Stylogaster fianarantsoensis, Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2015

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2015, New Conopid records from the Afrotropical Region (Diptera). Part 1: Paramyopa Kröber, Pseudoconops Camras, Stylogaster Macquart, Thecophora Rondani, and Zodion Latreille, Zootaxa 3963 (2), pp. 101-159 : 136-139

Stylogaster fianarantsoensis spec. nov.

( Figs 72–81 )

Type material. Holotype ♂: (1) Madagascar, Fianarantsoa Prov, 17 km / W Ranomafana, / Ranomafana Natl Park, malaise in / rasinforest, 16.X/ 8.XI.2001, / 1110m, R. Harin ′ Hala, ME Irwin, / 2113.57′S. 4722.19′E. MG 9A 01; (2) Holotypus / Stylogaster fianarantsoensis / spec. nov. / det. Stuke, 2014.

Holotype is deposited in the CAS. Abdomen and one wing dissected, macerated and stored in glycerine in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen. The left middle tarsus is broken, the right wing incomplete, but the holotype is otherwise in good condition.

Description of holotype (male). Bod ylength about 5.5 mm. Wing-length 4.2 mm. Head-height 1.1 mm. Head. Eye brown, without ommatrichia. Facets on inner side of eye slightly enlarged. Ocelli light brown. Ocellar tubercle dark brown, with 1 pair of inconspicuous ocellar setae. Ocellar triangle occupies almost the entire frons and reaches as far as antennae ( Fig. 73 ). Ocellar triangle dark brown basally and brown apically. Frons black lateral to ocellar triangle with 1–2 proclinate fronto-orbital setae. Scape and pedicel yellowish brown, basal flagellomere brown. Arista situated anterodorsally on basal flagellomere, with only two segments evident, brown. Scape with a few brown setulae anterodorsally. Pedicel with black setulae dorsally and apically. Shape of antenna as illustrated in Fig. 72 . One distinct black vertical seta. Face pale yellow, silver pruinose. Postcranium black dorsally and yellow ventrally, distinctly silver pruinose. Postcranium with a line of regularly-arranged white setulae dorsally, and some long white hairs ventrally at the mouth opening. Proboscis mainly brown to black, except for the white distal division of labellum and yellowish brown base of proboscis. Labrum ca 2.0 mm, labellum approximately the same length. Thorax. Yellowish brown, with scutum light brown. Almost all setae black. 2 long notopleural setae, 1 strong supra-alar seta, 2 postalar setae (broken off in holotype), 1 dorsocentral seta (ditto), 1 apical scutellar seta (ditto), 1 strong seta on anepimeron and 1 white seta above fore coxa on propleuron. Black semi-adpressed hairs on scutum. Wing generally clothed in microtrichia, but bc, base of br, bm, base of dm and cup all virtually without microtrichia. Hind margin of wing with brown setulae. Venation as in Fig. 75 . Haltere yellowish white, distal part light brown. Legs whitish yellow, with brown hind femur. Legs with black and brown setae, except fore tibia almost completely with white setulae and hind tibia with a few white setulae in the distal half on dorsal surface. Coxae lack outstanding lateral seta. Hind trochanter without an obvious triangular tooth, but with a tuft of longer black hairs distally at inner side. Mid femur posteriorly in distal half with row of regularly-arranged black setulae curved at their apices. Ventral side of mid femur with long black hairs that are longer than the diameter of the middle tibia. Base of hind femur with several long black hairs that are longer than the diameter of the base of the tibia. All tibiae without conspicuous setulae. Hind tibia with 1–3 short black spines on anterior surface. Claws yellowish brown basally, black distally. Pulvilli yellow to yellowish brown. Empodia short, pale brown. Abdomen.

Orange-brown, with tergite 1 brown, tergites 2–5 with a broad brown hind margin and a brown middle stripe, tergite 6 and epandrium brown. Tergites with semi-adpressed black setulae, and longer setulae laterally on tergite 5. Tergite 1 with long golden yellow setulae laterally, tergite 2 with long black setae on either side of anterior margin.

Terminalia as illustrated in Figs 76–81 . Cercus short, not widened laterally, pointed ventrally. Cerci with dense black setulae at the basal junction, and with a pair of long brown projections. Surstylus as shown in Figs 76–77 . Surstylus lacking black teeth, but with a small field of 6–7 small black bristles on the inner surface Anteriorly directed phallus sheath not protuding ( Fig. 78 ) and not covered with spines.

Female unknown.

Etymology. The species is named after the Province of Fianarantsoa from which the holotype originates.

Discussion. In the key of Stuke (2012) this species runs to couplet 31 but does not fit the postabdomen characters of either Stylogaster ranomafanensis Stuke, 2012 or Stylogaster clementsi Stuke, 2012 . Stylogaster fianarantsoensis is easily distinguished from these and all other Stylogaster species by the combination of these characters of the postabdomen: (a) cercus triangular with the ventral tip pointed ( Fig. 80 ); (b) several black bristles and two long brown projections at the basal junction of the cerci ( Fig. 81 ); (c) no black bristles on the phallus sheath ( Fig. 78 ); (d) no black teeth on the surstylus ( Figs 76–77 ); (e) surstylus with a small field of 6–7 small black bristles on the inner surface ( Fig. 77 ); (f) shape of surstylus as Figs 76–77 , having an obvious and characteristic long ventral process.

Distribution. Stylogaster fianarantsoensis is only known from the locus typicus in Madagascar.

Figures

FIGURES 72 – 75. Stylogaster fianarantsoensis spec. nov. (♂ holotype). 72. Lateral view of antenna. 73. Dorsal view of frons. 74. Posterior view of hind femur. 75. Wing.

FIGURES 76 – 81. Stylogaster fianarantsoensis spec. nov. (♂ holotype). 76. Lateral view of outer surface of surstylus. 77. Lateral view of inner surface of surstylus. 78. Lateral view of phallus sheath. 79. Dorsal view of cercus. 80. Lateral view of cercus. 81. Lateral view of junction of cerci.