Platypalpus pingqianus, Yang & Li, 2011

Yang, Ding & Li, Weihai, 2011, New Platypalpus Macquart from Hubei, China (Diptera, Empidoidea, Hybotidae, Tachydromiinae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 118 (1), pp. 39-44 : 42-44

Platypalpus pingqianus sp. n.

Figs 4-6

MATERIAL: Holotype ♂; CHINA, Hubei, Shennongjia, Pingqian , 7. VII. 2009, leg. Qifei Liu ( CAU) . – Paratypes: 2 ♂ 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( CAU, MHNG).

ETYMOLOGY: The specific name refers to the type locality.

DIAGNOSIS: Thorax nearly entirely yellow except katepisternum with a black dot at posterior margin. 2 pairs of vt. Antenna yellow; first flagellomere short oval (1.2-1.3 times longer than wide), arista over 4 times longer. Mid femur without true posteroventral bristles; mid tibia with a finger-like, obtuse apical spur ventrally which is about as long as apical diameter of tibia.

DESCRIPTION

Male: Body length 3.3-3.4 mm, wing length 3.1-3.2 mm.

Head black, gray microtrichose. Distance between eyes on frons slightly wider than diameter of anterior ocellus; face narrower than frons. Hairs and bristles on head pale. Ocellar tubercle with 1 pair of oc and 4 very short posterior hairs; 2 pairs of vt. Antenna yellow; scape without dorsal bristles; pedicel with a circle of pale apical hairs; first flagellomere short oval, 1.2-1.3 times longer than wide, with some apical hairs; arista much longer, 4.1-4.2 times as long as first flagellomere, blackish, short pubescent. Clypeus brownish, medially subshining. Proboscis almost as long as height of head, brownish yellow with brown hairs; palpus yellow with 2 long pale bristles dorsally in apical half.

Thorax yellow, thinly gray microtrichose; mesonotum subshining; katepisternum with a black dot at posterior margin. Hairs on thorax pale, bristles brownish yellow; 1 short hair-like h curved inwards, 2 npl (anterior npl short and hair-like), acr short and indiscinct, irregularly 4-seriate, 1 long psa (nearly as long as posterior npl), 1 short presc (shorter than psa), scutellum with 2 pairs of sc (basal pair very short, one third as long as apical pair).

Legs yellow, but tarsomere 5 of all legs brown. Hairs on legs pale. Fore femur weakly and mid femur distinctly thickened, fore femur 1.1 times and mid femur 2.0- 2.1 times as wide as hind femur; mid femur with two rows of short black ventral bristles (av very short, pv slightly longer than av, those on basal 1/4 longer and more brownish yellow), without row of true pv; mid tibia with a row of blackish ventral bristles and finger-like apical spur which is about as long as diameter of tibia at apex.

Wing hyaline; veins brownish yellow, R 4+5 and M nearly parallel apically; basal cells subequal, crossveins therefore almost contiguous. Squama yellow with pale hairs. Halter yellow.

Abdomen yellow except tergites 1-6 brownish yellow, pale gray microtrichose; hypopygium brown. Hairs on abdomen pale.

Male genitalia (Figs 4-6). Apical projection (surstylus) of left epandrial lamella large and subtriangular with long bristles laterally and with a short row of short pale hairs; right epandrial lamella wide in dorsal view, its apical projection (surstylus) rather small and subtriangular with acute tip; left and right cercus of subequal length; left cercus with spine-like apex; right cercus short, its apex nearly obtuse.

Female: Body length 4.2 mm, wing length 3.3 mm. Similar to male.

DISTRIBUTION: China (Hubei).

REMARKS: The new species is very similar to Platypalpus xanthodes Yang & Merz from Guangxi, but it can be separated from the latter by the left cercus with the acute apical portion short, the right surstylus short and subtriangular with an acute tip, and the left epandrial lamella nearly acute apically. In P. xanthodes , the left cercus has a long, acute apical portion; the right surstylus is long and somewhat quadrate with a wide and nearly truncate tip; the left epandrial lamella is wide and obtuse apically ( Yang & Merz, 2005).