Physiphora spriggsi, 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 : 74-76

Physiphora spriggsi sp. n.

Figures 350–361 .

Material. Type. Holotype ♂: Namibia: 1♂ Schwakopmund, N-part of Namib-Naukluft Park Welwitschiaflakte “Big Welwitschia”, 9.ii.1997 (W. Wetschning) (ZSSM); Paratypes: Namibia: 6♂: Lüderitz, Scorpion Area, 27º33′ S 16º36′ E, alighting on fresh gemsbok dung, 9–12.viii.1997 (Marais & Kirk-Spriggs) (NICW; SIZK); 1♀: Lüderitz Dist., Klinghardts Mtns. at 27º20′ 04″S, 15º46′ 00″E, Malaise trap sample, 27.viii–3.ix.1998 (Kirk-Spriggs & Marais); 2♂: Diamond Area, Kaukausib Riverbed, 26º53′ S 15º25′ E, “Preserv. Traps”, 10–22.viii.1983 (J. Irish & E. Griffin); 2♂: Swakopmund Area, Lower Ostrich Gorge, 22º30′ S 14º58′ E, “Preserv. Traps”, 5.vi–3.vii.1984 (J. Irish & J. Liessner); 1♂: “Riverside 135, Bethanie, SE 2616 Cs”, 2326. x.1971 (NICW); South Africa: 1♀: “OFS, Harrismith Dist., Mononstscha-hek”, 28º35′S, 28º41′E, 31.i.1995 (Ent. Dept.) (BMSA).

Diagnosis. This species can be recognized from the combination of wide, often pitted or rugose frons and gena, flat, non-microtrichose, and wide facial carina at least as wide as antennal grooves, which are deep and wellbordered (similarly to species of the genus Timia ), in combination with brightly golden-green, shining, densely shagreened thorax, whitish setulose anepisternum, narrowly opened cell r4+5 and creamy white fore basitarsomere. It is similar to P. tarsata and P. rugosa in having shallowly dotted or wrinkled frons and very wide facial carina, but clearly differs from them by very wide facial carina without white microtrichose areas, and mesonotum moderately rugulose, with strong green sheen with golden (violet to reddish at oblique view) reflections.

Description. Head ( Figs. 350–352 ) black, with frons, face and gena variable coloured, brownish yellow to black. Frons wide, 0.9–1.0 times as long as wide, reddish brown to dark brown or black, shining with moderately small round parafrontal microtichose spot not reaching anterior margin ( Fig. 352 ), shallowly (in smaller specimens) or deeply pitted (in larger specimens), with poorly expressed calluses, conspicuously whitish setulose. Vertical plates and ocellar triangle always shining black; 2 pairs of black orbital setae; ocellar setae lateroclinate, as long as orbital setae.

Face brown, facial carina very wide (usually as wide as antennal groove), with steep lateral margins and smooth, shining brown or black surface, conspicuously projected anteriorly in dorsal half, without any microtrichose pattern except deep in antennal grooves; epistome shining brown to black, lateral sides of face high, yellowish brown to black. Gena brown, ½–¾ times as high as eye; facial ridge and parafacial subshining brown, wide and wrinkled in larger specimens, almost smooth in smaller ones, facial ridge with whitish setulae, orbit between parafacial and gena with short microtrichose streak; gena posteriorly without microtrichose mark ( Fig. 350 ). Occiput black with partly brown postgenae. Medial vertical seta 0.3 times as long as frons width, 1.5 times as long as lateral vertical, 3 times as long as ocellar, orbital, and 2.5 times as long as postocellar setae. Antenna yellowish brown to dark brown, almost entirely deepened in antennal groove; flagellomere 1 brown, rounded apically, twice as long as wide, greyish microtrichose; arista bare, brown to dark brown in basal 1/6, remainder black. Clypeus black. Palp black, grey microtrichose and black setose. Mouthparts black.

Thorax ( Figs. 350–351 ). Scutum black, roughly shagreened, shining, with golden-green (to cyan, deep violet or red, depending on angle) sheen; antepronotum, postpronotal lobe, posterior surface of notopleural triangle, supra-alar and postalar parts of scutum, anteriormost parts of anepisternum and katepisternum, and whole anepimeron smooth shining black; posterior parts of anepisternum and katepisternum shagreened; postscutellum black, gray microtrichose; postero-ventral margin of scutellum without microtrichose area; anatergite, katatergite and lateroventral parts of mediotergite sparsely grey microtrichose; medial part of mediotergite finely shagreened, with green or golden reflection. Scutum with acrostichal, dorsocentral, and intra-alar rows of fine whitish setulae; anepisternum with numerous fine white setulae; acrostichal seta lacking, dorsocentral seta hair-like, often indistinguishable; other setae moderately long, black: one postprononal, 2 postsutural supra-alar, one intra-alar and one postalar.

Scutellum rugulose shining golden green, apparently bare or apparently bare or with indistinguishable setulae; 2 pairs of black scutellar setae.

Wing. Hyaline, with yellowish veins; pterostigma pale yellow, cell r4+5 narrowly closed, apical section of M slightly arcuate. Postero-apical extension of cell cup short, 0.3–0.5 times as long as vein A1+CuA2, and 1.5 times as long as transverse section of vein CuA2. Calypters with white fringe. Length: 3.0–4.2 mm.

Legs. Black except fore tarsus with basitarsomere creamy white in basal 4/5, sometimes its base also very narrowly darkened; mid- and hind femora and tibiae entirely brown or black; mid and hind tarsi yellow except 2 or 3 last tarsomere dark brown; all setae black; fore femur not swollen, postero-ventrally with 6–7 almost nonthickened short setae in apical half; all tibiae with semierect whitish setulae in addition to appressed black.

Abdomen. Both tergites and sternites shining black with golden reflection; all setulae black; abdominal tergite 1 basally sparsely grey microtrichose; female tergite 2 black setulose, with inconspicuous dimple-like structures.

Male postabdomen brown to black; epandrium as on Fig. 356 , cerci narrow-bar-like, without nipple-like structures; only large alveolae marking their positions instead ( Fig. 356–357 ), phallus ( Fig. 354 ) with stipe slightly widened and a little longer than preglans and glans; preglans smooth; glans with 5–6 short lobes ( Fig. 355 ). Hypandrium ( Fig. 358 ) asymmetric, with well developed vanes of phallapodeme).

Female terminalia. Aculeus ( Fig. 360 ) 10 times as long as wide at base (cercal unit broken off in both known females); three spherical spermathecae present ( Fig. 361 ).

Distribution. Southern Africa.

Biology. Adult flies are attracted to fresh antilopa’s (gemsbok) dung.

Etymology. The species is named in honour of its collector, South African dipterist Ashley Kirk-Spriggs, in recognition of his contribution into taxonomy of Physiphora .

Figures

FIGURES 350 – 353. Physiphora spriggsi: 350, habitus, left and dorsal; 351, head and thorax, left and dorsal; 352, head, anterior; 353, label. Scale 1 mm.

FIGURES 354 – 361. Physiphora spriggsi: 354, ♂ phallus; 355, glans, enlarged; 356, epandrium, posterior; 357, surstili, anterior; 358, hypandrium, ventral; 359, male sternites 2 – 5; 360, ♀, aculeus; 361, spermathecae (two of the three).