Macalpinella, Papp, 2005

Papp, L., 2005, Some Acalyptrate Flies (Diptera) From Taiwan, Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 51 (3), pp. 187-213 : 189-191

Macalpinella gen. n.

( Figs 1–8 )

Type species: Macalpinella brevifacies sp. n.

Gender: feminine.

Description – Prefrons (face) protruding medially and wholly and strongly sclerotized ( Fig. 1 ). Clypeus short, small, -shaped, no sclerotized part between prefrons and clypeus but membrane only. Vibrissae just on the mouth edge. Scape small, without longer setae, pedicel broad with a digitiform process into 1 st flagellomere, with a complete wreath of setae apically including some longer ones. One large, almost perpendicular anterior orbital pair (very slightly re- and inclinate), 1 short pair of lateroclinate orbital pair, oc, vte, vti large, poc small, cruciate (about half as long as vti).

Thoracic chaetotaxy: 1 pprn, 2 np, 1 prsut, 1 shorter prealar, 1 shorter supra-alar, 1 large postalar pairs. 1+3 dc pairs, 2–3 enlarged setae in the sagittal acrostichal row, acrostichals otherwise sparse and short and not arranged into rows. That is, there are no enlarged, paired acrostichals. No scapular setae.

Costal vein not spinose. No basal crossvein (not even a trace of it). Actually there is no anal cell (no anal crossvein).

Setulae on tibiae and tarsi rather thin. No terminal process on male fore basitarsus. Mid basitarsus only slightly longer than fore basitarsus.

Male preabdomen of 6 segments. Sternite 6 small, normal, similar to sternite 5. Syntergosternite 7–8 complex with a large semiglobular dorsal part, which is longer than epandrium ( Fig. 8 ). The complex is wholly symmetrical and includes stigmal pairs 7 and 8 ( Fig. 6 ). Male cerci fused and strongly sclerotized ( Fig. 4 ). Surstyli bi-segmented, at least apical part obviously movable medially ( Fig. 4 ). Subepandrial sclerite ( Figs 2 , 7 ) Y-shaped with 2 pairs of setae. Ejaculatory apodeme ( Fig. 5 ) of an irregular shape. Basiphallus ( Figs 3 , 7 ) is a tube, in which aedeagal apodeme is placed. If this is true, the transverse lath is a part of phallobase. Gonopods digitiform ( Figs 7 , 3 ). There is a pair of blunt (or rather slightly bifid) appendages, which originate from the level of distiphallus, which may be appendages of aedeagal apodeme or of the gonopods.

Female abdomen with short tergites 3 to 5, tergite 6 very long, longer than tergites 4 and 5 combined. Sternite 6 tends to be bipartite: lateral parts more strongly sclerotized and melanized than medial part. Female tergite 7 long convex, embracing edges of the flat, similarly large sternite 7. However, their edges not fused. Also sternite 7 less strongly sclerotized and melanized medially than laterally. Sternite 8 fused to sternites 7 in its medial half. Tergite 8 and sternite 8 short, cerci minute, caudal view, 5 = ejaculatory apodeme. Scale bars: 0.2 mm for Figs 2–4 , 0.1 mm for Fig. 5

hidden under tergite 8, no sclerotized epiproct and hypoproct. Tergites 6 and 7 with much longer setae than preceding ones. No sclerotized spermathecae.

Remarks – Macalpinella gen. n. runs to Rhinopomyzella HENNIG, 1969 (Neotropical) in his key (pp. 590–591): both genera have 1+3 pairs of dorsocentrals, anal cell of wing reduced, etc. Now we leave the question open, whether Rhinopomyzella is a subgenus of Pseudopomyza STROBL, 1893 or not. However, it is not closely related. The most conspicuous differences are that Macalpinella has completely sclerotized face and only 2 pairs of orbital setae (3 pairs in Rhinopomyzella ). Male genitalia are markedly different. (I made the comparison through a male specimen of Rhinopomyzella from Costa Rica, Suiza de Turrialba (HNHM) (probably a new species). Structure of face, prefrons being desclerotized, and less protruding than in Macalpinella , its 3 reclinate pairs of orbital setae well shorter and thicker than in Macalpinella , genae at vibrissae much less broad than first flagellomere, no additional scutellar setulae in Rhinopomyzella , 2 strong costagial plus 1 long seta just distally to humeral vein.

Macalpinella gen. n. was compared also with Pseudopomyza (atrimana). Differences other than in the structure of face, orbital setae etc., are mainly in genitalia. Sternite 6 of Pseudopomyza is H-shaped as given by MCALPINE & SHATALKIN (1998: fig. 9), it is simple here. Syntergosternite 7–8 complex of the same structure as in Macalpinella , but that is much shorter than epandrium (2/3 only), and vice versa in Macalpinella . Cerci small, weakly sclerotized but also fused sagittally. Subepandrial sclerite of the same structure, incl. 2 pairs of strong setae. Surstylus of Pseudopomyza not divided, phallus much different than in Macalpinella (fig. 1.5 of MCALPINE & SHATALKIN 1998).

Etymology – I name this genus after Dr. DAVID K. MCALPINE (Entomology Section, Australian Museum, Sydney) in order to express my gratitude for all his achievements in the taxonomy and systematics of the acalyptrate dipterous families.

Figures

Figs 1–5. Macalpinella brevifacies sp. n. 1 = head in an oblique view (del. A. SZAPPANOS), 2 = subepandrial sclerite, ventral view, 3 = inner genitalia, dorsal view, 4 = epandrium, surstyli and cerci,

Figs 6–8. Macalpinella brevifacies sp. n., paratype male, genitalia.6 = syntergosternite 7–8 complex, subventral view, 7 = inner genitalia with subepandrial sclerite, ventral view, 8 = postabdomen with