Exechia penicillata Lindemann, 2021

Lindemann, Jon Peder, Soli, Geir & Kjaerandsen, Jostein, 2021, Revision of the Exechia parva group (Diptera: Mycetophilidae), Biodiversity Data Journal 9, pp. 67134-67134 : 67134

Exechia penicillata Lindemann sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: TSZD-JKJ-107187 ; recordedBy: M. Mostovski; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; preparations: Pinned, with genitalia in glycerine in separate microvial; Location: country: South Africa; stateProvince: KwaZulu-Natal; municipality: Pietermaritzburg ; locality: Karkloof Nat. Res. ; verbatimElevation: 1325 m; decimalLatitude: -29.3169; decimalLongitude: 30.2514; Event : samplingProtocol: Malaise trap; eventDate: 2005-08-27; habitat: mistbelt forest; Record Level: institutionCode: TMU Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: TSZD-JKJ-107188 ; recordedBy: M. Mostovski; individualCount: 1; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; preparations: Pinned, with genitalia in glycerine in separate microvial; Location: country: South Africa; stateProvince: KwaZulu-Natal; municipality: Pietermaritzburg ; locality: Karkloof Nat. Res. ; verbatimElevation: 1325 m; decimalLatitude: -29.3169; decimalLongitude: 30.2514; Event : samplingProtocol: Malaise trap; eventDate: 2005-08-27; habitat: mistbelt forest; Record Level: institutionCode: TMU

Description

Male: Body length 3.5 mm. Wing length 2.7 mm. Colouration (Dry specimen). Head and face dark brown; clypeus, labellum and palpus brown. Antenna with scape and pedicel yellow; flagellum brown. Thorax with scutum brown; lateral sclerites pale brown; propleura yellow; halteres whitish-yellow. Legs whitish-yellow. Abdomen dark brown, tergites II-IV with a lateroventral yellow area. Terminalia pale brown. Head. Frons and vertex covered with short, brown setae. Clypeus covered with dense thin pale setae. Antennae elongate, 2.3 times as long as length from vertex to ventral margin of clypeus; flagellomeres slightly longer than broad, with sixth flagellomere 1.1 times as long as wide. Thorax. Scutum covered with short, brown setae. Legs. Fore leg with tibia and first tarsomere equally long. Mid-tibia with 20 anterior, 4 posterodorsal, 7 posterior and 3 posteroventral bristles. Hind tibia with 8 anterodorsal, 6 posterodorsal and 4 posterior bristles. Wings. Vein r-m 2.1 times longer than stem of M-fork. Abdomen. Tergites covered with pale brown setae. Terminalia (Fig. 29 a, b, c). Each part of divided tergite IX apically with about 3 setae, most apical seta stout. Gonocoxites with setae on apicoventral margin elongate, reaching as far as, or beyond GL apex (Fig. 29 a, b). GL apex with 2 setae (Fig. 29 a). Aedaegal guides round (Fig. 29 a). Hypandrium covered with about 9 setae, with apical pair elongate, reaching beyond GL apex (Fig. 29 a). Hypandrial lobe with each branch wide medially, with narrow rounded apex (Fig. 29 a). Gonostylus (Fig. 29 c) with DB about 2.8 times longer than broad; apico-internal corner forming tapering acute apex extended apico-interiorly; apico-exterior corner right-angled, rounded; apical margin emarginate; dorsal side evenly covered with setae, except on most apical parts; VB oblong, with 2 small setae. IB apically rounded, apical part with 3 setae close to the apex. MB evenly tapered towards acute apex; bare.

Female: Body length 3 mm. Wing length 2.5 mm. Colouration (Dry specimen). Head with vertex dark brown; face and clypeus brown; labellum and palpus yellow. Antenna with scape and pedicel yellow; flagellum brown, basal part of first segment yellow. Thorax with scutum brown; lateral sclerites brown to pale brown; propleura yellow; halteres whitish-yellow. Legs whitish-yellow. Abdomen dark brown, tergites II-VI with lateral yellow areas. Terminalia brown. Head. Frons and vertex and clypeus covered with brown setae. Antenna 1.7 times as long as length from vertex to ventral margin of clypeus; flagellomeres quadrate, with sixth flagellomere as long as broad. Thorax. Scutum covered with short dark brown setae. Legs. Mid-tibia with 22 anterior, 5 posterodorsal, 5 posterior and 2 posteroventral bristles. Hind tibia with 8 anterodorsal, 5 posterodorsal and 4 posterior bristles. Wings. Vein r-m 2.5 times longer than stem of M-fork. Abdomen. Tergites covered with brown setae. Terminalia (Fig. 29 d, e). Cerci with apical segment length about 0.5 of basal segment length. Tergite VIII with apicolateral margin slightly angular. Sternite VII with apicoventral margin evenly rounded. Sternite VIII (Fig. 29 d) with hypogynal valves separated by a cleft with depth about one-fifth of Sternite VIII length; apical setae about 0.7 of sternite VIII length. Gonapophysis IX (Fig. 29 e) basolaterally expanding in abrupt almost right angle; spermathecal eminence distinctly trilobed with lateral branches curved distally.

Diagnosis

Distinguished from E. sambai and E. ashleyi in having the dorsal gonostylus branch 2.8 times longer than broad, with apico-internal corner acuminate and apico-external corner right-angled (Fig. 29 c); from E. burundiensis in having the dorsal gonostylus branch apically emarginate (Fig. 29 c) and the gonocoxal lobes with apical setae not splaying (Fig. 29 a); from E. afroparva in having the gonocoxal lobes with parallel ventral margins (Fig. 29 a); from other species in the E. parva group in having the internal branch with 3 setae close to the apex (Fig. 29 c).

Etymology

From Latin penicillus, paint brush, relating to the shape and placement of setae on the internal lobe of the gonostylus, resembling a brush.

Distribution

Afrotropical, South Africa (Fig. 4 )

Biology

Collected in mist-belt forest (1325 m a.s.l.).

Figures

Figure 4. Distribution map of species in the E. parva group occurring in the Afrotropical Region, based on localities from studied material, type material and DNA barcoded material. Different species are represented by individual colours. Altitudes are indicated in shades from grey (lowland) to white (mountains).