Pseudolycoriella dentitegmenta, Köhler, 2019

Köhler, Arne, 2019, The genus Pseudolycoriella Menzel & Mohrig, 1998 (Diptera, Sciaridae) in New Zealand, Zootaxa 4707 (1), pp. 1-69 : 58

Pseudolycoriella dentitegmenta sp. n.

( Fig. 60 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4C5B54A5-1BA7-478F-9879-5C3DCCEF1815

Material studied. Holotype male. New Zealand: North Island , Taupo , Pureora Forest, Select Loop Road, Malaise trap, 15.07– 23.08.2001, leg. M. & C. Jaschhof ( NZAC, SDEI-Dipt-0000594).

Description. Male. Head brown; eye bridge one to three facets wide. Flagellomeres brown, paler than head, concolourous with scape and pedicel; fourth flagellomere 3.1 times as long as wide; necks of flagellomeres differentiated; surface of flagellomeres rough with deep pits; sensilla of two different lengths present; setae sparse, approximately as long as flagellomere width, bases of setae with slightly raised coronas. Prefrons and clypeus moderately bulging. Maxillary palp three-segmented; first palpomere longest, third slightly longer than second; first palpomere with three bristles and an inconspicuous patch of sensilla. Thorax brown, slightly paler than head. Posterior pronotum bare. Anterior pronotum with seven bristles. Episternum 1 with ten bristles. Mesonotum with five longer bristles among the lateral bristles; row of dorsocentral bristles well developed. Scutellum with two robust and some shorter bristles. Katepisternum bicoloured, basal part pale brown, apically brown; as long as high. Wing. Length 2.9 mm; width/length ratio 0.38. Membrane transparent and without macrotrichia, anal area present; all posterior veins distinct, all without macrotrichia; apical third of R 5 with additional macrotrichia on ventral side; bM bare; r-m with one macrotrichium; R 1 short, 0.71 times as long as R; M-fork longer than M stem; c/w ratio 0.71; r-m and bM equal in length. Haltere pale brown. Legs pale brown; coxal bristles dark. Fore tibia without bristles among vestiture; tibial organ comprising half of tibial apex, consisting of a transverse patch of bristles surrounded by a robust circular border. Mid tibia with two robust bristles; one anterioventrally and one posterioventrally among the vestiture. Hind tibia with several robust bristles on anterioventral, posterior and posterioventral sides and a longitudinal row of robust bristles, which extends two-thirds of tibial length. Basal tarsomere of all legs with conspicuous robust bristles. All tibial spurs equal in length. Claws with one robust tooth and several minor teeth. Abdomen. Pale brown, with dark bristles. Hypopygium ( Fig. 60 ) brown. Gonocoxites wider than long, ventrally v-shaped and not fused, without a basal lobe of bristles. Gonostylus long and slender, curved slightly inwards, 3.9 times longer than wide; apically with dense setae and a group of approximately six spines; subapically with two medium-sized whiplash hairs. Tegmen longer than wide, base very strongly sclerotized with medium-sized, robust parameral apodeme; lateral margin of tegmen with a sclerotized margin; several small teeth scattered on lateral and subapical margin; apex of tegmen membranous; dorsal structures on tegmen indicated. Area of teeth with 15 conspicuous teeth. Ejaculatory apodeme medium-sized, broad, and very dark, with a broad, horseshoe-shaped base. Posterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme broad and brown. Anterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme not present.

Body size: 2.8 mm.

Female. Unknown.

Genetic distances. No genetic data available.

Etymology. The epithet of the new species is composed of the two Latin words dentis (teeth) and tegmen (cover; technical term for a part of the sciarid hypopygium).

Distribution. New Zealand.

Discussion. Due to the presence of several small spines and two whip-lash hairs on the gonostylus Psl. dentitegmenta can easily be recognized as a species of the Psl. macrotegmenta group. However, it is unique because of the long tegmen with many scattered subapical teeth. Furthermore Psl. dentitegmenta has the longest body length, wing length, and length-width ratio of the gonostylus in this species complex.

Figures

FIGURES 55–60. Pseudolycoriella macrotegmenta complex, hypopygia. 55. Pseudolycoriella fiordlandia sp. n. 56. Pseudolycoriella jaschhofi sp. n. 57. Pseudolycoriella frederickedwardsi Köhler 58. Pseudolycoriella tonnoiri Köhler 59. Pseudolycoriella breviseta Mohrig 60. Pseudolycoriella dentitegmenta sp. n.