Physiphora igniceps, Elena P. Kameneva & Valery A. Kroneyev, 2016

Elena P. Kameneva & Valery A. Kroneyev, 2016, Revision of the Genus Physiphora Fallén 1810 (Diptera: Ulidiidae: Ulidiinae), Zootaxa 4087 (1), pp. 1-88 : 43-45

Physiphora igniceps sp. n.

Figures 181–193 .

Material. Type. Holotype ♂: Namibia: Lüderitz, Scorpion Area, 27º33′ S 16º36′ E, alighting on fresh gemsbok dung, 9–12.viii.1997 (Marais & Kirk-Spriggs) (NICW). Paratypes: 1♂: Namibia: Lüderitz, Scorpion Area, 27º33′ S 16º36′ E, alighting on fresh gemsbok dung, 9–12.viii.1997 (Marais & Kirk-Spriggs) (SIZK); 1♀ (headless), Lüderitz, Boomriver, 28º01′ S 17º04′ E, pitfall trap, 13–26.xi.1992 (E. Marais); 1♂, Bethanien, Mara 114, SE 2717 cd, 68. x.1974 (collector unknown), 1♂, 1♀, idem, 27º54′ S 17º19′ E, in cave, 24.xi.1992 (E. Marais) (NICW); 1♂, Boom River canyon, 4 km of Orange River (ESE of Rosh Pinah), 28.00,5S 17.03 E, 200 m, collected (by beating) from ( Fabaceae ), Acacia carroo , 25–30.x.1996 (M. & A. Wedd) (SANC).

Diagnosis. This species can be recognized from the head large, orange yellow, except dorsal halves of occiput black; vertex and medial sclerite as well as postgena yellow; scutum matt green to bronze; fore and hindfemur brown in basal half and brownish yellow apically, mid and hindtibia yellow; fore basitarsomere creamy, except brown apical 1/8; cell r4+5 narrowly open.

This species is similar to P. kirki sp. n., sharing widely yellow frons and face, wide and sharply limited facial ridge (however, with black vertical plates and face, and matt frons in P. kirki sp. n.), as well as densely rugulose (almost matt) mesonotum, clearly differing by widely yellow femora, tarsi and fore metatarsus (entirely black femora, tarsi and fore metatarsus in P. kirki sp. n.) and widely lobate preglans and glans (preglans smooth and glans with narrow claw-like lobes in P. kirki sp. n.).

Description. Head ( Figs. 182–183 ) orange yellow, except dorsal halves of occiput black. Frons 0.95–1.1 times as long as wide, yellow to orange yellow, subshining, with short round parafrontal microtichose spot not reaching anterior margin, mostly smooth, with deep medial impression and poorly differentiated calluses posterior to its middle ( Fig. 183 ), with short and fine yellowish setulae dispersed in anterior half and between medial and lateral calluses in posterior half. Vertical plates and ocellar triangle yellow or brownish yellow; 2 pairs of black orbital setae; ocellar setae lateroclinate, as long as orbital setae.

Face entirely yellow, only bottom of antennal groove microtrichose. Facial carina wide (1.1–1.5 time as wide as flagellomere 1), with sharply abrupted margins at antennal grooves; in profile, produced in dorsal ¼, incised in medial part; entirely subshining yellow without microtrichia; lateral corners of face very high. Gena half as high as eye; parafacial and gena yellow; parafacial with narrow white microtrichose stripe; gena without microtrichose mark; postgena yellow ( Fig. 182 ). Occiput with black transverse mark; medial sclerite (except supracervical area) and postgena yellow. Medial vertical seta 0.4 times as long as frons width, as long as lateral vertical and 5–6 times as long as ocellar, orbital and 1.5 times as long as postocellar setae. Antenna yellow to brownish yellow; flagellomere 1 rounded apically, twice as long as wide, white microtrichose; arista bare, yellow in basal 1/5, remainder black. Clypeus yellow. Palp brownish yellow to brown, grey microtrichose and black setose. Mouthparts black.

Thorax ( Fig. 184 ). Scutum and scutellum black, densely rugulose, almost matt, with faint golden-green or reddish tinge; antepronotum, postpronotal lobe, posterior surface of notopleural triangle, transverse suture, prescutellar groove, supra-alar and postalar parts of scutum, anterior half of anepisternum and katepisternum, and whole anepimeron shining black; posterodorsal parts of anepisternum and katepisternum shagreened; supra-alar area and tympanal fossa black, postscutellum black, gray microtrichose; postero-ventral margin of scutellum without microtrichose area; anatergite, katatergite and lateroventral parts of mediotergite sparsely grey microtrichose. Mesonotal scutum with indistinguishable acrostichal row of setulae in anterior part and clearly expressed dorsocentral rows of setulae; acrostichal seta lacking; dorsocentral setae hair-like; other setae moderately long, black: one postprononal, 2 postsutural supra-alar, one intra-alar and one postalar.

Scutellum clightly convex, densely rugulose, with golden green or reddish reflection, apparently bare, without visible setulae and 2 pairs of black scutellar setae.

Wing. Entirely hyaline, with yellow or partly brownish veins; cell r4+5 narrowly opened, apical section of M arcuate ( Fig. 185 ). Postero-apical extension of cell cup 1.5 times as long as vein A1+CuA2, and 3–3.5 times as long as transverse section of vein CuA2. Calypters with white fringe. Length: 4.8–5.3 mm.

Legs. Coxae black; fore and hind femora dark brown in basal 1/2–2/3, brownish-yellow apically, mid mefur mostly brownish yellow, brown in postero-ventral 1/3; fore tibia mostly dark brown, mid and hind tibia yellow to brownish yellow; fore tarsus with metetarsus yellow, except apical 1/6 black, and other tarsomeres black; mid and hind tarsi brownish yellow; all setae black; fore femur postero-ventrally with 6–7 stout setae in apical two-thirds.

Abdomen. Both tergites and sternites shining black, with golden-green reflection, laterally sparsely micropapillose; all setulae black; abdominal tergite 1 basally grey microtrichose; female abdominal tergite 2 with pair of large dimple-like structures laterally.

Male postabdomen brown to black; epandrium as on Figs. 187–193 , cerci with moderately large triangular nipple-like structures, phallus with stipe almost as long as preglans and glans; preglans with large, petal-like flattened lobes, glans with 2–3 wide petal-like and 2–3 narrow claw-like lobes ( Figs. 187–188 ). Hypandrium ( Fig. 192 ) asymmetric.

Female terminalia not dissected.

Distribution. Namibia.

Biology unknown. Adults attracted to antilopa’s dung and at light. Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin “ignis”, fire, and “caput”, head.

Figures

FIGURES 181 – 186. Physiphora igniceps: 181, habitus, left and dorsal; 182, head, left; 183, head, anterior; 184, mesonotum, dorsal; 185, wing; 186, labels. Scale 2 mm.

FIGURES 187 – 193. Physiphora igniceps: 187, ♂ phallus; 188, glans, enlarged; 189, epandrium, posterior; 190, 191, surstili, posterior and ventral; 192, hypandrium, ventral; 193, tergites 3 – 5 lateral margins.