Sarcophaga (Cornexcisia) kurahashii (Shinonaga & Tumrasvin)

Wang, Chao, Gao, Yunyun, Pape, Thomas & Zhang, Dong, 2019, Redefinition of Cornexcisia Fan & Kano, 2000 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), with the first description of the female of Sarcophaga kurahashii (Shinonaga & Tumrasvin, 1979), Zootaxa 4668 (3), pp. 410-420 : 413-414

Sarcophaga (Cornexcisia) kurahashii (Shinonaga & Tumrasvin) , subgen. comb. nov.

( Figs 1–2 , 3A, 3D )

Phallosphaera kurahashii Shinonaga & Tumrasvin, 1979: 141 . Type locality: Thailand, Kanchana Buri Province , Sai Yok. Holotype ³ (NMNS) (not examined).

Redescription of male. Body length about 12 mm [estimated from specimens with terminalia extended].

Head. Eyes bare. Fronto-orbital plate, parafacial and postocular strip black with golden pollinosity; parafacial setae in one row, weak; facial ridge setose over about 0.8 of its length; parafacial 0.8 times as broad as fronto-orbital plate. Frontal vitta black, 2.9 times as broad as fronto-orbital plate at narrowest point; frons at vertex 0.2 times head width; frontal setae 8; outer vertical seta differentiated from postocular setae; 1 reclinate upper orbital seta. Ocellar setae directed anterolaterally. Gena black with silver and grey pollinosity, with dense black setae, 0.5 times eye height in lateral view; postgena with slender white setae. Antenna greyish brown, not reaching level of vibrissal insertion, postpedicel 4 times as long as pedicel; arista long plumose in basal 2/3. Palpus black, expanded distally.

Thorax. Black in ground colour; scutum pollinosity silvery-grey with three black dorsal vittae. Chaetotaxy: acrostichals 0+1, dorsocentrals 4(3)+4, intra-alars 1+3, supra-alars 2, postalars 2, postpronotals 2, notopleurals 4, scutellum with 1 apical, 1 subapical, 1 discal and 1 basal seta. Pleuron with 6 mesopleural setae; katepisternal setae 1:1:1; prosternum with setae, metasternum, postalar wall and proepisternum bare. Wing. Hyaline; subcostal sclerite brown, bare; tegula black; basicosta yellowish-white; costal spine not differentiated; 3rd section of costal vein subequal to 5th; vein R 1 bare, node of veins R 2+3 –R 4+5 with 6 ventral setae and 9 dorsal setae, lower calypter white. Legs. Black; fore femur with one row of dorsal setae, one row of posterodorsal setae and one row of ventral setae; fore tibia with 1 median posterior seta and one row of black ventral setae; mid femur with one row of anteroventral setae, one row of posteroventral setae and 4 median anterior setae; mid tibia with 1 median anterodorsal seta, 2 basal and 1 median posterior setae, 1 median posteroventral seta and one row of black ventral setae; hind femur with one row of (about 5) anterodorsal setae, one row of (about 5) anteroventral setae and 2 basal posterior setae; hind tibia with 1 basal, 1 median, 1 apical anterodorsal and 1 dorsal seta, and with dense and long setae along anteroventral and posteroventral margins.

Abdomen. Long oval; tergite 3 without median marginal setae, tergite 4 with a pair of median marginal setae, tergite 5 with a complete row of marginal setae. Terminalia: posterior margin of male sternite 5 (at the base of the V) with a small median protuberance; epandrium black, cercus black, tapering, not particularly broad in lateral view, abruptly bent forward almost from middle, cerci diverging in posterior view; pregonite wide at base, gently curved and gradually tapering; basiphallus short; paraphallus (excl. of juxta) twice as long as wide; vesica membranous with a simple, tapering tip; harpes well developed, partly covered by juxtal extension in lateral view, tapering like an acute triangle in anterolateral view; juxta broad, elongate, about 1.5 times as long as rest of paraphallus, membranous; juxta with a ventro-proximal arm-like extension, bifurcated at the apex and covered with microtrichia; lateral stylus long and sclerotized, bifurcated from the base, with each branch slightly expanded at the apex, almost as long as juxta.

Description of female. Similar to male, except for the following: body length about 10 mm; antenna blackish-brown, postpedicel 6 times as long as pedicel; fore tibia without median posterior setae; mid femur with three median anterior setae, femoral organ absent; hind femur without posterior setae, hind tibia with one basal seta, one median anterodorsal seta and one posterodorsal seta, and without dense and long setae; abdomen oval.

Specimens examined. 3 ³³, 2 ♀♀, China: Yunnan (Xishuangbanna), 9.VIII.2015, C. Wang leg.; 1 ³, same locality but 16.VIII.2016, C. Wang & Y. B. Yang leg. (all MBFU except 1 ³ in NHMD) .

Distribution. Oriental: China (Yunnan), Thailand.

Biology. Unknown. Bänziger & Pape (2004) reported this species from Thailand but did not make any biological observations.

Remarks. We are here providing the first record of S. kurahashii from China, which is also the first outside Thailand. The initial assumption of conspecificity of the female and male of S. (C.) kurahashii based on morphology and co-occurrence was fully sustained by the 99.4% similarity of the COI barcodes. Sarcophaga kurahashii was originally described in Phallosphaera based on the presence of a small median protuberance on the posterior margin of male sternite 5 (at the base of the V). It was transferred to Lioproctia Enderlein by Shinonaga & Thinh (2003) and to Lioproctia (Coonoria Fan) by Xue et al. (2011), in both cases without further arguments. Shinonaga & Tumrasvin (1979) remarked that the phallus was “unique among the described species of the genus Phallosphaera ”. We agree with their comment, and the unmodified setae of the cercus and slender and elongate lateral stylus, without spines, of S. kurahashii show that it does not belong to Phallosphaera . The elongate female antenna shared with S. longicornuta (see subgeneric diagnosis above) is here considered evidence for affiliation within the subgenus Cornexcisia .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Male of Sarcophaga (Cornexcisia) kurahashii (Shinonaga & Tumrasvin, 1979) (Yunnan, China; MBFU). A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head, anterior view. C. Head, anterolateral view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Detail of head, showing antenna in anterolateral view. F. Terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: A = 2 mm, B–F = 1 mm.

FIGURE 2. Female of Sarcophaga (Cornexcisia) kurahashii (Shinonaga & Tumrasvin, 1979) (Yunnan, China; MBFU). A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Detail of head, showing antenna in anterolateral view. C. Head, anterior view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Head, anterolateral view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Phallus, lateral view. A. Sarcophaga (Cornexcisia) kurahashii (Shinonaga & Tumrasvin, 1979) (Yunnan, China; MBFU). B. Sarcophaga (C.) suthep Pape & Bänziger, 2003 (adapted from Pape & Bänziger 2003: fig. 7) C. Sarcophaga (C.) cygnocerca (Xue, Verves & Du, 2011) (adapted from Xue et al. 2011: fig. 4b; mirrored to facilitate comparisons). D. Simplified outline of phallus of Sarcophaga (C.) kurahashii (Shinonaga & Tumrasvin, 1979) (based on Fig. 3A). Abbreviations: H = harpes, J = juxta, JE = juxta extension, LS = lateral stylus, V = vesica.