Salwaea burgensis, Winterton, Shaun L., Hauser, Martin & Badrawy, Haitham B. M., 2012

Winterton, Shaun L., Hauser, Martin & Badrawy, Haitham B. M., 2012, A remarkable new genus of stiletto flies from Egypt, with a key to Palaearctic genera of Phycinae (Diptera, Therevidae), ZooKeys 184, pp. 35-45 : 38-41

Salwaea burgensis sp. n. Figs 15

Type material.

Holotype female, EGYPT: Alexandria: Borg El-Arab, 30.8856°[N], 29.5834°[E], 11.viii.1934, Shafik.

The type specimen is mounted with minuten pin on circular card, with two rectangular labels: Burg 11.7.34 [handwritten, black ink] / Zool. Dep. Collection, Egyptian University, Collector [printed, black ink, all caps] Shafik [handwritten, black ink] (Cairo University Collection (CUC)).

Diagnosis.

See genus diagnosis.

Description.

Body Length= 6.5 mm (female). Head. Head very wide, 2x head length (excluding antennae); eyes widely separated, frons width at narrowest point 3x width of ocellar tubercle; eye relatively small and globose; frons broadly concave, glossy brown with glaucous (pale bluish) grey pubescence, irregular raised callosities around antennal base and along eye lower margin, callosities with dark erect setae of varying length; parafacial with silver pubescence and glabrous band between antennal base and eye margin; occiput broadly rounded convex with glaucous grey pubescence and scattered erect black macrosetae, longer macrosetae along postocular ridge, medium length on occiput admixed with very short setae; gena rounded with grey-silver pubescence, admixed with short, erect white setae, darker anteriorly, angular process projecting anteriorly from gena with short dark setae; mouthparts reduced, proboscis narrow, barely protruding from oral cavity, palpus not observed as oral cavity obscured; antenna 2 × length of head; scape shorter than head length, glossy dark yellow, bulbous and non-symmetrical in lateral view, with dark erect macrosetae (longer ventrally), absent medially, sparse pubescence on medial surface; pedicel brown with row of erect dark macrosetae; flagellum length equal to head, basal flagellomere large, paddle-shaped, style terminal. Thorax. Cuticle dark yellow to brown with dense glaucous grey pubescence, scutum with diffuse medial stripe and light brown patches laterally on prescutal area and supra-alar callus; scutal pile as short dark setae; scutellum dark yellow, overlain with uniform grey pubescence; pleuron dense glaucous grey pubescent with short pale setae on postpronotum, postcervical sclerite, anepisternum, and katatergite; coxae grey glaucous pubescent with short pale setae on anterior surfaces, macrosetae few in number, black; legs dark brown with short dark setae; basitarsus equal length to remaining tarsomeres combined; tarsal segments with short macrosetae apically; tarsal claws short, straight, elongate terminal setae extending from apical segment (one setae on fore and mid leg, three setae on hind leg); haltere stem light brown, knob cream; wing membrane smoky infuscate due to dense microtrichia, darker anteriorly around pterostigma; scutal chaetotaxy (macrosetae pairs): notopleural, 3; supra alar, 1; post alar, 1; dorsocentral, 2; scutellar, 1. Abdomen. Cuticle glossy dark brown, posterior margins and intersegmental membranes of all segment yellow to white, tergites dark yellow along narrow posterolaterally margin; sparse short dark setae on all segments, denser posteriorly and on terminalia. Female genitalia. Acanthophorite spines reduced in size; sternite 8 emarginate along posterior margin, upturned and strongly convex with elongate setae admixed with shorter setae; furca rectangular, broad at base with two openings.

Etymology.

The species epithet is derived from the type locality, Burg (meaning tower in Arabic), or more recently Borg El-Arab, and is located within Alexandria, Egypt.

Comments.

The male of Salwaea burgensis gen. et sp. n. is unknown. The body length is relatively short with a body length of 6.5 mm in the only known female specimen. The type locality is today very close to developed urban areas and this species may possibly be locally extinct there. It is remarkable that despite modern collecting efforts in Egypt and adjacent countries, no further specimens of this stiletto fly have been found.