Metalimnobia (Metalimnobia) caudifusca, Jiang & Zhang, 2020

Jiang, Ye & Zhang, Xiao, 2020, New Metalimnobia crane flies (Diptera, Limoniidae) from China with an update of species distributions, ZooKeys 1008, pp. 93-105 : 93

Metalimnobia (Metalimnobia) caudifusca sp. nov. Figures 5 , 6

Type material.

Holotype male, China: Xizang, Bayi, Tibet agriculture and Animal Husbandry University (29°39'46"N, 94°20'43"E, 3000 m), 2014.VIII.22-IX.18, Baohai Wang (Malaise trap). Paratypes: 1 male, same data as holotype. 1 male, China: Xizang, Bayi, Lulang (29°43'10"N, 94°42'06"E, 3800 m), 2009.VIII.2, Maoling Sheng.

Diagnosis.

Pleuron yellow. Fore femur yellow with apical brown ring; mid and hind femora each with two rings, apical ring brown, subapical ring pale brown and spreading over half of femur. Wing grayish without spot at base. Sc1 ending beyond fork of Rs, Sc2 shorter than Sc1; basal section of CuA1 before fork of M. Inner gonostylus divided into three lobes; dorsal fleshy lobe arched at 2/3 length, tip pointed. Paramere with distal part long, slender and slightly curved outwards, tip angulate with tuft of hairs.

Description.

Male. Body length 9.5-10.5 mm, wing length 11.5-13.0 mm.

Head (Fig. 5b ) brownish yellow with vertex brown and frons yellow. Setae on head brown. Antenna length 2.2-2.5 mm, yellow with flagellomeres brown. Scape cylindrical; pedicel nearly globose; flagellomeres oval with long setae, each flagellomere slightly narrower than previous one, terminal flagellomere elongated. Rostrum brown with dark brown setae. Palpus brown with dark brown setae.

Thorax (Fig. 5c ). Pronotum brown with lateral regions brownish yellow. Prescutum yellow with four broad, brown longitudinal stripes, lateral stripes about 1/2 length of median stripes. Scutum yellow, each lobe with two large pale brown spots, anterior spot connected with lateral stripe of prescutum. Scutellum yellow with lateral regions pale brown. Mediotergite yellow, base with two pale brown spots. Pleuron (Fig. 5a ) yellow. Setae on thorax dark brown. Coxae yellow. Trochanters pale yellow. Fore femur yellow, tip with brown ring; mid and hind femora each yellow with two rings, apical ring brown, subapical ring pale brown and spreading over half of femur. Tibiae brown. Tarsi brown, bases of first tarsal segments slightly paler. Setae on legs dark brown. Wing (Fig. 5d ) grayish with pale brownish yellow to pale brown pattern: large, pale brown spots at origin and fork of Rs; stigma pale brown with middle area paler; very pale brown seams along cord, m-m, basal section of M3 and base of CuA; obscure, irregular pale brownish yellow clouds in most cells. Veins pale brownish yellow, darker in clouded areas. Venation: Sc long, Sc1 ending beyond fork of Rs; Sc2 a greater distance before tip of Sc1, Sc1 1.2-3 times as long as Sc2; basal section of CuA1 1/4-1/2 of its own length before fork of M. Halter length 1.7-1.9 mm, pale yellow.

Abdomen (Fig. 5a ). Tergites 1-5 yellow to brownish yellow, tergites 6-8 brown. Sternites 1-6 yellow, sternites 6-8 brown.

Hypopygium (Fig. 6 ). Posterior margin of ninth tergite emarginate, each lobe with several setae. Gonocoxite slender with short, rounded and apically blunt ventro-mesal lobe. Outer gonostylus broad, arched at 2/3 length, outer third narrowing into a flattened spine. Inner gonostylus divided into three lobes: innermost lobe long, slender and curved; dorsal fleshy lobe long and stout with long setae, arched at 2/3 length, tip pointed; ventral fleshy lobe oval with long setae. Paramere wide basally with distal part long, slender and slightly curved outwards, tip angulate with tuft of hairs. Aedeagus long and slender.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution.

China (Xizang/Tibet).

Etymology.

The specific name refers to the caudal segments of the abdomen being uniformly brown.

Remarks.

Some Metalimnobia crane flies that occur in China also have a tuft of hairs at the tip of the parameres (e.g., Metalimnobia bifasciata , Metalimnobia quadrimaculata , Metalimnobia rectangularis and Metalimnobia xanthopteroides ). However, the wing of M. (M.) caudifusca sp. nov. is grayish, while the wings of both M. (M.) bifasciata and M. (M.) xanthopteroides xanthopteroides are yellowish. Metalimnobia (M.) caudifusca sp. nov. can also be easily distinguished from M. (M.) quadrimaculata and M. (M.) rectangularis by the wing pattern ( Metalimnobia caudifusca has no spot at the base of the wing, but Metalimnobia quadrimaculata and Metalimnobia rectangularis have a spot at the base of their wings) and the shape of the paramere (Fig. 4c, f-h ). Notably, the type specimens of M. (M.) yunnanica deposited in USNM and NHM were examined and showed that its wing had pale spots at the base.

Figures

Figure 4. Details of male genitalia of Metalimnobia a-c parameres and aedeagus, dorsal view a M. (M.) bicolor sp. nov. b M. (M.) tenua c M. (M.) caudifusca sp. nov. d-h tip of paramere d M. (M.) bicolor sp. nov. e M. (M.) tenua f M. (M.) caudifusca sp. nov. g M. (M.) quadrimaculata h M. (M.) rectangularis g, h after Mao and Yang 2010.

Figure 5. Metalimnobia (Metalimnobia) caudifusca sp. nov. a male habitus, lateral view b head, lateral view c thorax, dorsal view d wing. Scale bars: 2.0 mm (a); 0.5 mm (b, c); 1.0 mm (d).

Figure 6. Metalimnobia (Metalimnobia) caudifusca sp. nov. a male hypopygium, dorsal view b male hypopygium, ventral view. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.