Megaselia ajabshirensis, Khameneh & Khaghaninia & Disney & Maleki-Ravasan, 2019

Khameneh, Roya Namaki, Khaghaninia, Samad, Disney, R. Henry L. & Maleki-Ravasan, Naseh, 2019, Twenty one new species of Megaselia Rondani (Diptera: Phoridae) from Iran, Zootaxa 4711 (1), pp. 1-50 : 3-4

Megaselia ajabshirensis n. sp.

( Figs 1–11 )

Material examined. Holotype male, East Azerbaijan province, Ajabshir region, 37°31.978’ N, 46°07.716’ E, 1662 m, grassland, 16.Vii.2010, S. Khaghaninia (50, UCMZ—13-99).

Description. Male. Fig. 1 , whole fly. Head as Fig. 2 , with the frons lacking microtrichia except at its edges. Cheek with 5 bristles and jowl with 2 that are longer and more robust. Postpedicels, which lack SPS vesicles, palps and proboscis from below as Fig. 3 . Thorax brown, with 3 notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these, and mesopleuron with hairs ( Fig. 4 ). Scutellum with an anterior pair of hairs and a posterior pair of bristles. Abdominal tergites and venter as Fig. 5 . Hypopygium as Figs 6–8 , with left hypandrial lobe having microtrichia projecting from its tip ( Fig. 7 ). The right lobe is vestigial. Fore tarsus with posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1–4 ( Fig. 9 ) and its basitarsus with rows of spinules ventrally ( Fig. 10 ). Dorsal hair palisade of mid tibia extends about 0.63 times its length. Hind femur as Fig. 11 . Hind tibia with 15–16 moderately differentiated posterodorsal hairs, without anterodorsals, and spinules of apical combs simple. Wings 1.36 mm long, light gray with thick veins light brown and thin veins pale gray. Costal index 0.39. Costal ratios 4.1: 1.1: 1. Costal cilia (of section 3) 0.08 mm long. No hair at base of vein 3. With 2 axillary bristles, the outer one being 0.09 mm long. Sc not reaching R1. Haltere knob brown.

Recognition. In the key the British species ( Disney 1989) it runs to couplet 87. The hypopygium of M. conformis (Wood) has short hairs on the epandrium. The palps of M. nigripalpis (Lundbeck) are brown and its cosrtal index exceeds 0.45. A further 8 Palaearctic species will run to the same couplet. Most are excluded by having more than 2 axillary bristles, brown palps and/or costal index exceeding 0.45. Of the rest the dorsal edge of the epandrium is sub-equal in length to the ventral edge in contrast to our new species. Non Palaearctic species are likewise excluded.

Etymology. Named after the region of the holotype.

Figures

FIGURES 1–11. Megaselia ajabshirensis n. sp. male. 1, whole fly; 2, head; 3, postpedicels, palps and proboscis; 4, side of thorax; 5, abdomen; 6–8, hypopygium; 9, front tarsus; 10, front basitarsus; 11, hind femur. Scale bars 20 μm.