Megaselia ebejeri, Disney, R. Henry L., 2006

Disney, R. Henry L., 2006, Eight new species of Megaselia Rondani (Diptera: Phoridae) from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen, Zootaxa 1371, pp. 1-21 : 2-4

Megaselia ebejeri sp. nov.

( Figs 1 – 4 )

In Beyer’s (1965) keys this species runs to couplet 5, lead 1 on page 56, to M. insulana Brues , which is a synonym of M. curtineura (Brues) . However its entirely brown femora, the spinose male labella and details of the hypopygium distinguish the new species. In the keys to the males of British species ( Disney, 1989) the male runs to couplet 220, where neither lead fits. However, several Palaearctic species are similar and have recently been revised ( Disney, 2006c), their males differ in details of the hypopygium and the female of the new species runs to couplet 9, where neither lead fits.

Etymology

Named after M. J. Ebejer, who collected the first specimen in 1987.

Male

Frons brown, with 110 – 120 hairs and moderately dense but fine microsetae. Bristles arranged as Fig. 2 . Lower SAs clearly shorter and weaker than upper pair. Cheek with 5 – 6 bristles and jowl with two longer ones. Postpedicels subglobose, brown, without SPS vesicles. Palps straw yellow to yellowish brown, with 5 – 6 bristles and 2 – 5 hairs. Labrum a little darker than palps and about 0.7x as wide as postpedicel. Labella a little paler on top, and with about 40 short spinules below each. Thorax dark brown, being a little paler on sides. Mesopleuron bare. Two notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these. Scutellum with an anterior pair of hairs (at most as long as hairs at rear of scutum) and a posterior pair of bristles. Abdominal tergites dark brown with short fine hairs, but those at rear of T6 longer than rest ( Fig. 4 ). Venter brownish grey, and with a few fine hairs below segments 3 – 6. Hypopygium brown, with a paler brown anal tube, and as Fig. 4 . Right lobe of hypandrium very short, being broader than long. With three rectal papillae. Legs with hind femora yellowish brown to brown. The rest of femora, tibiae and coxae straw yellow with parts varying tinged brown. Tarsi straw yellow. Fore tarsus with posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1 – 4. Basitarsus with 1 – 2.5 rows of hairs of the ventral face reduced to short spinules. Dorsal hair palisade of mid tibia extends almost 0.7x the length. Hairs below basal half of hind femur clearly longer than those of anteroventral row of outer half. Hind tibia with 7 – 10 differentiated posterodorsal hairs. Spinules of apical combs all simple. Wings 1.2 – 1.5 mm long. Costal index 0.30 – 0.32. Costal ratios 4.2 – 5.6: 1.0 – 1.7: 1. Costal cilia (of section 3) 0.07 – 0.09 mm long. Hair at base of vein 3 subequal to costal cilia of dorsal row at base of section 1. With 2 – 3 axillary bristles, which are clearly longer than costal cilia. Sc pale and not reaching R1. Thick veins greyish straw yellow, thin veins pale grey, 7 being even paler. Membrane almost colourless. Haltere with brown stem and pale yellow knob.

Female

Head similar to male but labrum is darker and 1.1 – 1.2x wider than diameter of postpedicel. Thorax as male. Abdominal tergites brown, T4 – T7 being as Fig. 1 . Venter brownish grey, and with hairs below segments 3 – 6. Sternite 7 a narrow bar, a little wider at rear, with 2 – 3 longer hars at hind margin and 0 – 1 hairs further forward. Posterolateral lobes at rear of sternum 8 as Fig. 3 . Cerci pale brown and about 2.5x as long as broad. With four rectal papillae. Furca not evident. Dufour’s crop mechanism about twice as long as greatest breadth and rounded behind. Legs similar to male. Wing as male except length 1.3 – 1.7 mm. Costal index 3.9 – 5.1: 0.9 – 1.3: 1. Otherwise it and haltere as male.

Material

HOLOTYPE male, United Arab Emirates, Sharjah Desert Park, light trap, 29.iii – 6.iv.2005, A. van Harten ( CUMZ, 32 – 132). Paratypes: 2 males, 2 females, as holotype, except 1 male, 21 – 29.iii.2005 (32 – 133, 134). 1 male, al-Abjan, 9.xi – 7.xii.2005, A. v H. ( CUMZ, 32 – 152). 1 female, NARC, near Sweiham, light trap, 2 – 30.iv.2005, A. v H. ( CUMZ, 32 – 142). 1 male, Oman, Al-Khuwair, 29.xii.1987, M. J. Ebejer (National Museum of Wales, 5 – 150).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Megaselia ebejeri. (1) female abdominal tergites 4 – 7; (2) male frons, with bristles represented by their basal sockets only; (3) female, lobes at rear of abdominal sternum 8; (4) left face of male hypopygium. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.