Disciphus Becker, 1911

Mlynarek, Julia J. & Wheeler, Terry A., 2018, Phylogeny and revised classification of the tribe Elachipterini (Diptera: Chloropidae), Zootaxa 4471 (1), pp. 1-36 : 19

Disciphus Becker, 1911

( Figs 27–32 )

Disciphus Becker, 1911: 98 . Type species: Disciphis peregrinus Becker, 1911 (subsequent designation by Sabrosky, 1941: 752).

Diagnosis. Oscinellinae with a patterned wing, a trapezoidal scutellum with a pair of long tubercles and long slender arista.

Description. Chloropidae , Oscinellinae . Vertex rounded in lateral view ( Fig. 27 ); frontal triangle shining and bare; frons microtomentose; cephalic chaetotaxy: long peristomal bristles, cruciate postocellar bristles, cruciate short ocellar bristles, long outer vertical setae, interfrontal setulae long and on inner margin of frontal triangle, orbital bristles reclinate, one longer than others; eye sparsely and microscopically pubescent; gena narrow, vibrissal angle rounded, indistinct; face flat, wide, carina absent; first flagellomere reniform, higher than wide, arista longer than width of frons, and slender ( Fig. 28 ); proboscis and palpus short.

Scutum square, as wide as long; thoracic chaetotaxy: 1 anterior, 1 posterior notopleurals, 1 postsutural supraalar bristle, 1 dorsocentral bristle; scutellum flat dorsally, trapezoidal, usually wider than long, with a pair of very long scutellar tubercles ( Fig. 30 ); 1 pair apical scutellar bristles, 1 pair of lateral scutellar bristles; thoracic pleurites bare except for a row of setulae on katepisternum. Wing long, narrow, with a pattern, second costal sector equal or longer than third costal sector, distance between crossvein r-m and dm-cu 3.5 times length of dm-cu, anal angle reduced, alula small, much longer than wide; veins dark; halter white ( Fig. 29 ). Legs long and slender; male femoral organ present as 1–3 rows of 8–10 tubercles; small, apical ventral spur on mid tibia; hind tibial spur absent; tibial organ oval, sometimes very narrow, 0.2 to 0.25 times length of hind tibia.

Abdomen slender, abdominal tergites setulose laterally and with sparse setae posteriorly, mostly microtomentose; sternites slender, with sparse setae; male spiracles 3–5 in membrane near lateral margin of tergite.

Male postabdomen: pregenital sclerites narrow; spiracles 6 and 7 in membrane ventral to lateral margin of dorsal sclerite; epandrium rounded, usually higher than long in lateral view ( Fig. 32 ) and wider than high in posterior view ( Fig. 31 ); surstylus simple, parallel sided; hypandrium open posteriorly; pregonite fused with postgonite, weakly sclerotized; basiphallus elongate, weakly sclerotized; distiphallus short, membranous; phallapodeme simple; phallic guide sclerotized; cercus small, rectangular, projecting posteroventrally.

Female terminalia not modified, cerci separate, cylindrical, setulose.

Geographic distribution. Disciphus is restricted to the Oriental realm. As previously defined, the distribution of Disciphus also included the Palearctic region (Japan); however, based our analysis, the Japanese species ( Disciphus subelongatus ) has been transferred to Elachiptera .

Figures

FIGURES 27–32. Disciphus peregrinus. 27. Head, lateral; 28. Antenna; 29. Wing; 30. Scutellum, dorsal; 31. Male genitalia, posterior; 32. Male genitalia, lateral. Abbreviations: cer—cercus; epd—epandrium; sur—surstylus. Scale bars—Fig. 29 = 0.5 mm; Figs 28, 30–31 = 0.1 mm.