Seoda morula ( Eaton, 1893 )

Kvifte, Gunnar Mikalsen, 2014, Nomenclature and taxonomy of Telmatoscopus Eaton and Seoda Enderlein; with a discussion of parameral evolution in Paramormiini and Pericomaini (Diptera: Psychodidae, Psychodinae), Zootaxa 3878 (4), pp. 390-400 : 396-397

Seoda morula ( Eaton, 1893)

Pericoma morula Eaton, 1893: 127

= Telmatoscopus incanus Nielsen, 1964: 153 , syn.nov.?= Telmatoscopus vaillanti Withers, 1986: 229 , syn.nov.

Material examined. Paralectotype ♂: GREAT BRITAIN: Somerset: Stoney Stoke, 27.V.1892, 1 ♂, A.E. Eaton leg. ( BMNH) Paratype ♂ for Telmatoscopus vaillanti Withers, 1986 .

GREAT BRITAIN: Norfolk: Upton Broad, 2.VI–9. VI.1983, A.Irwin & W.Urwin leg. 1 ♂ (Malaise trap, RW)

GREAT BRITAIN: Devon, Branscombe, 5.VI.1901, 1 ♂. Dorset, Blackdown, Broadwinsor, 24.V.1904, 2 ♂♂, Dorset, Bridport, Symondsbury, 20.V.1910, 1 ♂, all A.E. Eaton leg. ( BMNH)

GERMANY: Schleswig-Holstein: Eutin near Bungsberg, 31.V.1982, no collector. 1 ♂ Schierenseebach, 1.VI.1985, Holm leg. 1 ♂. Hessen, Schlitz, Breitenbach, no date, no collector. 1 ♂. Thüringen: Rosoppe bei Martinfeld, 10. VI.1982, W. Joost leg. 1♂ (all RW)

LUXEMBOURG: "Quelle E1 Gutland, N Haereberg (Die Kirch)" 18.V.1999, I. Schrankel leg. 1 ♂ (RW)

POLAND: Łódź highland, Widawka river, Kodrac. 9.VII.1984, S. Niesołowski leg. 1 ♂ (RW)

AUSTRIA: Lunz, Teichbach. 29.V.1972 4 ♂♂, 30.V.1972, 2 ♂♂ (RW)

Description. Adult male (n=12). Head about as broad as long, vertex a third of total head length; postocular bristles reaching bases of eyebridge; eyebridge of four facet rows, separated by two to three facet diameters; interocular suture present, U-shaped; frontal alveolar patch trilobate, median lobe reaching interocular suture; frontoclypeus widened over mesal margins of eyes, produced to about eyebridge width in front of eyes; length of palp segments (n=6, 5,5,3) 100–120 (115), 160–170 (165), 155–165 (160), 225–235 (230); labellum bulbous, setose; scape cylindrical, pedicel globular; flagellomeres nodiform assymetrical; basalmost and distalmost flagellomeres shorter than middle flagellomeres; third and fourth flagellomeres with short spines on lateral side; ascoids not observed in examined specimens, but ring of attachment points present above ring of setae; length of antennal segments 1–4 (n=6) 220–250 (235), 65–75 (70), 90–105 (95), 80–100 (90); length of antennal segment 5 (n=5) 110–125 (115); length of antennal segments 6–15 (n=4) 115–130 (120), 115–130 (120), 115–125 (120), 115–120 (120), 115–120 (120), 110–120 (115), 105–115 (110), 100–110 (105), 95–100 (100); length of antennal segment 16 (n=3) 85–95 (90); Thorax without special features; dorsum with setae in three longitudinal stripes; anepisternum, katepimeron and scutellum setose, anepimeron bare; posterior spiracle setose; legs without special features; wing length 2.16–2.49 (2.3), breadth 0.9–1.02 (0.95); apex of wing between R4 and R5; Sc approaching C, but not reaching it; medial and radial forks aligned; base of medial fork weakened; dense oval patch of setae present dorsal to jugum; jugum U-shaped with squarish edges; terminalia (fig. 2D); hypandrium of even width; gonostylus (not illustrated) acuminate, with knee-like bend at median, about as long as gonocoxite; gonocoxite reniform, gonocoxal condyles circularly arched; triangular parameral sclerite present medially, linked basally to phallomeres; parameral sheath enclosing aedeagal complex except stylets of phallomeres; basiphallus broad with wide aperture, distiphallus consisting of two symmetrical phallomeres sclerotized basally, no obvious connection to epandrium apparent; distal and lateral parts of phallomeres membranous, unsclerotized lateral stylets present; epandrium (not illustrated) square with single aperture; surstyli cylindrical, of even width throughout length, five times as long as broad; with 8–12 tenacula; tenacula faintly fringed apically; hypoproct elongately diamondshaped, epiproct round.

Remarks. Seoda morula is here recorded from Luxembourg and Poland for the first time. The species has previously been recorded from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands and Sweden ( Tonnoir 1919, Barendrecht 1934, Nielsen 1964, Vaillant 1972, Caspers & Wagner 1980, Withers & O'Connor 1992, Bernotienè 2002). A record from Bosnia and Herzegovina by Krek (1971) was later described as a separate species, Seoda verbassica ( Krek, 1978) . A record from Italy by Sará (1960) was later suggested by Vaillant (1972) to be a misidentification. This is likely to be true because the characters given in Sará (1960) are inconsistent with the characters as observed in the present study.

The synonymy of Telmatoscopus vaillanti Withers, 1986 with Seoda morula is based on the examination of a paratype male. The separation of the two species appears to be based on the presence or absence of lateral distiphallic stylets—a character which is very prone to misinterpretation if tissues are destroyed during bleaching or if the orientation of the specimen on the slide is not perfectly dorsoventral. In all other characters, the paratype is identical to morula specimens from Britain and continental Europe. In the absence of reliable characters, the species is therefore tentatively placed in synonymy.

The species from Austria recorded as Panimerus incanus by Wagner (1980) shows small, but consistent genitalic differences from specimens collected elsewhere in Europe. They have, therefore, been omitted from the measurements and descriptions, as they may represent a different species.