Megaselia barrientosi García-Romera, 2014

García-Romera, Carlos & Barrientos, Jose Antonio, 2014, Nine new species of Phoridae (Insecta: Diptera) from Spain, Zootaxa 3857 (2), pp. 244-260 : 246-247

Megaselia barrientosi García-Romera sp. nov.

( Figs 3–4 )

Etymology. The species is named after Dr. Jose Antonio Barrientos

Diagnosis. Antennae yellow; thorax and abdomen brown; mesopleuron bare; scutellum with a posterior pair of bristles and an anterior pair of hairs; epandrium without bristles, with only hairs about as strong as those on cerci and proctiger; fifth tarsal segment of middle leg about twice length of fourth segment; knob of haltere yellow; four axillary bristles; one hair present at base of vein Rs; costal index more than 0.44.

Description (male). Body yellowish.

Head. Frons light brown, about as broad as long, with 58 hairs. Upper supra-antennal bristles clearly longer (1.5 ×) and stronger than lower pair, and they are slightly closer together than pre-ocellars, which are at about the same level on frons than mediolaterals and about as far apart as either is from a mediolateral bristles. Upper supraantennal bristles clearly higher on frons than antials, which are a little lower on frons than anterolaterals, and closer to these than to upper supra-antennal bristles. Gena with three long bristles and four shorter ones. Antennal postpedicel subglobose, yellow and relatively small (diameter 0.10 mm), without SPS vesicles. Palps yellow 0.17 mm long and 0.05 mm maximum width, with eight bristles, the longest bristle being longer than greatest width of palp. Labella enlarged, yellow, without short spinules below, with only a few long hairs. Labrum yellow brown, about as wide as an antennal postpedicel.

Thorax. Light brown. Mesopleuron bare. Three notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these. Scutellum with an anterior pair of small hairs and a posterior pair of bristles. Propleura with three hairs on posterodorsal edge, four on posteroventral one and two in middle of the hind margin.

Abdomen. Tergites light brown, with scattered short hairs on posterior half, with those of the rear margin only a little longer than the rest, gradually increasing in size from T4 to T6, with those of the latter a little shorter and as strong as those on cerci. Venter yellow, with a few short hairs on segments 3–6, increasing in number from the anterior to posterior segments.

Hypopygium ( Figs 3–4 ). Left side of epandrium yellow brown, without bristles, with hairs about as strong as those on cerci and proctiger; anal tube, yellow, about as long as dorsal face of epandrium; hypandrium yellow brown, with only posterior right lobe developed.

Legs. Yellow. Front legs with a posterodorsal hairs palisade on tarsal segments 1–4 and metatarsus not enlarged. Length ratios of fore tarsal segments 4.3:2:1.7:1.4:1, with fifth segment wider than fourth one. Mid legs with a dorsal hair palisade on tibia extends about 3/4 of its length; fifth mid tarsal segment twice longer than fourth one and wider than the rest tarsal segments. Longest hairs below basal half of hind femur clearly longer (1.8 ×) than those of anteroventral row of outer third. Hind tibia with 17 differentiated posterodorsal hairs and spinules of apical combs simple; fifth hind tarsal segment longer (1.5 ×) and a little wider than fourth one.

Wing. Length 2.52 mm. Membrane lightly tinged grey and veins light brown; with four axillary bristles. Subcosta (Sc) well developed, reaching R1. One hair present at base of vein Rs, 0.025 mm long. Costal index 0.47; costal ratios 3.2:2.3:1. Costal cilia (section 3) 0,16 mm long, about as long as longest axillary bristle. Knob of haltere yellow.

Recognition. In the keys to the males of the British species of Megaselia ( Disney, 1989) this species runs to couplet 12 by having the tarsal segment 5 of mid leg twice longer than segment 4, but its hypopygium and colour of thorax and tergites inmediately distinguishes it from the two species of this couplet, M. lutea (Meigen) and M. scutellaris (Wood) . The Chinese species M. tibisetalis Fang , runs to the same point, but it differs from the new species by having hairs on mesopleuron, knob of haltere brown, two axillary bristles and no hair at base of vein Rs ( Fang et al, 2009).

Material examined. Holotype ♂ Spain, Barcelona: Montseny, Montseny Natural Park, beech forest, UTM 31TDG530274, 1130 m a.s.l., 20/ 10–05/11/1990. Window trap. J.A. Barrientos leg ( UAB).

Figures

FIGURES 3 – 4. Megaselia barrientosi García-Romera sp. nov. male. 3, left face of hypopygium. 4, right face of hypopygium. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.