Silba translucens, Introduction & Fallén & Morge, 2007

Introduction, Iain, Fallén, Lonchaea & Morge, Setisquamalonchaea, 2007, New pecies of Lonchaeidae (Diptera: Schizophora) from Asia, Zootaxa 1631, pp. 1-32 : 30-31

Silba translucens sp. nov.

Description: Holotype male: Head: Eyes bare. Frons subshining black, almost parallel sided, at its narrowest point 60% eye width, frontal and interfrontal setulae short, at most one sixth length of orbital setae, some longer setulae present along anterior margin of frons. Orbital plate broad and shining, bare of setulae. Lunule bearing six setulae, ground colour black but covered in moderately dense silver dusting. Face and parafacials slightly silvered. Anterior genal setulae in a single row of five along mouth margin, basal one or two just slightly longer than other setulae on genae. Antennal flagellomere entirely black apart from a slight orange area basally on inner surface, two and a half times as long as deep. Arista yellow basally, with plumosity which at its maximum extent equalling width of antennal flagellomere

Thorax: Disc shining, slightly dusted in pre-scutellar area, covered in setulae which are approximately one third length of orbital setae. Pleurae slightly dusted. Anepisternum with three strong setulae anteriorly and three posteriorly. Katepisternum with two setae, each equally strong. One propleural and one weaker stigmatical setae. Scutellum on margin with four setulae between lateral and apical setae, two between apical setae. Squamae pale with pale fringes. Wings clear with yellow veins. Wing length 4.0mm. Legs entirelly black.

Male terminalia; Figs. 66–68. In lateral view epandrium slightly more than one and a half times as tall as wide, posteriorly rather squared and anteriorly with a broad hooked process, a row of long setulae present along ventral margin. Cerci about half as high as epandrium, finger-like and not sclerotised, bearing a fringe of short setulae with only a few scattered, longer setulae present apically Surstyli almost entirelly contained within the shell of epandrium apart from a small black tooth visible posteriorly and a slender apical process. In latero-ventral view a row of small peg-like black teeth visible extending from the posteriorly projecting tooth in an almost linear row anteriorly to a point about one third of the way down the inner face of the epandrium, continuing anterior to this a line of short creases, margins of the surstyli on apical third bearing a row of short setulae. Aedeagus a simple U-shape with the apical portion twice as long as the basal portion, apical part slightly sinuous and its bend to the basal section with a translucent area on the inner surface

Differential diagnosis: This species belongs to the Silba abstata McAlpine, 1956 group of species all of which are rather small, with a relatively short antennal flagellomere, an elongate epandrium with short cerci and with a row of teeth on the inner surface of the surstyli situated parallel to the ventral margin. McAlpine (1975) provided a key to the known species. With a pale squamal fringe and a simple aedeagus this species is most closely similar to S. lucens (de Meijere), 1910 from Java and S. imitata McAlpine, 1964 from Australia. This species is distinguished from both these species by having relatively large cerci, one of the teeth on the surstylus projecting posteriorly and by the slender, sinuous aedeagus with a translucent area on its inner margin..

TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype male. MALAYSIA: Pahang, Bukit Charas , 60m, 3km. N. Panching, 3– 4.vi.2004, 3°54N / 103°08E, rain forest, leg P. Schwendinger.

Paratype: 1 male with the same data as the holotype .

Holotype and paratype deposited in the MHNG

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the translucent area present on the inner margin of the aedeagus