Brachycera Macquart, 1834

Shamshev, I. V., 2022, New and little-known species of dance flies the subgenus Euempis Frey (Diptera: Empididae) from Morocco and Spain, Russian Entomological Journal 31 (4), pp. 426-431 : 426-428

Suborder Brachycera Macquart, 1834

Superfamily Empidoidea Latreille, 1804

Family Empididae Latreille, 1804

Genus Empis Linnaeus, 1758

Empis (Euempis) azrouensis Shamshev , sp.n.

Figs 1–2 . TYPE MATERIAL. Holotype, ♂ , Morocco 1400–2000 m, Azrou / Ifrane area, 17–19.iv.1989, Zool.Muz.Copenh.Exp.( ZMUC). Paratype. 1 ♂ , same data as holotype ( ZMUC) .

How to cite this article: Shamshev I. V. 2022. New and little-known species of dance flies the subgenus Euempis

DIAGNOSIS. Rather small species (body about 4.5 mm) with densely greyish pruinose, black setose thorax and abdomen; palpus black; postpronotal seta indistinct, acrostichal and dorsocentral setae multiserial; halter yellow; male abdominal segments unmodified, epandrial lamella with three very long strong setae closer to base.

DESCRIPTION. Male ( Fig. 1 ). Body length 4.3 mm; wing length 4.6 mm (holotype). Head with greyish pruinescence on face, frons, postgena, ocellar triangle, occiput and clypeus (except shiny margins); black setose. Holoptic; upper ommatidia enlarged. Frons represented by very small triangular space just below ocellar triangle and larger space above antennae; bare. Face broad, parallel-sided, bare. Ocellar triangle with several moderately long fine setae (in holotype 2 setae slightly longer). Occiput covered with numerous, long, fine setae (including postoculars); postgena with numerous hair-like setae. Antenna black; scape short, slightly longer than pedicel, both mostly with short setulae (scape with some longer setulae dorsally); postpedicel conical, with lower margin somewhat concave on apical part, nearly 3X longer than wide; stylus rather short, about 2.5X shorter than postpedicel. Palpus black; with scattered short and moderately long fine setae. Proboscis with labrum mainly reddishbrown, brownish apically, about 1.5X longer than head height.

Thorax dark in ground-colour, densely greyish pruinose (somewhat affected by humidity), black setose; scutum with indistinct brownish grey vittae along rows of acrostichal and dorsocentral setae. Proepisternum with tuft of numerous long fine setae on lower section and several similar setae in front of spiracle. Prosternum setose. Antepronotum with about 10 strong long setae dorsally and 2–3 fine setae laterally. Postpronotal lobe with 1 hardly distinguishable stronger and numerous fine setae. Scutum with well differentiated main setae, entire supra-alar space between postpronotal lobe and suture covered with short fine setae, some similar setae present just after suture and on anterior part of notopleuron; acrostichals irregularly multiserial (4–5 rows), short, fine, numerous, lacking on prescutellar depression; presutural dorsocentrals similar to acrostichals, multiserial, not separated from supra-alar setae, postsutural dorsocentrals less numerous, becoming uniserial and long along prescutellar depression (2–3 prescutellars longest); 1 long presutural supra-alar, 1 longer postsutural supra-alar (with some additional fine setae anteriorly), 1 long and 1 very short postalars; 4 subequally long scutellars (in holotype 1 additional fine seta present); 4 notopleurals. Laterotergite with numerous long (mostly anteriorly) and short (mostly posteriorly) setae. Anterior and posterior spiracles yellow.

Legs long, slender, black setose. Legs colour: coxae and trochanters concolorous with mesopleuron; femora brownish, somewhat yellow translucent near extreme apex and base; fore and mid tibiae yellowish, hind tibia brownish yellow, tarsomeres 1–2 mostly yellowish (somewhat darkened on extreme apex), tarsomeres 3–5 becoming gradually darker from tarsomere 3 to tarsomere 5. Coxae and trochanters with simple setae. Fore femur with complete rows of fine anteroventral and posteroventral setae (former longer toward base, latter longer toward apex), some short fine ventral setae on basal half, stronger setae on about apical half anteriorly and posteriorly. Fore tibia with numerous moderately long anterodorsal and posterodorsal setae. Fore basitarsus slender, with some short setae dorsally; tarsomere 4 slightly shorter than tarsomere 5. Mid femur with short fine setae anteroventrally and ventrally (somewhat longer near base), complete row of moderately long and mostly fine posteroventral setae (2–3 strong setae on about middle). Mid tibia with 4 moderately long anterodorsal, 2 longer posterodorsal on basal half, 2 anteroventral on about apical half and 2 posteroventral setae (besides circlet of moderately long subapicals). Mid basitarsus with 4 short, spine-like setae ventrally. Hind femur slender; with long strong setae anterodorsally; complete rows of short to moderate long, mostly fine anteroventral and posteroventral setae (anteroventrals somewhat stronger on about apical half); covered with setulae ventrally, some long fine setae posteriorly. Hind tibia slightly thickened; with rows of strong 6–7 anterodorsal and 6–7 posterodorsal setae, 1 similar anteroventral seta on apical half; 1 long strong seta in posteroapical comb. Hind basitarsus slender; with 3 setae of different lengths dorsally, several short spine-like setae ventrally.

Wing membrane faintly infuscate; veins brownish; CuA+CuP (anal vein) complete, distinct throughout; cell dm short, with elongate apex. Pterostigma brownish. Basal costal seta present, long. Anal lobe well-developed; axillary angle very acute. Squama yellow, black fringed. Halter yellow.

Abdomen black, almost uniformly densely grey pruinose, only posterior margin of tergites somewhat paler; black setose; tergites with short setae dorsally and long laterally (including longer and stronger posteromarginals); sternite 1 bare, remaining sternites with scattered fine setae (except noted). Pregenital segments unmodified; segment 8 with separated tergite and sternite; tergite 8 moderately long, entire, subrectangular viewed dorsally; sternite 8 nearly as long as tergite 7, entire, with long posteromarginal setae.

Terminalia ( Fig. 2 ) moderately large, cerci concolorous with abdomen, epandrium slightly paler, both greyish pruinose and black setose. Cerci separated with each other and from hypandrium; cercus small, unilobate, subtriangular (lateral view), shorter than epandrial lamella, with slightly concave upper margin, lower margin produced downwards to phallus, with short fine setae along upper margin and some setulae on inner surface. Hypoproct simple, bare. Epandrium entirely broadly divided (epandrial bridge absent); epandrial lamella subtriangular (lateral view), with numerous fine setae along lower margin, 3 long, strong setae closer to base. Hypandrium brown, subshiny, bare;separated from hypandrium,well sclerotised, entire, moderately large, truncate apically (ventral view); gonocoxal apodeme small. Phallus brown, mostly hidden but slender apical portion extended quite far beyond cerci; gently curved, strongly thickened just beyond basal curvature, becoming gradually narrower toward middle and uniformly slen- der on remaining part, pointed at tip (lateral view); ejaculatory apodeme moderately large, extended far beyond basal curvature of phallus, with lateral wings.

Female. Unknown.

REMARKS. The new species is similar to Empis mirandica Chvála, 1981 known from Spain [ Chvála, 1981]. However, E. azrouensis sp.n. is smaller (body length 4.3 mm versus 7.4 mm in E. mirandica ), has entirely black palpus (versus palpus with large apical portion yellow in E. mirandica ) and longer phallus extended quite far beyond cerci (versus concealed within epandrial lamellae in E. mirandica ).In addition, the new species differs from E. mirandica by presence of a presutural supra-alar seta, fine ventral setae on the mid and hind femora (versus two rows of spine-like setae ventrally) and by only 1 anteroventral seta on the hind tibia (versus 2 rows of strong setae ventrally).

Also, the new species resembles E. dasycera ( Collin, 1960) , E. picipes Meigen, 1804 and E. pleurica ( Collin, 1960) . However, it differs from these species primarily by unmodified structure and vestiture of abdominal tergites of the male. In the male of E. picipes (distributed mostly in temperate central regions of Europe, also Greece and Italy, north-western part of the European Russia) and E. dasycera ( Jordan, Israel, Turkey), posterior lateral corner of abdominal tergite 4 is produced and bears some strong setae [ Collin, 1960: 402, fig. 3; 1961: 509, fig. 187; Chvála, 1994: 28, fig. 19]. In the male of E. pleurica ( Croatia, Iran, Israel, Russia (North Caucasus), Turkey), abdominal tergite 4 is not produced posterolaterally but, like two previous species, it bears 3–4 spine-like setae [ Collin, 1960: 401, fig. 2A]; in addition, tergite 4 with more or less distinct shiny patch on each side and tergite 5 is shiny black and convex laterally.

Empis azrouensis sp.n. is the first species of the subgenus Euempis recorded from Morocco.

ETYMOLOGY. The name of the new species refers to its type locality.

DISTRIBUTION. Known only from Morocco.

Figures

Figs 1–2. Empis (Euempis) azrouensis sp.n., male: 1 — habitus, holotype, lateral view; 2 — hypopygium, lateral view. Abbreviations: cerc — cercus; ej apod — ejaculatory apodeme; epand — epandrium; hypd — hypandrium; ph — phallus. Рис. 1, 2. Empis (Euempis) azrouensis sp.n., самец: 1 — габитус, голотип, вид сбоку; 2 — гипопигий, вид сбоку. СокраЩениЯ: cerc — церк; ej apod — ЭЯкулЯторнаЯ аподема; epand — Эпандрий; hypd — гипандрий; ph — фаллус.