Meoneura hobbitoides, Stuke, 2016

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2016, Carnidae (Diptera) in the Canadian National Collection of Insects (Ottawa), with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 4084 (4) : -

Meoneura hobbitoides spec. nov.

(figures 8–11)

Holotype ♂: (1) "Galena Summit / Blaine Co. IDA. / 15.VII.1961 8600' / B. H. Poole "; (2) " CNC / 9280"; (3) Holotype / Meoneura hobbitoides / spec. nov. ♂ / det. Stuke, 2015 ".

Holotype is deposited in the CNC. Posterior part of abdomen dissected, macerated and stored in glycerine in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen. The remainder of the specimen is glued on a card, the left hind leg and the right middle leg are missing.

Paratypes: USA: 1♂, 10.vii.1961, Utah, Guardsman Pass near Brighton, 9800’, leg. B. H. Poole ; 1♂, 18.vii.1961, Wyoming, Battle L. Road, Sierra Madre Range, 8000’, leg. B. H. Poole ; 2♂, 17.viii.1961, Wyoming, Teton Pass, Eastside, 74-8400’, leg. B. H. Poole ; 1♂, 17.vii.1961, Wyoming, Togwotee Pass , Teton Co., leg. J. G. Chillcott. Two paratypes are deposited in the CNC and the other three in the PJHS .

Description of holotype (male). Length about 1.8 mm. Wing length = 1.5 mm. Head height = 0.3 mm. Head completely black with the frons anteriorly narrowly brownish. Antenna black. Arista without pubescence. Eye without ommatrichia. Maximum eye length: maximum eye height = 0.8. Posteroventral margin of gena closest to eye margin: maximum eye height = 0.5. Frons slightly microtomentose to subshining. Frontal triangle indistinct, reaching anteriorly about half distance from anterior ocellus to frontal margin There is no specimen available where the dusting of the face can be examined. Carina narrow. Postcranium slightly microtomentose. The proboscis cannot be seen in the holotype and the description is based on paratypes. Prementum longer and wider than labellum. Palpus brown, slightly longer than half of the haustellum. 1 pair of distinct ocellar setae. Supralunular setae convergent but not cruciate. 4 fronto-orbital setae, two anterior mesoclinate, two posterior lateroclinate. 2 vertical setae. Postorbital setae parallel. 1 strong vibrissal seta. 2 supravibrissal setae, the ventral one slightly smaller. 3 strong genal setae.

Scutum completely microtomentose and covered with black setulae. Scutellum microtomentose. Pleura completely slightly microtomentose. Scutum with 1 long and obvious dorsocentral seta and 2 additional dorsocentral setae that are only slightly longer than the scattered black setulae on the scutum and therefore hard to discern. 1 long and 1 small seta on postpronotum; 1 presutural seta; 2 notopleural setae; 1 supraalar seta; 1 postalar seta; 1 prescutellar seta; 1 apical and 1 lateral scutellar seta. 1 seta at posterior margin of anepisternum. 1 dorsal seta and 1 ventral seta on katepisternum. Wing completely covered with microtrichia. Costa without obvious setae beyond radial vein R1. Wing hyaline, veins light brown. Knob of haltere whitish yellow, base of haltere light brown. Legs dark brown to black. Fore femur apically with 1 strong posteroventral seta. Hind femur apically with 1 strong anteroventral seta. Fore and middle coxae each with a few strong setae.

Tergites without obvious depressions or setulae tufts. Abdominal pleura with few scattered setae on segments 4–5. Segments 1–4 not narrow, width of tergite 3: length of tergite 3 = 2.9. Segment 5 as long as segment 4. Tergites 3-5 each with a short lateral seta at the posterior margin, tergite 5 in addition with three pairs of long setae at the posterior margin. Sternite 5 slightly widened posteriorly, hardly longer than broad. Sternite 5 with one pair of setae apically and one pair of setae laterally and with scattered less obvious setulae. Midventral tergite 7 distinctly developed. Protandrium obvious, about as long as epandrium and about as long as tergite 5. Epandrium with a few longer setae but no outstanding strong seta ( Fig. 8 ). Maximum length dorsally in the middle of epandrium: maximum width of epandrium = 0.6. Cercus indistinct, not clearly projecting, and with a few setulae only. Subepandrial sclerites slightly sclerotized, completely fused with each other and only laterally with the hypoproct. Subepandrial sclerites without any setulae. Hypoproct slightly sclerotized; not projecting out of the epandrium; with several small setulae laterally. No tooth in the middle of the subepandrial plate. Surstylus as figs. 8 + 9 elongated, with a slightly smaller base and pointed apically. Surstylus with several long setae basally. Lamella medium sized, distinctly shorter than half the length of the surstylus. Lamella with several small setulae, all distinctly shorter than the lamella. Lamella and surstylus slightly fused at their bases. Postgonite as Fig. 10 : slightly sclerotized, with a broad base, elongated, pointed, apically bent like a hook. Distiphallus elongated, longer than maximum length of epandrium. Distiphallus with dense hyaline teeth basally and brown short setulae apically.

Variability. The frons can be completely black or distinctly light brown anteriorly.

Diagnosis. Meoneura hobbitoides belongs to the Meoneura species with a distinct lamella that is clearly separated or only slightly fused with surstylus. Meoneura hobbitoides is distinguished from all other Meoneura species by the small and very elongated surstylus that has obvious setae basally (figs. 8 + 9). With the key of Sabrosky (1959) Meoneura hobbitoides will not key out to any satisfactory result beyond couplet 10 because the combination of characters of the male postabdomen do not fit. Looking at the drawings of the postabdomen ( Sabrosky 1959: 21) Meoneura wirthi is the most similar species—but this species is excluded because of its dark haltere.

Etymology. The species is dedicated to the Hobbits, small relatives of men, that are introduced in the fantasy novel "The Hobbit" 1937 by J. R. R. Tolkien. Although quite small and reserved the hobbits turn out to become important to save "Middle-earth".

Distribution. So far Meoneura hobbitoides is only known from the USA (Idaho, Utah, Wyoming).

Figures

FIGURES 8 – 11. Meoneura hobbitoides spec. nov. (drawn from the paratype from Wyoming, Battle L. Road). 8. Lateral view of epandrium and surstylus. 9. Lateral view of surstylus and lamella. 10. Lateral view of postgonite. 11. Ventral view of sternite 4 (left) and sternite 5 (right). la—lamella; su—surstylus.