Manota edentula, Hippa, Heikki, 2008

Hippa, Heikki, 2008, Notes on Afrotropical Manota Williston (Diptera: Mycetophilidae), with the description of seven new species, Zootaxa 1741, pp. 1-23 : 8-10

Manota edentula sp. n.

( Figs 1 D, E, 4 A, B, C)

Male. Colour. Head brown, vertex and occiput dark brown, mouthparts yellowish-brown, antennal scapus, pedicellus and varying number (2–5) of basal flagellomeres yellowish-brown. Thorax dark brown, prothorax and ventral part of preepisternum 2 orange brown. Legs pale yellowish or yellowish-brown, in some specimens with orange tinge, femur 3 infuscated at basal fourth, femur 2 similar but the infuscation weaker. Wing unicolorous pale brown, haltere pale brown with black knob. Abdomen brown. Setae brown, the thinner ones seeming pale, the thicker ones darker. Head. Antennal flagellomere 4, Fig. 4 A. Palpomere 3 of maxillary palpus with apicomesial extension, with 4–5 apically expanded curved sensilla (counted from 2 slide-mounted paratypes only); palpomere 4 with parasegment. Number of postocular setae 12–15. Thorax. Anepisternum setose, with 29–52 setae; anterior basalare setose, with 6–12 setae; preepisternum 2 non-setose; laterotergite setose, with 47–61 setae; episternum 3 setose, with ca. 9 setae (the setae counted from 1 slide-mounted paratype only). Wing. Length 2.3 mm. Hypopygium, Figs 4 B, C: Sternite 9 laterally fused with gonocoxa, its length about two-thirds of the ventral length of gonocoxa, posterior margin slightly convex, anterior margin with a shallow incision, the setae similar to ventral setae of gonocoxa. Ventral mesial margin of gonocoxa sigmoid. Parastylar lobe fused with gonocoxa, represented by a few long setae at ventral mesial margin. Paraapodemal lobe large, unusually anterior in position, in Fig. 4 C partly exposed between posterior margin of sternite 9 and ventral mesial margin of gonocoxa. Dorsal mesial margin of gonocoxa simple. In the middle of gonocoxa with two or three long setae which differ from its other dorsal setosity. Apicodorsally on gonocoxa with a densely setose lobe which extends to middle of gonostylus: in four of the mounts it is lateral in position ( Fig. 4 B, C), in one it is mesial and covers the juxtagonostylar setae. Gonostylus simple, elongateoval, with rather long setae dorsally and ventrally, the mesial and apical marginal setae longer than other setae. Number of juxtagonostylar setae two, a strong normal seta and a thicker and shorter blunt megaseta, both arising from a broad basal body which is as long as the megaseta. Tegmen with a narrow apical half and, beginning from strong lateral shoulders, with a broad basal half that narrows towards base. Hypoproct large, posteriorly extending near to apex of gonostylus, with ca. 30 setae on each half. Cerci medially separate.

Female. Similar to male. Antennal flagellomere 4 similar to Fig. 2 B. Palpal sensilla and pleural setae not counted because the single specimen is dry. Wing length 2.4 mm. Apical part of abdomen, Figs 1 D, E.

Discussion. M. edentula is not especially similar to any described Manota . It is easily recognized by the densely setose apical lobe dorsally on the gonocoxa, especially when it is in a lateral position as in Figs 4 B and C. When the lobes are flipped to a mesial position, the dorsal aspect of hypopygium is reminiscent of two other Afrotropical species: M. issongo Matile and M. mabokeensis Matile. From the former, M. edentula is distinguished e.g. by its short gonostylus, which is scarcely one-third of the length of the gonocoxa instead of being more than half of that length, and from the latter e.g. by the simple, not lobed, gonostylus. The female differs from the other species described in this paper by having the lateral setae of the basal segment of the cercus shorter and by having most of these setae stout and blunt-ended (see Fig. 1 ).

Types. Holotype. Male, MAURITIUS, Macchabee Forest, 2.vi.1971, A. M. Hutson, B.M.1971-346. In BMNH.

Paratypes, 2 males with same data as holotype. 2 males with same data except for date 1.vi. In BMNH. Other material. One female, MAURITIUS, La Pouce, 10.vi.1971, A. M. Hutson, B.M.1971-346. In BMNH.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Apical part of female abdomen (D) and female tergite 9, cercus and apical part of sternite 10 (A, B, C and E), lateral view. A. Manota natalensis Jaschhof and Mostovski (South Africa). B. M. clinochaeta sp. n. (Madagascar). C. M. cultrigera sp. n. (Madagascar). D, E. M. edentula sp. n. (Mauritius). Scale 0.10 mm.

FIGURE 2. Manota clinochaeta sp. n. (A, C, D and E holotype). A. Antennal flagellomere 4, lateral view. B. Female antennal flagellomere 4, lateral view. C. Hypopygium, dorsal view. D. Hypopygium, ventral view. E. Right juxtagonostylar megaseta, dorsal view. Scale for A and B 0.05 mm, for C, D and E 0.10 mm.

FIGURE 4. Manota edentula sp. n. (A paratype, B and C holotype). A. Antennal flagellomere 4, lateral view. B. Hypopygium, dorsal view. C. Hypopygium, ventral view. Scale for A 0.05 mm, for B and C 0.10 mm.