Physiphora meyi, 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 : 54-56

Physiphora meyi sp. n.

Figures 244–261 .

Material. Type. Holotype ♂: South Africa: “R.S. Africa, 3–4.ii.1994 / Natal, Mikuze N[ational] P[ark] / Mikuze River + camp / leg. U. Göllner” [blue label] (MNKB). Paratype ♀: Namibia: “Kunene, Epupa Falls”, 3–4.ix.2012 (leg. W. Mey) (MNKB).

Diagnosis. This species can be easily recognized from all known species of Physophora by the presence of dark spot at wing apex (other species of the genus have entirely glassy wings without any pattern or at most darkened apex of costal vein—in P. longicornis ) and combination of predominantly matt brownish yellow frons with a pair of small semicircular spots of microtrichia, λ-shaped microtrichose area on the facial carina, fore metatarsus creamy in basal 0.8, scutum and scutellum densely rugulose, with uniformly green or cyan gleam.

Description. Head ( Figs. 244–248 ) black, with mostly brownish yellow frons, face and gena. Frons 1.1–1.2 times as long as wide, reddish brown, matt with small round parafrontal microtichose spot not reaching anterior margin ( Fig. 247–248 ), flat without expressed calluses, slightly concave at middle, finely and sparsely yellowish setulose in antero-lateral part. Vertical plates and ocellar triangle shining black, with slight greenish reflection; 2 pairs of black orbital setae; ocellar setae lateroclinate, as long as orbital setae.

Face brownish yellow, facial carina with white λ-shaped microtrichose area widely separated from microtrichose antennal grooves; epistome brownish yellow or darkened ventro-medially, smooth, with or without metallic greenish reflections; lateral sides of face moderately low. Gena brown, 1/3 times as high as eye; parafacial matt, with narrow white microtrichose stripe; gena posteriorly without microtrichose mark separating it from partly brownish yellow postgena ( Fig. 245 ). Occiput black, with orange area posterior of ocellar triangle, and postgenae. Medial vertical seta half as long as frons width, 1.4 times as long as lateral vertical and 4–6 times as long as ocellar, orbital, and postocellar setae. Antenna brown; flagellomere 1 laterally brown to black, rounded apically, 1.4 times as long as wide, greyish microtrichose; arista bare, brown in basal 1/6, remainder black. Clypeus black. Palp black, grey microtrichose and black setose. Mouthparts black.

Thorax ( Figs. 244–246 ). Scutum and scutellum black, densely rugulose, almost matt, with uniformly green or cyan gleam; antepronotum, posterior portion of postpronotal lobe, posterior surface of notopleural triangle almost entirely rugulose, matt, with small shining areas, anterior half of anepisternum and katepisternum, and whole anepimeron subshining, with green sheen; posterodorsal parts of anepisternum and katepisternum shagreened; supra-alar area and tympanal fossa matt dark brown, postscutellum black, sparsely gray microtrichose; posteroventral margin of scutellum without microtrichose area; anatergite, katatergite and lateroventral parts of mediotergite sparsely microtrichose, with faint metallic green sheen. Mesonotal scutum with fine, poorly visible brownish setulae in intra-alar and dorsocentral rows ( Fig. 246 ); acrostichal seta indistinguishable; dorsocentral setae hair-like; other setae moderately long, black: one postprononal, 2 postsutural supra-alar, one intra-alar and one postalar.

Scutellum densely rugulose, with deep cyan or green reflection, with 7–8 submarginal setulae (1/10 times as long as setae) at each side and 2 pairs of black scutellar setae.

Wing. Entirely hyaline, with yellow veins; cell r4+5 narrowly closed, apical section of M slightly arcuate; apices of cells r2+3 and r4+5 with small blackish spot ( Fig. 250 ). Postero-apical extension of cell cup 1.5 times as long as vein A1+CuA2, and 3.5 times as long as transverse section of vein CuA2. Calypters with white fringe. Length: 4.5– 4.9 mm.

Legs. Black except fore tarsus with basitarsomere yellow medially, with apical (and in female also basal) 1/6 dark brown, mid- and hind tarsi yellow except two apical tarsomeres brown; all setae black; fore femur posteroventrally with 4–5 short thickened setae in apical half.

Abdomen. Both tergites and sternites black; with tergites 1–4 strongly gold shining, laterally shagreened ( Fig. 261 ) in male and almost smooth black in female; tergite 5 of male conspicuously shagreened, with golden sheen ( Fig. 251 ); all setulae black; abdominal tergite 1 basally grey microtrichose; female abdominal tergite 2 with pair of dimple-like structures laterally.

Male postabdomen brown to black; epandrium as on Figs. 256–257 , cerci with long, antero-ventrally directed nipple-like structures; phallus with stipe slightly longer than preglans and glans; caecum 3.5 times as long as stipe width; preglans bare ( Fig. 253 ); glans with one long and 5–6 shorter claw- or spine-like lobes ( Fig. 254 ). Hypandrium ( Figs. 255, 258 ) asymmetric.

Female terminalia not dissected.

Distribution. Namibia, South Africa.

Biology unknown.

Etymology. The species is named in honour of German lepidopterist Wolfram Mey, one of collectors of the type specimens.

Figures

FIGURES 244 – 252. Physiphora meyi: 244, ♀, habitus, left; 245, ♂, habitus, left; 246, head and thorax, dorsal; 247, 248, ♀ and ♂ head, anterior; 249, fore leg; 250, wing; 251, ♂ abdomen; 252, label. Scale 1 mm.

FIGURES 253 – 261. Physiphora meyi: 253, ♂ phallus; 254, glans, enlarged; 255, epandrium and hypandrium, right; 256, epandrium, posterior; 257, epandrium, anterior; 258, hypandrium, ventral; 259, ejaculatory apodeme; 260, pregenital segments and phallus pouch; 261, sculpture on margin of male tergite 5.