Cydistomyia waigani, Goodwin, 2010

Goodwin, James T., 2010, New species of Cydistomyia Taylor with notes and collection records for other Tabanidae (Diptera) from New Guinea, Insecta Mundi 2010 (117), pp. 1-22 : 6-7

Cydistomyia waigani n. sp. ( Figure 3 A-3D)

Material examined. 2 females. Holotype female: UPNG, Waigani , NCD, Papua New Guinea, 26 Feb 1975, Tore Lari ( FSCA; D1459 ); paratype female: light trap, Waigani, Pt. Moresby, 25 Aug 1967, K. Lamb ( FSCA; D1460 ).

Description. A small (body and wing lengths 8 mm) yellowish to grayish species lacking distinct pattern.

Head. Frons ca. 0.6 mm wide basally, converging slightly from subcallus to vertex, about 2.5 times as high as wide basally, with scattered black hairs, yellowish-gray pollinose overall except for orange-brown callus that is widely separated from eyes, egg-shaped except that the narrower dorsal end bears a very short pointed extension, about 1.5 times as high as wide, excluding the short extension. Subcallus, parafacials, and face white pollinose, beard white. Antennae slender, scape and pedicel concolorous with frons and bearing numerous short black hairs, plate of third segment yellow-orange, narrow, about 2 times as long as wide and subequal to combined length of annuli which are slightly darker in color. Palpi yellowish-white pollinose with mostly pale hairs except for a few black ones basally.

Thorax. Dorsally without pattern, grayish pollinose with mostly short pale hairs over a pale brown base color; pleural areas similarly pollinose but overall a little lighter in color; legs with coxae concolorous with pleural areas, remainder yellowish except for apical one-third of fore tibiae and fore tarsi which are brown. Wings clear, veins yellowish, fork of R 4+5 with a short appendix.

Abdomen. Dorsally yellowish-gray pollinose with numerous short black hairs except for midline and poster margins of tergites which have mostly pale hairs; dorsum patternless in most views, but in some views the midline and posterior borders of the tergites appear paler. Venter concolorous with dorsum but appearing a little paler due to the lack of black hairs.

Etymology. Waigani, the place of the collection of the holotype is the name applied to a part of Port Moresby, and it is used as a noun in apposition.

Discussion. This species is appears to be part of the nana group ( Mackerras 1971). It is similar in size and coloration to C. nana Mackerras and Rageau , one of the species known from New Britain but not known from New Guinea. However the two species differ markedly in shape of frons and callus. In C. waigani the frons diverges ventrally, being distinctly wider adjacent to subcallus in comparison to width at vertex. Also, the callus is about 1/2 as wide as frons and 1/3 height of frons, roughly egg-shaped, resting on the larger end and bearing a short pointed extension dorsally. In C. nana the frons is parallel sided, about 5 times as high as wide, the callus is almost as wide as the frons basally but tapers rapidly to a slender line that extends above the middle of the frons.

Figures

Figure 3. Adult habitus and structures of Cydistomyia waigani n. sp. A) Outline drawing of antenna. B) Outline drawing of palp. C) Anterior view of head. D) Dorsal habitus. Scale line 0.1mm.