Pseudolycoriella cavatica ( Skuse, 1888 ) Skuse, 1888

Broadley, Adam, Kauschke, Ellen & Mohrig, Werner, 2016, Revision of the types of male Sciaridae (Diptera) described from Australia by F. A. A. Skuse, Zootaxa 4193 (3), pp. 401-450 : 437-441

Pseudolycoriella cavatica ( Skuse, 1888) comb. n.

( Fig. 23 A‒D; Fig. 24 A‒B)

Sciara cavatica Skuse, 1888 [ Skuse (1888): 688 ‒689].

Type locality. Australia, New South Wales, Glenbrook, Blue Mountains .

Holotype: Male. Original label data verbatim ‘ Sc. cavatica / Ƌ (ink) TYPE. / F. A. A. Skuse’ (print), ‘Glenbrook/ M’ (ink). Mounted in Canada balsam Dec. 2015. (ANIC; Slide No. 009).

Preservation. All details in good condition, wings somewhat deformed.

Remarks. Original description states “ Hab.—Glenbrook, Blue Mountains (Masters). End of November.”

= Sciara familiaris Skuse, 1888 syn. n. [ Skuse (1888): 687 ‒688].

Type locality. Australia, New South Wales, Elizabeth Bay .

Lectotype (here designated): Male. Slide bears original label data verbatim ‘ Sc. familiaris / Ƌ (ink) TYPE./ F. A. A. Skuse’ (print). Mounted in Canada balsam Dec. 2015. (ANIC; Slide No. 019-1).

Paralectotypes. 1 female and 1 male (not studied).

Remarks. Original description states “ Hab.—Elizabeth Bay (Skuse). January.”

Preservation. Head missing, thorax and legs damaged, wings and hypopygium in good condition.

= Sciara festiva Skuse, 1888 syn. n. [ Skuse (1888): 689 ‒690].

Type locality. Australia, New South Wales, Sydney.

Lectotype (here designated): Sciara festiva Skuse, 1888 . Male. Slide bears original label data verbatim ‘ Sciara festiva / ♂ (ink) TYPE./ F. A. A. Skuse’ (print), ‘Sydney/ S’ (ink). Mounted in Canada balsam Dec. 2015. (ANIC; Slide No. 021-1).

Paralectotype. 1 female (not studied).

Remarks. Original description states “ Hab.—Elizabeth Bay (Skuse). May.”

Preservation. Gonostylus slightly deformed.

Additional description. Male. Head. Eye bridge 2 facets wide; frons between eye bridge and scape with a few bristles. Antenna short; 4th flagellomere with l/w-index of 1.4, with hairs pale, bristle-like and nearly as long as the width of the basal node; necks rather short, brownish; palpus 3-segmented; basal segment without sensory pit, with 4-5 bristles. Thorax. Scutum with rather short and brown central as well as lateral bristles; scutellum with 2 long and 4 shorter marginal bristles; postpronotum bare. Wing brownish; R1 = 1/2 R; R5 throughout with macrotrichia dorsally and ventrally; C = 3/4 w; y = x, with 1‒2 macrotrichia; M-fork long, posterior veins without macrotrichia. Haltere short, brownish. Legs brownish; tibial organ small, with 4‒5 fine hyaline bristles in an irregular row; spurs of middle and hind tibia equal in size, longer than the width of apex of tibia; claws missing. Abdomen. With rather long, dense brownish hair. Hypopygium with broad open ventral base, without lobe or patch of bristles; gonocoxite with short and sparse hairs on the inner ventral margin; gonostylus curved in the apical third, densely hairy on the apex, with 2 subapical spines as long as apical hairs, and with a long whiplash hair below; tegmen wider than long, with dark sclerotized shoulders laterally, rounded apically; aedeagus rather short, with large furca. Body length: 2.2 mm.

Comments. This species is characterized by very short flagellomeres, frons with short bristles, gonostylus with 2 short spines and a much longer whiplash hair, and a tegmen that has rather strongly sclerotized shoulders. The type specimens of S. familiaris and S. festiva are in rather good condition. Both are identical to Psl. cavatica ( Skuse 1888) in all details.

Distribution. Australia (New South Wales).

Figures

FIGURE 23. Pseudolycoriella cavatica (Skuse, 1888). A. Hypopygium; B. Gonostylus; C. Pedicel and flagellomeres 1 ‒ 5; D. Palpus (from Sciara festiva Skuse, 1888).

FIGURE 24. Pseudolycoriella cavatica (Skuse, 1888). A. Hypopygium from Sciara familiaris Skuse 1888; B. Hypopygium from Sciara festiva Skuse, 1888.