Austrosciara termitophila Schmitz & Mjöberg, 1924

Mohrig, Werner, Kauschke, Ellen & Heller, Kai, 2017, Austrosciara Schmitz & Mjöberg, 1924, a senior synonym of Ctenosciara Tuomikoski, 1960 (Diptera: Sciaridae) and the description of a new brachypterous species in the genus, Zootaxa 4344 (2), pp. 357-366 : 358-362

Austrosciara termitophila Schmitz & Mjöberg, 1924

( Fig. 1 A‒B ; fig. 2 A‒D; fig. 3 A‒C)

Material studied: 4 females, 14.ix.‒14.xi.1995, Australia, Victoria, Strzelecki Ranges, Tarra-Bulga National Park , 0.2 km W of Tarra Valley Picnic Area, 38°27’S, 146°32’E, pitfall trap, Nothofagus cunninghamii forest, leg. G. Milledge ( PWMP) ; 3 males, 11.iv.‒14.vi.1995, Victoria, Otway Ranges, Aire Crossing Tk , 0.5 km N of Aire R. Crossing, 38°42’S, 143°29’E, pitfall trap, Nothofagus cunninghamii forest, leg. G. Milledge (2 females, 1 male in PWMP, 1 female in PKHH, 2 males in NMV) .

Additional description. Male. Head. Eye bridge 2‒3 facets wide. 4th flagellomere with a l/w-index of 1.6, with pale, sparse and bristle-like hairs, as long as the diameter of the basal node. Palpus 2-segmented, short; basal segment with 2‒3 bristles and without a deepened sensory area. Thorax. Brown, sclerites normal. Scutum with brown hairs; scutellum with two longer bristles. Wings reduced, paddle-like and without venation, somewhat longer than the thorax. Haltere reduced, miniaturized, rod-like. Legs brownish; apex of the fore tibia with a small comb-like row of 4‒5 hyaline bristles, undivided; middle and hind tibia with equally long spurs, as long as the width of the tibia apex; claws without teeth. Abdomen. Brown, with rather long brown hairs. Hypopygium brown, ventral base broadly v-shaped; gonocoxite on the inner ventral margin with short and sparse hairs. Gonostylus elongate, with a strong apical tooth and 4‒5 fine spines (somewhat shorter than the tooth) within equally long hairs. The tegmen is rather long, with a rather long ventral parameral apodeme and a patch of fine teeth. Body size: 1.2 mm.

Female. Head. Eye bridge 2 facets wide. 4th flagellomere with l/w-index of 1.4, with sparse brown bristle-like hairs, somewhat longer than the width of the basal node; a few curved hyaline sensillae-like hairs in between the bristle-like hairs. Necks are rather short. Palpus 2-segmented, short; basal segment without a deepened sensory area but with 1‒2 bristles. Thorax. Brownish, pleural sclerites of a nearly normal shape, not strongly reduced or fused. Scutum with dark, short and fine hairs. Wing strongly reduced, nearly half of the thorax length, scale-shaped (in lateral view rod-like). Haltere short, strongly reduced, misshapen. Legs brownish; apex of the fore tibia with a small comb-like row of 3‒4 hyaline bristles and 2‒3 separate bristles; middle and hind tibia with equally long spurs, as long as the diameter of the tibial apex; tarsus with somewhat shortened segments; claws without teeth. Abdomen. Brown, with dark, rather long and sparse hairs. Body size: 1.2‒1.6 mm.

Comments. The species is characterized by reduced wings in both sexes and a 2-segmented palpus, sometimes with a small rudimentary third segment. In males the wings are narrow, rather long, and without distinct venation. The hypopygium is normal in shape, the gonostylus has a strong apical tooth and 4‒5 fine subapical spines, typical for species of Ctenosciara . Female specimens differ from the two other wing-reduced species by having a 2- segmented palpus and shorter flagellomeres. The conspecificity to Aus. termitophila was determined by the general habitus of the females, as described and illustrated by Schmitz & Mjöberg (1924), including the eye bridge, consisting of two rows of facets, the short flagellomeres (hardly longer than wide), the scale-like wing rudiments, the reduced palpus (two segmented, with a minute rudimentary third segment [“ein winzig kleines Knöpfchen”]), the tarsus with somewhat shortened segments (“Tarsen etwas gedrungen”) and the body size (1.3 mm). The presence of a minute, rudimentary, third palpus segment is an inconstant character. In sciarid species with reduced palpi (one or two segmented) such rudimentary segments are common. Sometimes the numbers of palp segments differ even in the same specimen [ Mohrig (1970), Fig. 4g ]. The male specimens were assigned to the females, because of morphological similarities and their occurrence in the same sample, containing no other similar species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Austrosciara termitophila Schmitz & Mjöberg A. Female; B. Male. Head and thorax with reduced wings.

FIGURE 4. Austrosciara pedibusa sp. n. Female. A. Head and thorax with reduced wing and haltere; B. Palpus; C. Basal segments of antennae; D. Apex of fore tibia; E. Apex of fore tibia and tarsal segments.