Megaselia tedersooi Disney, 2013

Disney, R. Henry L., Kurina, Olavi, Tedersoo, Leho & Cakpo, Yvonne, 2013, Scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) reared from fungi in Benin, African Invertebrates 54 (2), pp. 357-357 : 367-369

Megaselia tedersooi Disney , sp. n.

Figs 17–22

Etymology: Named for Leho Tedersoo.

Description:

Male.

Frons brown, clearly broader than long, with 38–40 hairs and dense but very fine microtrichia. Supra-antennal bristles (SAs) very unequal, lower pair being a little shorter than apical bristles of palp. Antials lower on frons than ALs and further from upper SAs than either is from AL. Pre-ocellars slightly closer together than either is from ML, all 4 bristles at about the same level on frons. Cheek with 4 bristles and jowl with 2 longer ones. The subglobose postpedicels yellow, without subcutaneous pit sensilla (SPS) vesicles. Palps pale yellow, about 0.2× as broad as postpedicel but about as long as breadth of latter, with 6 bristles and as many hairs. Labrum pale yellow and about 0.7× as wide as a postpedicel. Labella coloured as palps and with only a few short spinules below. Thorax yellow. Three notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these. Mesopleuron bare. Scutellum with anterior pair of hairs (about as strong as those in middle of scutum) and posterior pair of bristles. Abdominal T1, T5 and T6 yellow, T2 yellow with brown at rear margin in outer thirds, T3 and T4 brown with a median yellow stripe. All tergites with small hairs, mainly near hind margins, but some longer ones towards sides of T2 and clearly longer ones at rear of T6. Venter dusky yellow and with conspicuous hairs on segments 3–6. Hypopygium ( Fig. 22 ) mainly brown, with yellowish brown anal tube, hypandrial lobes being vestigial. With 4 rectal papillae. Legs yellow except for brown patches on mid coxae. Fore tarsus with pd hair palisade on segments 1–5, segment 5 about as long as 4. Dorsal hair palisade of mid tibia extends about ⅔ of its length. Segments 3–5 of mid tarsus as Fig. 19 . Hairs below basal half of hind femur longer than those of av row of outer half. Base of hind tibia as Figs 17 & 18 , with 7 or 8 differentiated pd hairs beyond this modified region (the first and base of the second of these are evident in Fig. 17 ), and spinules of apical combs simple. Segment 5 of hind tarsus almost as long as segment 4. Wings 1.48–1.49mm long. Costal index 0.44–0.45. Costal ratios 3.7:2.4–2.5:1. Costal cilia (section 3) 0.06–0.07 mm long. No hair at base of vein 3. With 2 axillary bristles, outer being longer than costal cilia. Sc not reaching R1. Thick veins yellowish grey, thin veins 4–6 grey and 7 pale. Membrane lightly tinged grey (just evident to naked eye when viewed against a white background). Haltere knob yellow.

Female.

Head similar to male but labrum about 0.9× as wide as diameter of postpedicel. Thorax as male. Abdominal tergites yellow, with small hairs apart from a few longer ones towards sides of T2. Venter dusky yellow and with about a dozen hairs below segments 3–6. Segment 7 onwards darkened and retractile. Posterolateral lobes at rear of sternum 8 as Fig. 21 . Cerci as Fig. 20 . With 4 rectal papillae. Furca not evident. Dufour’s crop mechanism at least 3× as long as broad and rounded behind. Legs similar to male but fifth segment of mid tarsus is slightly shorter than fourth and base of hind tibia not modified, so that there are about a dozen posterodorsal differentiated hairs. Wing as male except 1.5–1.8 mm long. Costal index 0.44–0.49. Costal ratios 4.0–5.4:2.5–3.5:1. Haltere as male.

Holotype: ♂ BENIN: Koussanzamou , ex Pulveroboletus sp. ( TU116119 ), 5.vii, emerged 19–22.vii ( UCMZ, 42-4).

Paratypes: 4♀ same data as holotype (42-4) ; 1♀ same locality , ex Boletaceae sp. ( TU116118 ), 5.vii, emerged 17–19.vii (42-4) .

Remark: In Beyer’s (1965) keys both sexes run to the same couplets on page 54 as the previous species, to M. nubila , and is likewise distinguished from this species.

Figures

Figs 17–21. Megaselia tedersooi sp. n., ♂ (17–19) and ♀ (20, 21): (17) posterior face of base of hind tibia, (18) anterior face of same, (19) segments 3–5 of mid tarsus, (20) cerci, (21) lobes at rear of abdominal sternum 8.

Figs 22–24. (22) Megaselia tedersooi sp. n., left face of hypopygium; (23, 24) Megaselia ahmedseifi: (23) segments 4 and 5 of mid tarsus, (24) left face of hypopygium. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.