Sepedon hecate, Elberg, Kaupo, Rozkošný, Rudolf & Knutson, Lloyd, 2009

Elberg, Kaupo, Rozkošný, Rudolf & Knutson, Lloyd, 2009, A review of of the Holarctic Sepedon fuscipennis and S. spinipes groups with description of a new species (Diptera: Sciomyzidae), Zootaxa 2288, pp. 51-60 : 52-55

Sepedon hecate sp.nov.

( Figs 1–7 , 28 )

Diagnosis. A brown species with an elongate, subtriangular, black orbital spot ( Fig. 1 ); moderately concave face ( Fig. 2 ); pedicel index (see p. 2) about 5.0; hypandrium produced basally in lateral view ( Fig. 5 ); aedeagus: 1–2 distinct midprojections; distiphallus shorter than epiphallus ( Fig. 6 ); and epiphallus oval ( Fig.7 ).

Description. Male: Body length (including porrect antenna): 7.4–8.1 mm; wing length 5.8–6.7 mm. Head ( Figs 1–2 ) conspicuously produced in front of and below eye in lateral view. Eye obliquely oval, somewhat higher than gena. Frons broader than long, broadly excavated in front of ocellar tubercle. Velvety black orbital spot along eye margin elongate subtriangular, gradually tapering toward level of orbital seta. Velvety black parafacial spot at eye margin short oval. Antenna long and slender. Pedicel rod-like, about 5.0 times as long as broad in middle and slightly dilated apically. Postpedicel subtriangular, tapered in distal half but with rounded apex. Pedicel and postpedicel darkened, with greyish pollination, postpedicel almost black along lower margin and in distal half. Arista inserted in middle of postpedicel, with yellowish basal segment, more brown in thickened basal third and contrastingly white and finely pubescent in rest of its length. Face with sharp mid keel in upper half, distinctly concave in lateral view. Some parts of head surface (especially occiput, space around parafacial spot, upper mid face and a genal stripe below lower eye margin) with diffuse whitish pollination. Proboscis and palpus brown, palpus lanceolate, dilated in more than distal half.

Thorax brown, densely grey pollinated on scutum, scutellum and greater part of pleura. Scutum with two pairs of brown longitudinal stripes: each submedian stripe broader than pollinated space between them and more lateral stripes very narrow, almost linear. Shining postpronotal callus and broad notopleuron separated from rest of scutum by more or less visible brown stripe continuing to wing base. Pleura densely pale grey pollinated, only anterior part of katepisternum and katatergite (in front of and above posterior spiracle) more shining. Prosternum with more or less distinct setulae, katatergite bare.

Wing ( Fig. 28 ) pale, brownish infumated with tendency to darkening of both crossveins. Posterior crossvein distinctly sinuate. Halter yellow.

Legs almost uniformly yellowish to reddish brown. Mid femur with short but distinct seta in middle of anterior surface. Hind femur ( Fig. 3 ) conspicuously swollen, with a double row of irregular short black spines. Hind tibia distinctly curved following ventral outline of hind femur in its distal two thirds.

Abdomen shining yellowish brown, though sternites in basal half usually matt, greyish pollinated. Male terminalia ( Figs 4–7 ): Cerci long but not reaching ventral margin of epandrium, surstylus relatively long, slightly pointed in lateral view. Hypandrium with markedly prominent basal part ( Fig. 5 ). Aedeagal complex ( Fig. 6 ) consisting of aedeagus, pregonite, postgonite, ejaculatory apodeme and aedeagal apodeme as in other species of this family but the shape of aedeagus especially species-specific. Epiphallus ( Fig. 7 ) much higher than distiphallus in lateral view (cf. Fig. 6 ) and at least one spine-like process distinct between them (actually this process is flat, leaf-shaped in caudal view). Epiphallus ( Fig. 7 ) with produced oval apical part, in lateral view rectangularly curved distally.

Female. Body length 8.3–9.3 mm; wing length 6.3–7.4 mm. No significant differences in external characters (except for abdominal tip) were found between the male and the female. In general (as far as it may be estimated from the limited specimens available) the female seems to be larger and slightly darker and the wing is somewhat broader than in the male. Tergites and sternites 6 and 7 are much broader than long, sternite 6 almost twice as broad as long and sternite 7 more than 2.5 times as long. Hypoproct transverse, somewhat produced posteriorly in middle third, distinctly narrower than sternite 7. Cercus short and oval, rounded posteriorly and more pointed proximally. Both spermathecae spherical, their diameter not more than the length of hypoproct in lateral part. One spermatheca indistinctly larger than other.

Etymology. We use here Elberg´s original collection name “ hecate “ which refers to “ Hecate “, the Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon and ghosts.

Remarks. The bare katatergite of S. hecate shows that it belongs undoubtedly to the S. fuscipennis group although its face is bare, whereas so-called medifacial setulae may occur in some Nearctic members of this group. On the other hand S. hecate conspicuously differs from the Nearctic species by the species-specific shape of the hypandrium with the markedly developed basal frame appearing as a prominent basal lobe in lateral view ( Fig. 5 ). According to the slender pedicel S. hecate resembles S. gracilicornis and S. tenuicornis but its specific structures of the male terminalia are distinctly different from all Nearctic species of the group (see Figs 8–19 ). We did not succeed in finding reliable differences in the female terminalia for separating species of the S. fuscipennis group.

Distribution. S. hecate is presumably of Nearctic origin although became established exclusively in the Palaearctic Region. The present knowledge of distribution of the new species indicates its penetration from eastern Siberia to Central Europe. Possibly a careful review of Sepedon specimens in European collections will provide further evidence of this species in Europe in addition to the unique known record from the German Alps.

Type material: Holotype: 3, RUSSIA: Amur region, Klimoucy, 40 km W of Svobodniy, 15.vii.1958, Borisova leg., provided with a red label „ Holotype Sepedon hecate sp.nov. Elberg, Rozkošný et Knutson, 2009“ ( USNM).

Paratypes: 7 3, 11 Ƥ. 1 Ƥ, as holotype but 31.viii.1958, Zinoviev ( USNM). RUSSIA: Magadan area, Seimchan, 16.viii.1972, 5 Ƥ; Khabarovsk area, P. Osipenko, 29.vii.1973, 1 3, 1.viii.1973, 1 Ƥ; Manoma, 29.viii.1973, 1 3, all K. Elberg ( IZHT). Amur region, Zeya, 16.vii.1981, 1 3, 12.ix.1981, 1 3, 1 Ƥ, 13.ix.1981, 2 3, 3 Ƥ, all A. Shatalkin ( ZMMU). GERMANY: Oberbayern, Schluifeldt Moos, 27.viii.1935, 1 3 ( CNC). Each paratype provided with a red label „ Paratype Sepedon hecate sp. nov. Elberg, Rozkošný et Knutson, 2009“.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. Sepedon hecate sp. nov., male. 1. Head in dorsal view. 2. Head in lateral view. 3. Left hind leg in lateral view. Scales: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 4 – 7. Sepedon hecate sp. nov., male terminalia. 4. Lateral view. 5. Hypandrium in lateral view. 6. Aedeagal complex in lateral view. 7. Epiphallus in caudal view. Scales: 0.3 mm. aa aedeagal apodeme, ae aedeagus, ce cercus, dph distiphallus, ea ejaculatory apodeme, ep epandrium, eph epiphallus, hy hypandrium, po postgonite, pr pregonite, ss surstylus.

FIGURES 28 – 29. Wings of Sepedon species. 28. S. hecate sp. nov. 29. S. spinipes.

FIGURES 8 – 19. Nearctic species of Sepedon fuscipennis group, details of male terminalia. 8, 12, 16. S. floridensis. 9, 13, 17. S. fuscipennis. 10, 14, 18. S. gracilicornis. 11, 15, 19. S. tenuicornis. 8 – 11. Hypandrium in lateral view. 12 – 15. Aedeagus in lateral view. 16 – 19. Epiphallus in caudal view. Scale: 0.3 mm.