Pygophora spinifera, Couri & Pont & Daugeron, 2010

Couri, Marcia S., Pont, Adrian C. & Daugeron, Christophe, 2010, The Muscidae (Diptera) of New Caledonia 2503, Zootaxa 2503 (1), pp. 1-61 : 52-53

40. Pygophora spinifera , sp. nov.

( Figs 38–40 )

Holotype. Male holotype, deposited in BPBM, labelled: Loyalty Islands: Mare: La Roche , iii.1959, N.L.H. Krauss.

Diagnosis. Antenna with postpedicel measuring about 3.5 times the length of pedicel; wing with a faint dark brown spot on apex of R 2+3 and R 4+5. Male hind tibia without a preapical lobe; tergite 5 strongly compressed, each side with numerous strong and straight setae on upper part and strong and curled setae below, syntergite 7+8 with shorter and curled setae on sides.

Description. General colour. Head with fronto-orbital plate, frontal vitta and gena yellow. Antenna yellow, arista light brown. Palpus yellow. Scutum brown with grey pollinosity, with a very faint incomplete median brown vitta. Calypters white and halter yellow. Male wing with a brown spot on apex of R 2+3 and R 4+5. Legs wholly yellow. Abdomen with syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 yellow; tergites 4 and 5 brown with grey pollinosity, tergite 4 with one median and 2 well marked brown round lateral spots, tergite 5 with a median brown spot and two very faint and small lateral spots.

Male. Length. Body: 3.8 mm, wing: 3.5 mm

Head. Frontal row with 2 inclinate frontals and 2 reclinate orbitals, the upper orbital short, fine and close to vertex. Ocellar seta short and fine. Face deep; antenna inserted above mid level of eye; postpedicel about 3.5 times as long as length of pedicel. Arista with long plumes on basal half. Vibrissa long.

Thorax. Acrostichals in two irregular series, with one presutural pair a little longer than the others; dorsocentrals 1+3; 2 postpronotals; 1 presutural; 2 intraalars; 2 supraalars; 2 postsupraalars. Notopleuron with the posterior seta a little shorter than anterior. Scutellum with one long subbasal and one long apical pair of setae, similar in size. Anepisternum with a series of 4 setae, upper anterior angle with an isolated short seta. Katepisternals 1+1+1, forming an equilateral triangle. Anepimeron bare. Lower calypter almost twice as long as upper one. Wing veins bare. Fore femur with sparse long and fine setae on posteroventral and posterodorsal surfaces. Fore tibia with a long posterior median seta; one strong preapical dorsal, and an apical seta on posterior, posterodorsal and ventral surfaces. Mid femur with 2 anterior setae on middle third, anteroventral surface with a series of 4–5 fine and sparse setae, 2 preapical posterior setae. Mid tibia with 2 strong posterior setae on middle third, the lower one longer; a strong apical seta on anterodorsal, anteroventral, posteroventral, posterodorsal and ventral surfaces, the ventral one longer and stronger. Hind femur with a complete anterodorsal row of setae and 4-6 sparse anteroventral setae. Hind tibia without a preapical lobe, with 2 anterodorsal and 2 posterodorsal setae, one submedian anteroventral, 3 moderately long setae on basal half of posteroventral surface, one dorsal preapical and one ventral apical.

Abdomen. Tergite 5 strongly compressed, each side with numerous strong and straight setae on upper part and strong and curled setae below, syntergite 7+8 with shorter and curled setae on sides; epandrium with two pairs of long and fine setae on sides. Sternite 5 as in Fig. 38 ; lateral view of lobe as in Fig. 39 .

Terminalia. Aedeagus as in Fig. 40 .

Female. Unknown.

Material examined (all paratypes): BPBM: New Caledonia: Pleine des Lacs : iii.1959, 1 male, N.L.H. Krauss . Loyalty Islands: Lifou: We , 16-18.ii.1963, 1 male, C.M. Yoshimoto ( MNRJ) .

Discussion. In Crosskey’s (1962) key, the new species runs to couplet 24 and differs from the species in that couplet by the absence of scales or scale-like setae on tergite 5.

Etymology. The name comes from the Latin words spina, meaning “spine” and ferre, “to bear”, and refers to the numerous spinose setae on male abdomen.

Distribution. New Caledonia ( New Caledonia, Loyalty Is).

Figures

FIGURES 35–40. 35–37. Pygophora caledonica (Bigot). Male terminalia. 35. Abdomen, lateral view. 36. Sternite 5, dorsal view. 37. Aedeagus, lateral view. 38–40. Pygophora spinifera, sp. nov., male terminalia. 38. Sternite 5, dorsal view. 39. Lobe of sternite 5, lateral view. 40. Aedeagus, lateral view.