Tomosvaryella anahitae Motamedinia & Skevington

Motamedinia, Behnam, Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Kelso, Scott, 2021, Revision of Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera: Pipunculidae) in the Middle East, with description of 19 new species, Zootaxa 5002 (1), pp. 1-103 : 13

Tomosvaryella anahitae Motamedinia & Skevington sp. nov.

Figs 3A‒D , 49 , 65E –F

Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by the shape of surstyli, triangular-shaped in dorsal view ( Fig. 3A ), broadened at the middle in lateral view ( Fig. 3C‒D ); right gonopod with a small finger-like projection in ventral view ( Fig. 3B ); three long ejaculatory ducts, two with small teeth in basal third in lateral view ( Fig. 3C‒D ) (similar to those of T. trichotibialis De Meyer, 1995 ).

Description: MALE: Body length (excluding antennae): 4.1 mm. Head. Scape, pedicel and arista brown. Scape and pedicel without setae; flagellum light brown, gray pollinose and long tapering, distinctly paler than pedicel (LF:WF = 5.0). Eyes meeting for a distance of 14‒15 facets. Frons silver-gray pollinose; vertex shining; occiput lacking pollinosity in upper third with scattered light brown setae. Thorax. Postpronotal lobe light brown with pale setae along the upper margin (up to 0.03 mm). Prescutum and scutum black, silver-gray pollinose; supra-alar area dark brown and shining, scutum with scattered setae at anterior supra-alar area. Scutellum black, silver-gray pollinose, without setae along posterior margin. Subscutellum black, pleura dark brown. Wing. Wing length: 3.7 mm. LW:MWW = 7.5. Wing almost entirely covered with microtrichia. M 1 strongly undulating in middle. Halter length: 0.42 mm. Brown to yellowish, narrowly black at base. Legs. Coxae and trochanters black, gray pollinose, hind trochanter with scattered short pale setae. Femora dark brown with narrow yellow apices, silver pollinose and 5‒8 ventral spines toward apex. All femora with one wrinkled indentation in basal. Tibiae light brown at base, gray pollinose, with two rows of short black setae on anterior and three rows on posterior side. Hind tibia with two wrinkled indentations in middle. Tibiae without distal spines. Tarsi dark. Abdomen. Ground color dark brown, tergite 1 silver pollinose, tergite 2 with weak silver pollinose on anterior corner, tergites 2‒5 with scattered brown setae. Sternites white-yellow laterally with dark mid-line centrally, gray pollinose. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium and surstyli light brown, epandrium longer than wide (MLE:MWE = 0.5). Surstyli almost symmetrical, both triangular-shaped and longer than wide ( Fig. 3A ). Genital capsule in ventral view: gonopods equal in height, right with a small finger-like projection; subepandrial sclerite rectangular-shaped ( Fig. 3B ). Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli broadened medially, slightly straight ventrally ( Fig. 3C‒D ); phallus trifid, with three long straight ejaculatory ducts, two with small teeth in basal third ( Fig. 3C‒D ); phallic guide small, pointed, slightly bent toward surstyli ( Fig. 3C‒D ). FEMALE: unknown.

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to Anahita, the old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess who rules water, crops and fertility.

Specimen examined: HOLOTYPE: IRAN: Kermanshah: Sarpolezahab , 34°28’N, 45°49’E, 546 m a.s.l., 1.vii.2015, M. Zardouei, Malaise trap, JSS51946 (1♂, CNC).

Distribution: Iran ( Fig. 49 ).

Note: Based on DNA barcoding, this species is closest to T. hamata , differing by 2.5‒3.1% (pairwise diver- gence) (Supplementary Table 1).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Male genitalia of Tomosvaryella anahitae sp. nov., holotype (JSS51946, CNC) A) dorsal view, B) ventral view, C, D) lateral view.

FIGURE 49. Distribution of Tomosvaryella acantha sp. nov., T. ampliasa sp. nov., T. anahitae sp. nov., T. cilifemorata, T. demeyeri, T. dentiterebra, T. immutata in the Middle East.

FIGURE 65. Male habitus of Tomosvaryella species A–B) T. acantha sp. nov., holotype (JSS51689, TAU) A) in dorsal view B) in lateral view, C–D) T. ampliasa sp. nov., holotype (JSS51800, TAU) C) in dorsal view D) in lateral view, E–F) T. anahitae sp. nov., holotype (JSS51946, CNC) E) in dorsal view F) in lateral view.