Syllegomydas Notobates heothinos, Dikow, Torsten, 2010

Dikow, Torsten, 2010, New species and new records of Mydidae from the Afrotropical and Oriental regions (Insecta, Diptera, Asiloidea), ZooKeys 64, pp. 33-75 : 60-63

Syllegomydas Notobates heothinos sp. n. Figs 16-18, 2040-414548

Etymology:

heothinos Greek adjective = eastern. Referring to the distribution in eastern Africa.

Diagnosis:

The species is distinguished from congeners by the relatively large size, the brown and yellow abdominal tergites in males and even more pronounced in females, the absence of lateral furcal apodemes in females, and its apparent distribution in Kenya and Uganda.

Description Male:

Head: black, facial gibbosity light brown, in general grey pruinose; width distinctly greater than thorax, interocular distance on vertex larger than at ventral eye margin, vertex between compound eyes ± horizontally straight, medially only slightly below dorsal eye margin, parafacial area less than ½ the width of central facial gibbosity; facial gibbosity distinct, well-developed and discernible in lateral view; mystax white, covering entire facial gibbosity; frons medially apruinose, laterally grey pruinose, vertex predominantly apruinose, only lateral margins grey pruinose, postgenae apruinose; setation: vertex white, frons white, ocp setae white, pocl setae white; ocellar triangle apruinose; proboscis light brown, short, about ½ length of oral cavity; labella small, as wide as prementum, as long as prementum, unsclerotised laterally; maxillary palpi cylindrical, light brown, longer than ½ the length of proboscis.

Antenna: brown or orange, scape and pedicel white setose dorsally and ventrally; postpedicel cylindrical in proximal ⅔, symmetrically bulbous in distal ⅓, ≥ 7.0 times as long as combined length of scape and pedicel; apical ‚seta-like‘ sensory element situated apically in cavity on postpedicel.

Thorax: dark brown to bluish-black, predominantly grey pruinose; scutum medially bluish-black, laterally brown, surface entirely smooth, predominantly grey pruinose, broad sublateral stripes (interrupted postsuturally) and narrow paramedial stripes (not reaching posterior margin) apruinose, scutal setation comprised of distinct rows of long dorsocentral setae and lateral scutal setae; dc setae pre- and postsuturally white, acr setae present, lateral scutal setae white, npl, spal, and pal setae absent; postpronotal lobe light brown, grey pruinose; proepisternum, lateral postpronotum, and postpronotal lobes long white setose; scutellum silver pruinose proximally, apruinose distally, asetose, apical scutellar setae absent; mesopostnotum, anatergite, and katatergite grey pruinose, mesopostnotum entirely long white setose, anatergite long white setose, katatergite long white setose; katatergite ± flat; anterior anepisternum asetose, supero-posterior anepisternum long white setose; posterior anepimeron long white setose, katepimeron white setose; metepimeron ± flat, yellow, grey pruinose, long white setose; metepisternum grey pruinose, asetose.

Leg: brown or light brown, setation predominantly white; all coxae grey pruinose, white setose; met trochanter setose medially; femora brown or light brown, met femora ± cylindrical only slightly wider than pro and mes femora, in distal ½ macrosetose, 1 antero-ventral and 1 postero-ventral row of macrosetae; all tibiae laterally arched, met tibia cylindrical, ventral keel absent; pro and mes tarsomere 1 about as long as individual tarsomeres 2, 3, or 4, met tarsomere 1 as long as combined length of tarsomeres 2-3; pulvilli well-developed, as long as well-developed claws, and as wide as base of claws; empodium absent.

Wing: length = (10.5 –)12.0– 12.5 mm; hyaline throughout, slightly brown stained along veins, veins brown, microtrichia absent; cells r1, r4, r5, m3, + cup closed; C terminates at junction with R1; R4 terminates in R1; R5 terminates in R1; stump vein ( R 3) at base of R4 present, short not reaching R2; R4 and R5 widest apart medially; r-m distinct, R4+5 and M1 apart, connected by crossvein; M1 straight at r-m (not curving anteriorly), M1 (or M 1+ M 2) terminates in R1; CuA1 and CuA2 split proximally to m-cu (cell m3 narrow proximally); M3+CuA1 do not terminate together in C; A1 undulating, cell a1 wide, A1 and wing margin further apart proximally than distally, alula well-developed; halter light brown.

Abdomen: brown and yellow; setation comprised of scattered white and brown setae, surface entirely smooth; T1 brown, narrow yellow posterior margin, T2-7 brown, broad yellow posterior margins, expanding antero-laterally particularly on T2-3; T1 and anterior ½ of T2 long white setose, remaining T2 and T3 brown setose; T predominantly apruinose; S1-7 brown; S1 asetose, S2 long white setose, S3 short brown setose; S predominantly apruinose; T2-4 parallel-sided and not constricted waist-like; bullae on T2 brown, oval, surface entirely smooth, T2 surface anterior to bullae smooth.

Male terminalia: T1-7 well-developed, entirely sclerotised, T8 postero-medially weakly sclerotised, with anterior transverse sclerotised bridge connecting lateral sclerites; T7-8 anteriorly with 2 lateral apodemes; S6 regular, without any special setation postero-medially, S8 well-developed and simple, not fused to T8 dorso-laterally, entire (undivided) ventro-medially; epandrium formed by single sclerite (fused medially ± entirely), pointed postero-laterally; subepandrial sclerite without lateral or median protuberances; hypandrium strongly concave, cup-shaped, entirely sclerotised ventrally (forming a single sclerite), entirely fused with gonocoxite, forming a gonocoxite-hypandrial complex; gonocoxites dorso-ventrally flattened in distal ½, higher in proximal ½, without median or lateral protuberance, gonocoxal apodeme absent; 2 functional aedeagal prongs, short and wide, medio-distally free, parallel or diverging laterally, distally straight or only diverging slightly laterally; aedeagal epimere present, distally simple, evenly rounded; lateral ejaculatory processes absent; ejaculatory apodeme formed by single dorso-ventrally oriented plate; ventro-median margin of dorsal aedeagal sheath heavily sclerotised (appearing entirely closed); dorsal aedeagal sheath long, sperm sac entirely covered; sperm sac appearing ± heavily sclerotised.

Description Female:

Head: brown, facial gibbosity light brown; parafacial area about as wide as ½ the width of central facial gibbosity; vertex medially apruinose, laterally grey pruinose.

Antenna: postpedicel ≥ 5.0 times as long as combined length of scape and pedicel.

Thorax: scutum brown, postero-medially bluish-black, scutal setation comprised of distinct rows of short dorsocentral setae and lateral scutal setae; proepisternum, lateral postpronotum, and postpronotal lobes short white setose; scutellum grey pruinose proximally, apruinose distally, asetose; supero-posterior anepisternum short white setose; metepimeron light brown.

Leg: all coxae apruinose, short white setose; met tarsomere 1 as long as combined length of tarsomeres 2-4.

Wing: length = 14.3-16.3 mm; slightly brown stained, darker brown around veins.

Abdomen: T1-7 yellow, narrow brown anterior margins that are widest laterally and medially; T1 and anterior ¼ of T2 long white setose, remaining T2 and T3 sparsely white setose; S1-7 brown, yellow postero-laterally; S1 asetose, S2-3 sparsely brown setose.

Female genitalia: densely arranged anteriorly directed setae present on T7-8 and S7-8; T8 with broad anterior rectangular apodeme; T9 formed by wide, rectangular sclerite with median protuberance; T9+10 entirely fused, T10 divided into 2 heavily sclerotised acanthophorite plates, 9-10 acanthophorite spurs per plate; 2 spermathecae, all equally large, formed by ± expanded heavily sclerotised ducts; individual sper mathecal ducts short; S9 (furca) formed by 1 sclerite, ring-like (joined anteriorly and posteriorly), anterior furcal apodeme present, 2 lateral projections forming divided apodeme, lateral furcal apodeme absent, median furcal bridge absent.

Material examined:

Kenya: Eastern Province: 1 ♂ Archers Post , 00°39'00"N; 037°41'00"E, 5.v.1976, I. Bampton ( AAM-001137 paratype, NMSA) ; 3 ♂ Athi River , 02°38'31"S; 038°21'59"E, 5-10.vii.1999, R. Copeland ( AAM-001126 1 ♂ holotype, AAM-001127-AAM-001128 paratypes, NMKE) ; 1 ♂ Athi River , 2-9.viii.1999, R. Copeland ( AAM-001129 paratype, NMKE) ; 2 ♂ Athi River , 24-27.v.1999, R. Copeland ( AAM-001130-AAM-001131 paratypes, NMKE) ; 1 ♂ Athi River , 19-24.vii.1999, R. Copeland ( AAM-001132 paratype, NMKE) ; 1 ♂ Lake Baringo , 00°37'05"N; 036°01'35"E, -. xii.1994, R. Copeland ( AAM-001133 paratype, NMKE) ; 1 ♂ Samburu National Park, near Eawso Ng'iro River , 00°34'05"N; 037°32'08"E, 874 m, Malaise Trap, riverine forest next to headquarters, 29.v.-12.vi.2007, R. Copeland (AAM-001134 paratype, NMKE) ; 2 ♂ Samburu National Park, near Eawso Ng'iro River , 874 m, Malaise Trap, riverine forest next to headquarters, 12-16.vi.2007, R. Copeland ( AAM-001135-AAM-001136 paratypes, NMKE) ; 2 ♀ Samburu National Park, near Eawso Ng'iro River , 874 m, 26.vi.-10.vii.2007, R. Copeland ( coll. Copeland) ; 1 ♀ 1 ♂ Kiboko, 02°10'00"S; 037°43'00"E, 16.vii.1981, R. Markham ( AAM-000138-AAM-000139 paratypes, BMNH) ; 1 ♀ 5 ♂ Kiangeni River, Simba , 02°08'46"S; 037°36'28"E, -. vii.1958, B. Pearsons ( AAM-001101-AAM-001106 paratypes, BMNH) ; 1 ♂ Makueni , 01°48'00"S; 037°37'00"E, -.-.1957, B. Pearsons ( AAM-001108 paratype, BMNH) ; 1 ♀ British East Africa , -.-.-, S. Neave (AAM-001107 paratype, BMNH) ; Uganda: Karamoja: 1 ♂ Atumatak Catchment Area , 02°14'00"N; 034°38'00"E, in dry + sandy flume bed, -. xi.1960 ( AAM-001109 paratype, BMNH) .

Type locality and distribution:

Athi River (02°38'31" S; 038°21'59" E), Kenya. Kenya, Uganda (Fig. 48). Biodiversity hotspot/high-biodiversity wilderness area: -/-.

Remarks:

This species was first recognised as new by me based on material made available by R. Copeland in 2002. However, when I visited the BMNH in February 2010, I found several specimens labelled as types of a yet unpublished name by J. Bowden. Bowden had divided the species into three subspecies, the nominal subspecies based on the material from the Kiangani River and Makueni, one subspecies based on the single female from 'British East Africa’, and another subspecies based on the single male from Uganda. The material from Kiboko collected in 1981 was interestingly not included by J. Bowden in his type material. I regard all these specimens as well as all other listed material as belonging to the same species. This species represents the first Mydidae known from Uganda (Fig. 48) and also the northernmost distribution of the subgenus Notobates .