Amygdalops simplicior, Jindr & Rohác & ek, 2004

Jindr, Rohác, ich & ek, 2004, Revision of the genus Amygdalops Lamb, 1914 (Diptera: Anthomyzidae) of the Afrotropical Region, African Invertebrates 45, pp. 157-221 : 176-181

Amygdalops simplicior sp. n.

( Figs 35–45 , 125 )

Type material: Holotype male labelled: ‘N. NIGERIA: Nr. Kafanchan, Kagoro Forest , 13.xi.1976, J. C. Deeming’ leg. ( NMWC, genit. prep.) . Paratypes: CAPE VERDE Is. : São Jorge dos Orgãos, ix. 1988, 5 males 6 females, A. van Harten leg. ( NMWC, SMOC) . MALI: Yanfolila , 19.ix.–7.x.1986, 1 female, J. Durham leg. ( NMWC) . N. NIGERIA: Zaria, Samaru , m. v.trap , 13.v.1966, 1 female; 9.viii.1966, 1 female; 27.viii.1966, 1 male; 5.ix.1966, 1 male 1 female, J. C. Deeming leg. ( USNM) ; same locality, m. v.trap , ix. 1970, 1 male 3 females; vi. 1979, 1 female; vii. 1979, 1 male 2 females; viii.1979, 1 male, J. C. Deeming leg. ( NMWC) ; W. State, Ibadan , 16.v.1969, 1 male 1 female in copula, J. T. Medler leg. ( NMWC, a very immature pair with faded wing pattern) . SENEGAL: 1 km NE Djibelor, about 7.5 km SW Ziguinchor, UTM 28PCJ5687, loc. 29, swept along roadside in forest, 8.xi.1977, 1 female, Cederholm, Danielsson, Hammarstedt, Hedquist, Samuelsson leg. (Lund Univ. Syst. Dept.: Sweden-GambiaSenegal Expedition , Nov. 1977, MZLU) . SIERRA LEONE: Mokunji , 130 m, 250 km de la côte, 12.i.1972, 1 female, P. Pfauner leg. ( MHNG) . UGANDA: Serere, 22.ix.1972, 1 female (in glycerine), J. L. Overman leg. ( NMWC) . Most paratypes with genit. prep. Etymology: The species is named ‘simplicior’ (= Lat. more simple) because the wing pattern and the shape of the male gonostylus are more simple than in the related species.

Figs 46–48. Amygdalops thomasseti Lamb , male, female ( Uganda). 46. Female postabdomen without 6th segment, ventral view. 47. Gonostylus, sublateral view (widest extension). 48.Ventral receptacle, lateral view. Scales: Figs 41, 42 , 46 = 0.1 mm, others = 0.05 mm.

Description: Male.

Total body length 1.39–2.06 mm. Body bicolorous, brown and yellow.

Head: Slightly to indistinctly longer than high. Frons somewhat broader than that of A. thomasseti . Entire occiput brown to dark brown. Posterior two-thirds of frons brown (including orbits), anterior third yellow. Frontal triangle narrow, shining, reaching to anterior half to third of frons and surrounded by dull, sparsely whitish microtomentose stripes. Orbits subshining and very sparsely microtomentose, dark brown except for anterior third yellow to yellowish white. Face ochreous, medially usually darker; anterior margin in front of eye and gena whitish yellow, silvery white microtomentose. Cephalic chaetotaxy: pvt small but crossed; vti markedly shorter than vte; oc about as long as vti; 2 long ors (posterior usually longer) and 2 (rarely only 1) small setulae in front of anterior ors; 1–2 pairs of medial microsetulae in anterior third of frons, often strongly reduced to invisible; 1 long vi and 1 (usually shorter) subvibrissa; a single row of short peristomal setulae. Palpus yellow with 1 distinct seta. Eye strongly convex, its longest diameter about 1.5–1.6 times as long as shortest one. Smallest height of gena about 0.1 times as long as shortest eye diameter. Antenna yellow to orange yellow, only outer side of 1st flagellomere darkened, particularly around base of arista. Arista about 1.6– 1.7 times as long as antenna, long pectinate as in A. thomasseti .

Thorax: Bicolorous, brown or dark brown and yellow. Mesonotum brown, at most posterolateral parts of mesonotum somewhat paler and scutellum darker brown; humeral and notopleural areas up to wing base yellowish ochreous; pleural part of thorax dorsally (from propleuron to haltere) with brown to pale brown (ventrally) longitudinal narrow band, otherwise yellow. Thoracic chaetotaxy: 1 small prs; 2 dc but anterior reduced, only as long as prs, posterior dc very long; 2 sc, apical as long as posterior dc, basal short and weak; 1 ppl, reduced to microseta or indistinct; 2 stpl, anterior shorter; ventral setae on sternopleuron about as long as anterior stpl but very fine. Scutellum distinctly convex. Legs uniformly yellow to yellowish ochreous. Chaetotaxy of legs as in A. thomasseti . f 3 with long row of posteroventral setae (14–17) which are shortened and thickened in distal third of femur. Wing ( Fig. 125 ) distinctly paler than that of A. thomasseti , including subapical dark spot at apex of R 2+3. Wing membrane relatively uniformly pale brown tinged, thus without paler areas, only the subapical spot darker brown. R 4+5 and M subparallel or basally and apically very slightly convergent, never sinuous. Other veins as in A. thomasseti . Wing measurements: length 1.55–2.08 mm; width 0.46–0.64 mm, Cs 3: Cs 4 = 2.06–2.35, r-m\dm-cu: dm-cu = 2.92–3.80. Haltere pale yellow or knob dirty whitish.

Abdomen: Preabdominal terga dark brown, only T5 with pale yellow laterobasal spot of variable size on each side. T6 small, membranous, bare. Preabdominal sterna somewhat broader than those of A. thomasseti , becoming broader posteriorly (S5 the widest); all pale yellow or ochreous and finely setulose. S6–S8 dark brown as epandrium, similarly formed as in A. thomasseti .

Genitalia: Epandrium hemispherical ( Figs 35, 36 ), sparsely setose, with a pair of longer setae dorsomedially; anal opening small. Cercus relatively long. Medandrium ( Fig. 35 ) relatively narrow. Gonostylus ( Fig. 39 ) simply subtriangular, tapered distally but apex not acute; most of its outer side covered by sparse micropubescence; inner side of gonostylus with longer setae, mainly in anterior half. Hypandrium ( Fig. 38 ) moderate in size, with low membranous internal lobes; transandrium ( Fig. 37 ) relatively narrow, with sclerites of caudal process rather short, slender, almost meeting dorsally and divergent ventrally. Pregonite ( Fig. 38 ) fused with hypandrium, little projecting ventrally but rather incurved, each with 6–7 setae, 1 of them long. Postgonite ( Fig. 38 ) slender, distally somewhat bent inside, with cut apex and 1 small anterolateral setula in the middle; basal sclerite attached to postgonite dark, strongly sclerotised and ventrally projecting. Aedeagal part of folding apparatus attached to base of phallapodeme ( Fig. 40 ) armed by flat, dark granulose tubercles; connecting sclerite slender, with fine granulose pigmentation. Basal membrane armed by short broad spines ( Figs 37, 38 ). Aedeagal complex ( Fig. 40 ) with phallapodeme having bifurcate base and expanded, laterally projecting apex. Aedeagus with small frame-like phallophore and large, ventrobasally spinulose distiphallus. Saccus of distiphallus voluminous (particularly in erect position), armed by two groups of dense spines (in the middle and subapically), apically only finely tuberculate.Filum of distiphallus formed by 2 dark stripe-like twisted sclerites (proximally relatively robust) and largely membranous at somewhat dilated apex. Ejacapodeme small, with usual slender projection.

Female differs from male as follows:

Total body length 1.55–2.38 mm.

Frons anteriorly often darker than in male, medially brownish, thus only anterior third of orbit yellow. f 3 posteroventrally simply finely setulose. Wing measurements: length 1.67–2.30 mm, width 0.48–0.71 mm, Cs 3: Cs 4 = 1.80–2.47, r-m\dm-cu: dm-cu = 2.94–3.91.Abdomen with dark brown preabdominal terga, only T3–T5 with yellowish ochreous laterobasal spot on each side; these pale spots are variable in size and often poorly visible in dry specimens. Preabdominal sterna pale yellow, becoming broader posteriorly, S5 only slightly narrower than S6.

Postabdomen ( Figs 41, 42 ).T6 with pale transverse area (sublaterally somewhat dilated) at anterior margin, otherwise brown. Both T6 and T7 with thick short setae, restricted to posterior half of sclerites. S6 as wide as T7 and somewhat darker pigmented than S5, particularly in posterior half. T7 narrower than T6, with anterior emargination, medially short, all dark brown. S7 with characteristic pattern, composed of unpigmented central spot, a pair of very dark anteromedial cuspidate structures inserted on dark anterior corners and less dark, finely setose posterior third.T8 dark,plate-shaped,longer than in A. thomasseti , with less rounded posterior corners. S8 dark, distinctly longer than that of A. thomasseti , mediodorsally with narrow deep incision.T10 small but relatively long, with a pair of long setae in the middle and microtomentum restricted to posterior unpigmented part.S10slightly wider than T10, with a pair of small dark spots at anterior margin and with micropubescence mainly on posterior, somewhat tapered part. Internal sclerotisation of genital chamber composed of 2 pairs of twisted pale pigmented sclerites (see Fig. 44 ); anterior ring-shaped structure indefinite, membranous, hardly visible.Ventral receptacle ( Fig. 45 ) membranous, formed by broader ringed bag and slender, curved, digitiform terminal projection. Spermathecae (1+1) ball-shaped ( Fig. 43 ), subequal in size, each with very small dark spines inserted on basal third around duct insertion; duct cervix well developed, mediumlong. Cerci robust, shortly setose.

Discussion: A. simplicior sp.n. can be recognised by the combination of dark occiput, dark posterior two-thirds of frons and simplified pattern of wing (uniformly pale brown with only a dark spot at apex of R 2+3). However, it is advisable to confirm the identification by the examination of the species-specific genital features, viz. subtriangular gonostylus, dark and projecting basal sclerite of postgonite and distinctive armature of saccus of distiphallus in the male and by the characteristic S7 and S 10 in the female.

Biology: Adults were collected in May, and from August to November. An immature pair in copula was caught in May. No precise data about habitat are available; one female was swept from vegetation in a forest.

Distribution: The species is mainly known from western Africa ( Senegal, Sierra Leone, Mali, Nigeria) and the adjacent Macaronesian Cape Verde Is. (? introduced); the only E. African record is from Uganda.

Figures

Figs 35–40. Amygdalops simplicior sp.n., male paratype (Cape Verde). 35. External genitalia, caudal view. 36. Same, lateral view.37.Transandrium, caudal view. 38. Hypandrium and associated structures, lateral view. 39. Gonostylus, sublateral view (widest extension). 40. Aedeagal complex, lateral view. Scales: Fig. 39 = 0.05 mm, others = 0.1 mm.

Figs 41–45. Amygdalops simplicior sp.n., female paratype (Cape Verde). 41. Postabdomen, dorsal view. 42. Same, ventral view. 43. Spermathecae. 44. Internal sclerites, ventral view. 45. Ventral receptacle, lateral view.

Figs 122–125. Wings of Amygdalops species. 122. A. trivittatus Frey, female holotype. 123. A. thomasseti Lamb, male (Uganda). 124. A. obtusus sp.n., male paratype (Kenya). 125. A. simplicior sp.n., male paratype (Nigeria). Scales = 0.5 mm.