Helina cuneicauda Xue and Tian, 2012

Xue, Wanqi & Tian, Xu, 2012, Thirteen new species of the genus Helina R. - D. (Diptera: Muscidae) from China, Journal of Natural History 46 (9 - 10), pp. 565-598 : 571-573

Helina cuneicauda Xue and Tian sp. nov.

( Figure 3A–D )

Type material

Holotype. One male ( IESNU), China, Mount Yulongxue , Yunnan province, 27 ◦ 40 ′ N, 100 ◦ 16 ′ E, altitude 3000 m, 22 July 2008, X.D. Fei.

Paratypes. Five males ( IESNU), same data as holotype .

Etymology

The name of this species is based on the back of cerci being cuniform in its apical part, joining the Latin words cuneus plus cauda.

Distribution

China, Yunnan Province, Mount Yulongxue.

Remarks

The new species is similar to Helina huae Xue, 2001 , but differs from it as follows: the longest aristal hairs about 1.6–1.8 times as wide as the postpedicel; the inner vitta reaching scutoscutellar suture; basicosta brown, costal spine short, fore tibia with one median p; mid-tibia without ad.

Description (based on holotype)

Male. Body length 7.3–7.5 mm.

Colour: Frontal vitta black, parafacial and fronto-orbital plate covered with light grey pruinosity, antenna black, lunule brown, genal and postgenal hairs black, prementum covered with grey pruinosity, palpus dark brown. Thorax black in ground-colour, sternum covered with grey pruinosity, scutum covered with grey brown pruinosity, spiracle brown. Wing light brown, wing-base veins yellow, tegula and basicosta brown, calypters light yellowish, haltere yellow. The tibia of hind legs brown to dark brown in basal three-fifths, trochanter dark brown, otherwise black. Abdomen ground-colour black, covered with yellow to brown and dense pruinosity, in apical part with grey pruinosity, tergites 2 to 5 with brown vittae in centre, tergite 3 and tergite 4 with a pair of dark spots.

Head: Eye bare; frons broad, narrower than the distance between posterior ocelli in width, frontal vitta subequal with or broader than fronto-orbital plate in width, narrower than anterior ocellus in width, six or seven pairs of frontal setae on lower three-fifths of frons, without ors; parafacial narrow in the lowest place, parafacial about 1.5 times as wide as postpedicel; postpedicel about 3.2–3.5 times as long as broad, arista long plumose, the longest aristal hairs about 1.6–1.8 times as wide as the postpedicel; lower facial margin not projecting, vibrissal angle situated behind frontal angle in profile; anterior margin of gena with two rows of upcurved subvibrissal setulae; genal height about two-sevenths of eye height, the upper lateral area of the occiput with hairs, prementum about 2.2 times as long as broad, palpus about 1.3 times as long as prementum.

Thorax: Scutum with four broad vittae, the inner vitta reaching scutoscutellar suture; the back of postsutural area of scutum with one brown median vitta; inner vitta about 1.7 times as long as middle black vitta, three or four rows of prst-acr, dc 2+3, ial 0+2, pra absent, postpronotal seta 3, posthumeral seta 1+0, notopleuron, lateral margin and lower surface of scutellum all bare, apical scutellar seta and basal scutellar seta long, proepisternal seta 1, upper proepimeral seta 1, basisternum of prosternum, proepisternum hollow in centre, anepimeron, katepimeron and meron all bare; upper proepisternal seta 1, upper proepimeral seta 2+2.

Wing: Costal spine short, Sc curved and arc-shaped, radial node bare, R and M straight, r-m and dm-cu cross-vein not clouded, the middle part in dm-cu cross-vein inflexed in basal part, lower calypter projecting.

4+5

Legs: Fore tibia with one median p; mid-femur without distinct av; in basal half with four or five strong pv, one preapical a, in apical part with three pd, mid-tibia without ad, three p, without pv; hind femur with three or four strong av in apical third, in apical two-thirds with seta-like av, about one-half of tibial diameter, without pv, hind tibia with two av, three ad, sub-basal with one or two pd, apical without pv; all tarsi longer than tibiae in length, claws and pulvilli long, subequal with fifth tarsomere in length.

Abdomen: Cone-shaped in dorsal view, without shifting patches, tergite 4 and tergite 5 with complete hind marginal bristles, with sparse and short hairs, tergite 5 with discal bristles one row, tergite 6 and sternite 1 all bare.

Female. Unknown.

Figures

Figure 3. Helina cuneicauda sp. nov. (A) Male, abdomen in dorsal view; (B) male, sternite 5 in ventral view; (C) male, cerci in posterior view; (D) male, terminalia in profile. Scale bars: A, 1 mm; B, 0.5 mm; C,D, 0.2 mm.