Gondwanodromia femorata, Sinclair & Saigusa, 2022

Sinclair, Bradley J. & Saigusa, Toyohei, 2022, A New Aquatic Associated Genus of Trichopezinae from the Southern Hemisphere (Diptera: Empidoidea: Brachystomatidae), Records of the Australian Museum (Rec. Aust. Mus.) 74 (3), pp. 75-98 : 82

Gondwanodromia femorata sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:71FC82C4-7820-46F5-878C-5B3CC3B6B513

Figs 13–15 , 51

Holotype ♂, labelled: “ NEW ZEALAND: NC/ Arthur’s Pass NP/ alpine zone/ Twin Ck. [42°54'42.6"S 171°33'32.8"E]/ 11.ii.1995 / B.J. Sinclair ”; “ HOLOTYPE / Gondwanodromia / femorata / Sinclair & Saigusa [red label]” ( NZAC) . Paratypes: NEW ZEALAND. NC: 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( CNC); 1 ♀, Kedron R . [42°38'S, 172°14'E], 1160 m, 2446358508, UV , 15.ii.1997, S.J. Morris ( MNHM). WD: 1 ♀, Haast River / Harris Ck / Greenstone Ck., Glitterburn [43°56'S 169°07'E], 3.xi.1994, J.B. Ward ( CMNZ) .

Diagnosis. The species is readily distinguished by eyes bare, swollen mid femur and geniculate mid tibia, stylus slightly shorter than postpedicel, and male terminalia with epandrial lobe long, tapered apically, length longer than width, separated from surstylus by distance shorter than length of surstylus.

Description. Wing length 4.6–5.6 mm. Male. Head. Eye bare, without ommatrichia; face with bluish pruinescence, as wide as antennal sockets dorsally, divergent ventrally. Ocellar setae long and divergent, inserted anteromedial to lateral ocelli; 2 pairs of shorter posterior setae; 2 vertical setae, outer seta arched over margin of eye, slightly shorter than ocellar seta; occipital setae shorter and thinner than vertical setae. Antennae inserted above middle of head; scape slightly longer than globular pedicel; postpedicel with broad base, gradually curved and tapered; stylus slightly shorter than postpedicel, small basal segment, apical sensillum style-like, slender ( Fig. 13 ). Palpus long and slender, half height of head, bearing pale setae; labrum greatly lengthened, longer than height of head, slightly incurved; labium longer than labrum.

Thorax. Pleura, coxae, postpronotal lobe and notopleuron with pale blue pruinescence. Scutum brown with faint vittae between acrostichals and dorsocentrals. Antepronotum with several pairs of short setae. Acrostichals uniserial, slightly longer posteriorly, extending to prescutellar depression; 6 uniserial dorsocentral setae, intermixed with several long or short slender setae; 1 postpronotal seta, with 0–2 setulae; 1 presutural supra-alar seta; 2 notopleural setae, lower slender and short; 1 postsutural supra-alar seta; 1 postalar seta; 2 pairs of scutellar setae, outer pair slender and shorter. Laterotergite with patch of pale brown setae. Wing. Broad, infuscate; basal costal seta long and slender; costa with erect dorsal setae beyond R 1; R 4 slightly sinuous; halter bright, pale brown. Legs. Coxae with pale golden setae; femora brown with bluish pruinescence, apex of femora slightly paler. Fore and mid femora broader than slender hind femur. Fore femur swollen, tapered apically, without ventral setae; white pile beneath; several thicker preapical anterior setae. Fore tibia subequal in length to femur, with white pile beneath; without outstanding setae. Mid femur strongly swollen, broader than fore femur, with anteroventral and posteroventral rows of stout, black setae, longer than width of tibia. Mid tibia geniculate, one-fifth shorter than femur, curved along femur margin; short strong setae beneath. Hind femur slender, longer than mid femur, straight with long, erect dorsal setae on basal half; anteroventrally with row of strong setae, shorter than width of femur. Hind tibia with dorsal row of strong setae. Tarsomere 1 slender with dense ventral setae on all legs.

Abdomen. Brown with thin bluish pruinescence, sparsely setose with setae mostly confined to the posterior margins. Sternite 7 with short posterolateral extension. Terminalia [undissected] ( Fig. 14 ). Lying dorsally over segments 7 and 8. Phallus thickly sclerotized, long and tapered to narrow, rounded tip. Epandrium rounded, with long lobe near base of surstylus; width of lobe half as long as length. Surstylus digitiform, separated from epandrial lobe by distance shorter than length of surstylus.

Female. Similar to male except as follows: Terminalia [undissected] ( Fig. 15 ). Sclerites of segment 8 shiny, without pruinescence; tergite 8 with fine setae along posterior margin; sternite 8 with fine setae ventrally. Syntergite 9+10 and cerci fused into shiny quadrate sclerite, narrowly cleft dorsally, produced apically into nipple-like projection; several short setulae along margin; lower half of posterior margin with dense setulae. Sternite 10 apparently absent. Spermatheca not examined.

Etymology. This species is named after the enlarged mid femora of this species.

Distribution. This species is currently known from several localities on South Island, New Zealand ( Fig. 51 ).

Figures

Figures 13–16.Argentinian and New Zealand species of Gondwanodromia, lateral view:(13) G.femorata sp.nov., male habitus, holotype, scale bar = 1.0 mm; (14) G. femorata sp. nov., male terminalia, scale bar = 0.25 mm; (15) G. femorata sp. nov., female postabdomen, scale bar = 0.25 mm; (16) G. mikae sp. nov., male habitus, holotype, scale bar = 0.75 mm. Abbreviations: epand lb – epandrial lobe; sur – surstylus.

Figures 50–52. Distribution of Gondwanodromia: (50) Australian species; (51) New Zealand species; (52) South American species.