Ischiolepta peregovitsi, Papp, 2003

Papp, L., 2003, New Oriental Species And Records Of Sphaerocerinae And Copromyzinae (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae), Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 49 (1), pp. 71-85 : 74-76

Ischiolepta peregovitsi sp. n.

( Figs 5–9 )

Holotype male ( HNHM): Nepal, Royal Chitwan National Park , Bandarjhola Island – Jungle Island Resort, 84°10’E, 27°35’N, 150 m, 1995.10.30. – swept on Elephas maximus dung, leg. L. Peregovits [abdomen with genitalia in a plastic microvial with glycerol, left wing though intact, glued on the card below specimen].

Paratypes: 2 females ( HNHM): same data as for the holotype [abdomen of one of them in a plastic microvial with glycerol] .

Measurements in mm: body length 1.96 (holotype), 2.04–2.26 (paratype females), wing length 1.70 (holotype), 1.70–1.87 (paratypes), wing width 0.64 (holotype), 0.64–0.69 (paratypes).

Body dark brown with rather weak shine, legs ochre or light brownish yellow.

Head as long as high; lunule comparatively small, inner vertical setae indistinct, outer vertical setae short, thick, on small tubercles, 2 pairs ofcomparatively short proclinate upper orbital (frontoorbital) setae on weak tubercles. Epistoma (facial plate) pentagonal, granulated, upper triangle only as high as broad basal part. Clypeus more than twice as broad as high. Epistoma and clypeus light brown, i.e. contrasting gena, etc. Supragena, infragena and facial ridge subshiny, definitely granulated; facial ridge with thick but only slightly flattened vibrissa (0.07 mm long on holotype), subvibrissal hairs minute. Eye subspherical.

Thorax not long, mesonotal setae sparse and rather strong. Acrostichal setae in 2 rather well-ordered rows on anterior halfofmesonotum, in 4 irregular rows prescutellarly; dorsocentral rows distinctly separate from acrostichal rows, bare area between them dark microtomentose. Scutellum twice as wide as long with 8 scutellar marginal tubercles, medial tubercles somewhat reduced, smaller than lateral 3 pairs. Katepisternum with very sparse hairs ventrally.

Legs light, brownish yellow or ochre. Male fore femur very thick, 0.603 mm long and 0.195 mm thick, mid femur 0.117 mm thick, hind femur 0.258 mm thick, i.e. 2.21 times as thick as mid femur and 1.32 times as thick as fore femur; both hind femur and tibia bent dorsally. Hind tibia with a normal ventroapical spur, which is comparatively short and not thick, only halfas long as tibial diam - eter subapically, i.e. shorter and thinner than in I. orientalis or in I. draskovitsae . Also this new species possesses a short sharp perpendicular spur posteriorly on the tibial apex.

Wings not hyaline but light brownish, veins yellow, costal vein ochre. Apex ofR 4+5 only slightly upcurved, apex ofM slightly downcurved, consequently apices divergent. Halteres yellow.

Preabdomen strongly sclerotized. Male tergite 1+2 large as usual, tergites 3 and 4 transverse rectangular. Both tergite and sternite 5 very short, tergite 5 not weakened medially.

Male terminalia ( Figs 5–8 ) not large, symmetrical, postabdomen largely hidden under tergite 5. Hypandrium with normal subepandrial part. Surstylus ( Figs 5–6 ) about as long as in draskovitsae but less long than in orientalis with blunt or even rounded apex, medial edge with short setae, in profile surstylus slightly proclinate, lateral surface with one long and several medium-long setae. Cerci comparatively long and narrow, seemingly separated from periandrium, projecting downward to less than middle ofsurstyli, apically more narrowed but not pointed, with a pair oflong and rather thick setae, and also with some other long and medium-long setae. Periandrium in form ofa pair ofnarrow sclerites with 2 pairs ofrather long setae. Postgonite ( Fig. 7 ) not much similar to that ofits congeneres, apical process straight with a rather short, blunt curved apical part, basal process massive with a long subapical seta. Distiphallus ( Fig. 8 ) somehow similar to that of I. draskovitsae (cf. ROHÁČEK & PAPP 1984: fig. 6), however, apical tubuliform process shorter with a definite, well-sclerotized dorsal apex, lateral processes (hooks) slender, extremely curved, i.e. directed dorsally.

Female tergite 1+2 laterally 1.4 times as long as T3, T4 only slightly longer than T3, T5 only 1/2 ofthe length and breadth ofT4, tergite 5 and sternite 5 not divided, without even a sagittal emargination (depression). Sternites 2–5 ( Fig. 9 ) with a pair oflong blunt and thick setae. Sternite 2 subquadrate, sternite 3 much longer than broad with rather straight caudal edge, sternite 4 longish, rather pentagonal, sternite 5 almost as long as broad, caudally with 2 emarginations. Female sternites, ventral view. Scales: 0.4 mm for Fig. 9 , 0.2 mm for Figs 5–6 , 0.1 mm for Figs 7–8 postabdomen as long as preabdomen when exposed. Two globular spermathecae, sclerotized duct shorter than spermatheca itself. Cercus with 2 medium-long subapical hairs dorsally and laterally, as well as a long apical hair.

Ischiolepta peregovitsi sp. n. keys to couplet 8 in the key ofH AN and KIM (1990): thoracic dorsum normal, body not as small as in scabricula or minuscula, outer vertical seta minute and sitting on a minute tubercle, mesonotal setae originate on dorsum, i.e. not on tubercles, epistoma and clypeus light brown, not dark, so it is closer to I. orientalis and I. draskovitsae , rather than to the rest ofthe Ischiolepta species. Indeed, I think, its closest relative is I. orientalis (DE MEIJERE) . As for the relative thickness of fore to hind femur, it is transitional between draskovitsae and orientalis : hind femur 1.2. times as thick as fore femur. Its male genitalia, although structurally similar to those ofthe two related species, in details of surstylus, postgonite and distiphallus are also rather characteristic.

Etymology. I name this new species after my dear colleague, LÁSZLÓ PEREGOVITS (Department ofZoology, HNHM), the collector ofthe type specimen and many other interesting sphaerocerids on elephant dung in Nepal.

*

Lotobia spp. – Dr TOSHIHIKO HAYASHI and I found five new species in the Oriental region, where Lotobia was not recorded earlier than HAYASHI (1994). They will be described in a separate paper co-authored with T. HAYASHI (cf. HAYASHI 1994), including one male specimen ofa new species from Taiwan (Pingtung Hsien, Kenting National Park, grassy hillside, on cow pats, October 5, 2000, leg. L. Papp, No. 17), which represents the first record of this subfamily of Sphaeroceridae from that Oriental island.

Figures

Figs 5–9. Ischiolepta peregovitsi sp. n.: 5–8 = holotype male, genitalia:5 = right surstylus and cercus, caudal view, 6 = left face of terminalia laterally (both 5 and 6 with caudal part of hypandrium), 7 = postgonite, broadest extension, 8 = distiphallus, lateral view. 9 = female paratype, preabdominal