Thecophora nigrifrons, 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 : 113-117

Thecophora nigrifrons spec. nov.

( Figs 21–28 )

Type material. Holotype ♀: (1) Kenya, Western Prov. /Kakamega forest / 014.13′N, 3451.87′E / 6.–13.xi.1999, Malaise / trap, R. Copeland; (2) Holotypus / Thecophora nigrifrons ♀ / spec. nov. / det. Stuke, 2014. Paratypes. CAMEROON: 1♂, 18.xi.1987, Bambalang off Rt. N11, 35 km E. Bamenda, 1200 m, leg. F. Kaplan, coll. TAUI, identified as Thecophora flavicornis var. by Camras 2000; 1♀, 20.xi.1987, Rt. N6, Bali-Batibo, West of Bamenda, leg. F. Kaplan, coll. TAUI, identified as Thecophora flavicornis var. by Camras 2000; KENYA: 1♀, 17.x.1987, Western Province, Kakamega Forest, leg. R. Copeland, coll. NMKE; 1♀, 11.v.1991, Western Province, Kakamega Forest, leg. A. Freidberg & F. Kaplan, coll. TAUI, identified as Thecophora flavicornis var. by Camras 2000; 1♀, 23.ix.2005, Western Province, Kakamega Forest [013′N 3452′E], leg. A. Freidberg, coll. NMKE; 1♂ 1♀, 20.– 27.xi.1999, Western Province, Kakamega Forest, malaise trap [014.13′N 3451.87′E], leg. R. Copeland, coll. NMKE.

Holotype is deposited in the NMKE. The holotype is in very good condition.

Description of holotype (female). Body length 5.2 mm. Wing-length 4.2 mm. Head-height 1.1 mm. Head. Antenna orange-brown, basal flagellomere black distally and dorsally. Arista with 1 orange-brown aristomere situated dorsally on basal flagellomere. Aristomere about as long as basal flagellomere, broad at base and becoming abruptly narrower in the apical 2/3. Scape distinctly longer than broad, apically with a few bristles which are shorter than scape. Pedicel longer than maximum width, completely covered with short black setae. Basal flagellomere distinctly longer than high, and about as long as pedicel. Ocellar tubercle with three distinct brown ocelli. Ocellar triangle evident, about 1/2 of frons length. Frons black, with only a small yellow spot above antennae. Obvious silver dusting laterally at eye margin and an indistinct more-or-less v-shaped golden patch in front of the ocellar triangle. Black hairs all over frons which might represent frontal and orbital setae. Face orangebrown and slightly silver dusted, facial grooves shining. Gena and facial ridge with scattered black hairs. Postcranium black dorsally, becoming blackish brown ventrally. Adjacent to ventral posterior margin of eye there is a stripe of dense silver dusting; postgenae slightly silver dusted, remaining postcranium slightly dusted to shining. Postcranium with black hairs. No hairs on a small area adjacent to eye margin and bottom portion of postcranium. Median occipital sclerite with only a few scattered black hairs. Proboscis black, with an indistinct brown spot between frontoclypeal membrane and mouth edge. Frontoclypeal membrane narrow, widened basally, yellowish brown and distinctly separated from the brown clypeus. Palps long (longer than scape) blackish brown, hardly widened distally, and covered with long black hairs. Labium about as long as head-length, projecting out of mouth opening, hardly thickened basally; anterior section not fused into a tube. Labellum as long as labium, only divided apically, slightly narrower than adjacent haustellum, and covered with scattered hairs. Head with distinct ocellar setae, postocellar setae, 1 distinct medial and 2 lateral postocular setae. Thorax. Thorax blackish brown without any reflection, completely grey dusted, with only the anepisternum shining in ventral 2/3. Postpronotum and scutum along the transverse suture denser dusted. Basisternum narrow, narrowed to a point, with 3–4 black hairs apically. Proepisternum with 2 black hairs ventrally and a few hairs dorsally. Scutellum covered with long white hairs and 2 pairs of scutellar bristles (the lateral scutellar bristles distinctly smaller). Scutum with short black hairs, about as long as tibia diameter. 1 postpronotal, 2 notopleural, 1 supraalar, 2 postalar, and 1 prescutellar bristle. 1 black bristle posterodorsally and several bristles ventrally on katepisternum. Metakatepisternum without bristles. Anepisternum and anepimeron hairless and without bristles. Wing tinged inconspiciously brownish. Veins yellowish white basally and black apically. Basal-medial-cubital-crossvein bm-cu incomplete. Vein A1+CuA2 not quite reaching hind margin of wing. Upper and lower calypters whitish brown, upper calypter with long white hairs on margin. Alula broad (about 2 times wider than long), with long hairs on posterior margin. Haltere yellowish white with brown base. Knob of haltere with short, indistinct, light yellow hairs. Legs brown, fore coxa, basal 2/3 of femora and basal 3 tarsomeres yellow. Legs slightly dusted to shining. Posterior surfaces of fore and middle tibiae without obvious dusted fields distally. Legs all with long, semiadpressed or erect black hairs. Hind femur anterodorsally and posterordorsally with single outstanding long hairs. 1–2 prepreapical bristles dorsally on tibiae. Fore and middle tibiae basally on ventral surface with one distinct line of small, thick, adpressed black bristles. All femora distally on ventral surface with two parallel lines of small, thick, black bristles. Fore coxa without outstanding black bristle which is stronger than the surrounding scattered black hairs. Middle and hind coxae with some distinct strong lateral bristles which are about as long as diameter of basal hind tibia. Hind femur not obviously thickened in basal half. Pulvilli yellow-whitish. Claws brown with black tips. Empodium yellowish brown. Abdomen. Abdomen blackish brown, and covered with black hairs only. Tergites 1–5 slightly dusted. Tergites 2–3 with grey dusted spots laterally on hind margins. The holotype was not dissected and the description of internal structures of the female abdomen is based on a paratype. Abdomen parallel-sided. Length: maximum width of tergite 2 = 1.4; length: maximum width of tergite 3 = 1.1. Sternites 3–4 protruding ventrally, posterior parts of sternites conspicious. Shape of theca as shown in Fig. 24 . Anterior surface of theca without hairs. Apical 1/ 3 of posterior surface of theca with 5 horizontal lines of close-set, short, blunt spicules. Sternite 6 almost completely covered with short, blunt spicules which are almost entirely arranged in 9 horizontal lines. Sternite 7 longer than broad, slightly pointed anteriorly. Area between sides of syntergite 8+9 entirely lightly sclerotised, and without a distinct sternite 8. Sack-like ventral protrusion of vagina with annular sclerotisation and not covered with bristles. Base of accessory glands slightly sclerotised. Spermathecal ducts not sclerotised at base. A dorsal sclerotisation is evident on the sack-like ventral protrusion of the vagina. 2 pairs of round spermathecae, spermathecal ducts fused shortly after leaving spermathecae. Spermathecal ducts not sclerotised at spermathecae.

Description of male abdomen. Tergite 1 with black hairs laterally which are slightly shorter than the lateral hairs on tergite 2. Tergite 2 elongated, distinctly longer than wide. Tergite 2 without obvious lateral hair tufts, but with slightly longer hairs than laterally on tergite 3. Tergite 3 not widened posteriorly. Sternites 1–5 present, sternites 1 and 2 to some extent fused but still distinguishable. Sternite 4 slightly broader than long and obviously smaller than sternite 5, with several long black hairs. Sternite 5 apically with a small field of thick black bristles and long hairs. Ventrally the lateral edges of the protandrium are fused by a narrow strip. Epandrium fused behind cerci. Posterior surstylus slightly pointed distally. A dense field of strong black bristles at base of posterior surstylus reaching up to anterior surstylus. Two inner bristles elongated, about as long as posterior surstylus. Subepandrial plate distinctly sclerotised and u-shaped. Phallus sheath slightly fused dorsally; apically without obvious evagination and without any tooth or bristles, dorsomedially without a notch. Postgonite more-or-less distinct. Postgonite evagination small, hardly sclerotised, not projecting above distiphallus and covered with microtrichia. Two plates at inner side of postgonite evagination, the inner one obvious but the outer plate much smaller and therefore hardly evident. Both plates partly fused together. A u-shaped ring sclerite is obvious. Epiphallus distinct, covered with microtrichia. Distiphallus short, about 1/2 of length of epandrium, densely covered with blunt microtrichia, without any evaginations but with indistinct sclerotised dorsolateral plates. Ejaculatory apodeme elongate, distinctly sclerotised, attachment to sperm sac evident.

Variability. Wing length 4.2–5.3 mm. The dusting on tergites 2–4 varies and the abdomen might be shining with only grey dusted spots at the hind margins.

Etymology. The name is combined from the Latin nigra (black) and frons. The black frons is an obvious feature of the species, and the character which first drew my attention to it.

Discussion. Thecophora nigrifrons is close to Thecophora pilosa , which has light yellow legs and a more distinctly yellowish wing base ( Fig. 21 ). The mainly black frons ( Fig. 22 ) is a first clue in recognising Thecophora nigrifrons . More important, however, is the different shape of the theca in female, which is broader and has 4–5 distinct lines of black spicules in T. nigrifrons ( Fig. 24 ). The epandrium of male T. nigrifrons has no long, pointed setae close to the surstylus ( Fig. 26 ).

Distribution. Thecophora nigrifrons is only known from Kenya to date.

Figures

FIGURES 21 – 24. Thecophora nigrifrons spec. nov. (♀, holotype). 21. Lateral view of habitus. 22. Dorsal view of frons. 23. Lateral view of antennae. 24. Posterior view of theca.

FIGURES 25 – 28. ♂ postabdomen of Thecophora nigrifrons spec. nov. (♂, Kakamega forest). 25. Lateral view of phallus and hypandrium. 26. Lateral view of surstylus. 27. Dorsal view of phallus and hypandrium. 28. Frontal view of phallus and hypandrium. che—lateral connection hypandrium—epandrium; dp—distiphallus; epp—epiphallus; hya—hypandrial arms; hym—hypandrial membrane; hyr—hypandrial bars; hys—anteriorly – directed phallus sheath of hypandrium; ipoe—inner plate of postgonite evagination; opoe—outer plate of postgonite evagination; pa—phallus apodeme; pdp—sclerotised plates on distiphallus; po—postgonite; poe—postgonite evagination; psu—posterior surstylus; rs—ring sclerite of phallus.