Thecophora obsoleta, Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2015

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2015, New Conopid records from the Afrotropical Region (Diptera). Part 1: Paramyopa Kröber, Pseudoconops Camras, Stylogaster Macquart, Thecophora Rondani, and Zodion Latreille, Zootaxa 3963 (2), pp. 101-159 : 119-122

Thecophora obsoleta spec. nov.

( Figs 32–39 )

Type material. Holotype ♀: (1) Madagascar: Province / Fianarantsoa, Parc National / Ranomafana, radio tower / at forest edge, elev 1130 m / 18–26 October 2003 / 2115.05′S, 4724.43′E; (2) coll: M. Irwin R. Harin’Hala / California Acad of Sciences / malaise, mixed tropical / forest MA–02–09B–76; (3) Holotypus / Thecophora / obsoleta ♀ / spec. nov. / det. Stuke, 2013. Paratypes. MADAGASCAR: 1♂, 25.vii.–9.viii.2005, Fianarantsoa Province, Ranomafana NP, radio tower at forest edge, 1130 m, mixed tropical forest [2115.05′S 4724.43′E], leg. M. Irwin & R. Harin’Hala, coll. CAS.

Holotype is deposited in the CAS. Abdomen dissected, macerated and stored in glycerine in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen. The holotype is missing the left hind leg but is otherwise in good condition.

Description of holotype (female). Body length 4.5 mm. Wing-length 3.8 mm. Head-height 1.0 mm. Head. Antenna dark brown, basal flagellomere black distally and dorsally. Arista with 1 dark brown aristomere situated dorsally on basal flagellomere. Aristomere about as long as basal flagellomere, broad basally, and becoming abruptly narrower in the apical 3/4. Scape cannot be seen in the holotype. Pedicel about as long as maximum width, completely covered with short black setae. Basal flagellomere slightly longer than high, and about as long as pedicel. Ocellar tubercle with three distinct light yellow ocelli. Ocellar triangle evident, about 1/2 of frons length. Frons dark brown. Obvious silver dusting laterally at eye margin and an indistinct more-or-less v-shaped golden patch in front of the ocellar triangle. Black hairs all over frons which might represent frontal and orbital setae. Face yellow and slightly silver dusted, facial grooves shining. Gena and facial ridge with scattered black hairs. Postcranium black dorsally, becoming yellowish brown ventrally. Adjacent to ventral posterior margin of eye there is a stripe of dense silver dusting; postgenae slightly silver dusted, remaining postcranium slightly dusted. Postcranium with black hairs. No hairs on a small area adjacent to eye margin and the bottom portion of the postcranium. Median occipital sclerite with only a few scattered black hairs. Proboscis brown to black. No spot between frontoclypeal membrane and mouth edge. Frontoclypeal membrane narrow, widened basally, light yellow, and distinctly seperated from brown clypeus. Palps long (longer than scape) brown, hardly widened distally, and covered with long black hairs. Labium obviously shorter than head-length, projecting out of the mouth opening and hardly thickened basally, the anterior section not fused into a tube. Labellum as long as labium, only divided apically, slightly smaller than adjacent haustellum and covered apically with scattered hairs. Head with distinct ocellar setae, postocellar setae, 1 distinct medial and 2 lateral postocular setae. Thorax. Thorax blackish brown without any reflection, and entirely lightly grey dusted. Distinct patches of dense grey dusting only present dorsally on katepisternum and anepisternum. Basisternum narrow, narrowed to a point, with 2–3 black hairs apically. Proepisternum with 1 black hair ventrally and a few hairs dorsally. Scutellum with a very few scattered long black hairs and 1 pair of scutellar bristles, broken in holotype. Scutum with long black hairs, distinctly longer than tibia diameter. 1–2 postpronotal, 2 notopleural, 2 supraalar and 2 postalar present, and 1 bristle which might represent a prescutellar dorsocentral bristle. The bristles are obviously stronger than the body pile. 2 black bristles posterodorsally and 2 bristles ventrally on katepisternum. Metakatepisternum without bristles. Anepisternum and anepimeron hairless and without bristles. Wing tinged inconspiciously brownish. Veins yellowish white basally and black apically. Basal-medial-cubital-crossvein bm-cu complete. Vein A1+CuA2 reaching hind margin of the wing. Upper and lower calypters white, upper calypter with long white hairs on margin. Alula broad (about 2 times wider than long), with long hairs on posterior margin. Haltere yellowish white with a slightly darker yellowish brown base. Knob of haltere with short, indistinct, light yellow hairs. Legs uniformly light brown, slightly dusted to shining. Posterior surfaces of fore and middle tibiae without obvious dusted fields distally. Legs all with long, semiadpressed or erect black hairs. Hind femur anterodorsally and posterordorsally with single outstanding long hairs. 2 preapical bristles dorsally on fore and middle tibiae, 1 preapical bristle dorsally on hind tibiae. Fore and middle tibiae basally on ventral surface with one distinct line of small, thick, adpressed black bristles. All femora distally on ventral surface with two parallel lines of small, thick black bristles. Fore coxa without an outstanding black bristle which is stronger than the surrounding scattered black hairs. Middle and hind coxae with some distinct strong lateral bristles which are about as long as diameter of basal hind tibia. Hind femur not obviously thickened in basal half. Pulvilli yellow-whitish. Claws brown with black tips. Empodium yellowish brown. Abdomen. Abdomen light brown, and covered with black hairs only. Tergites 1–5 slightly dusted. Tergites 1–4 with denser grey dusted hind margins. Abdomen parallel sided. Length: maximum width of tergite 2 = 1.2; length: maximum width of tergite 3 = 0.8. Sternites 1–2 fused but still distinct. Sternite 4 slightly protuding ventrally. Shape of theca as shown in Fig. 34 . Anterior surface of theca without hairs. Apical 1/3 of posterior surface of theca with 4 horizontal lines of close-set, short, blunt spicules. Sternite 6 almost completely covered with short, blunt spicules which are almost entirely arranged in 5 horizontal lines. Sternite 7 longer than wide, slightly pointed anteriorly. Area between sides of syntergite 8+9 entirely lightly sclerotised, without a distinct sternite 8. Sack-like ventral protrusion of vagina neither with an annular sclerotisation nor covered with bristles. No obvious sclerotisation at base of either the accessory glands or spermathecal ducts. No dorsal sclerotisation evident on the sack-like ventral protrusion of the vagina. 2 pairs of round spermathecae; spermathecal ducts fuse shortly after leaving spermathecae. Spermathecal ducts not sclerotised at spermathecae.

Description of male abdomen. Tergite 1 with black hairs laterally which are slightly shorter than the lateral hairs on tergite 2. Tergite 2 about as long as broad and without obvious lateral hair tufts, although with slightly longer hairs than laterally on tergite 3. Tergite 3 not widened posteriorly. Sternites 1–5 present, sternites 1 and 2 to some extent fused but still distinguishable. Sternite 4 slightly wider than long and obviously smaller than sternite 5, with several long black hairs. Sternite 5 apically with a small field of thick black bristles and long hairs. Ventrally the lateral edges of the protandrium are fused by a narrow strip that is indistinct medially. Epandrium as shown in Figs 35–36 . Epandrium not fused behind cerci. Posterior surstylus slightly pointed distally. A dense field of strong black bristles at base of posterior surstylus reaching up to anterior surstylus. Two inner bristles elongated, about as long as posterior surstylus. Subepandrial plate hardly sclerotised and therefore not distinct, elongated. Phallus sheath slightly fused dorsally; apically without obvious evagination and without any tooth or bristles, dorsomedially without a notch. Postgonite more-or-less distinct. Postgonite evagination small, not sclerotised, not projecting above distiphallus and covered with microtrichia. No plates evident at inner side of postgonite evagination but two small, strong sclerotisations present. A u-shaped ring sclerite is obvious. Epiphallus distinct, covered with microtrichia. Distiphallus short, about 1/2 of length of epandrium, densely covered with blunt microtrichia, without any evaginations and without sclerotised dorsolateral plates. Ejaculatory apodeme elongate, distinctly sclerotised, attachment to sperm sac evident.

Etymology. The name is derived from the Latin adjective obsoletus and indicates that this species is the least obvious Thecophora from Madagascar because of the lack of metallic blue colouration on the scutum.

Discussion. Thecophora obsoleta is easily recognised because it is the only species occuring in Madagascar without a metallic blue scutum, having instead a completely black scutum ( Fig. 32 ). The short theca ( Fig. 34 ) distinguish this species from all other sympatric Thecophora species. If it becomes the case that the lack of characteristic plates at the inner side of the postgonite evagination, which has small, strong sclerotisations instead, is a constant character of the male genitalia this will additionally distinguish Thecophora obsoleta males from all other Thecophora species.

Distribution. Thecophora obsoleta is an endemic species of Madagacar.

Figures

FIGURES 32 – 34. Thecophora obsoleta spec. nov. 32. Habitus. (♀, holotype) 33. Lateral view of antenna. (♂, paratype) 34. Posterior view of theca. (♀, holotype).

FIGURES 35 – 39. Thecophora obsoleta spec. nov. (♂, paratype). 35. Ventral view of epandrium. 36. Lateral view of epandrium. 37. Lateral view of hypandrium and phallus. 38. Dorsal view of hypandrium and phallus. 39. Lateral view of tip of hypandrium and phallus. che—lateral connection hypandrium—epandrium; dp—distiphallus; epp—epiphallus; hyahypandrial arms; hym—hypandrial membrane; hyr—hypandrial bars; hys—anteriorly – directed phallus sheath of hypandrium; ipoe—inner plate of postgonite evagination; pa—phallus apodeme; po—postgonite; psu—posterior surstylus; rs—ring sclerite of phallus; sp—sperm pump.