigena but can be easily separated by the colour pattern of the scutum.

Figures

FIGURES 41 – 56. Sternite 5; cercal plate and surstyli in dorsal view; epandrium, cercal plate and surstyli in lateral view; aedeagus in lateral view: 41 – 44. Limnophora majuscula Emden. 45 – 48. Limnophora melanota Emden. 49 – 52. Limnophora nuda sp. nov. 53 – 56. Limnophora numerosa sp. nov.