Ewaurista, Shcherbakov & Azar, 2019

Shcherbakov, Dmitry E. & Azar, Dany, 2019, A new subfamily of Trichoceridae (Diptera: Tipulomorpha) from Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber, Zootaxa 4563 (2), pp. 311-324 : 312-313

Ewaurista gen. nov.

Type species. E. pusilla sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Minute trichocerids with rather short legs (hind femur no longer than abdomen). Remarkably sexually dimorphic: male larger with pedicel more enlarged, costal space wider, Sc much longer, medial cells more elongate, anal lobe broader, 1A remote from wing margin and distally subtransverse (submarginal in female). Head and thorax dorsally with few, regularly arranged setae; male abdomen and terminalia with long bristles. Eyes bare. Meron entirely sclerotized, slightly wider than eucoxa. Tibial spurs present (1:2:2). 1st tarsomere subequal to four remaining tarsomeres combined. Crossvein sc-r subterminal. Rs originating about wing midlength, divided into R5 and R2+3+4, the latter connected by R2+3 crossvein to R1 near apex; short pterostigma around apical R1 section. Bases of M1+2 and M3 oblique. Distal M1+2 section (beyond im) longer than M2. CuA bent at m-cu at almost right angle, reclined beyond it; m-cu just before M3+4 fork, nearer to wing margin than to M bifurcation. Setal fringe along wing margin moderately long and dense; veins without macrosetae. Gonocoxites elongate, without basal lobes forming ventral bridge. Gonostyles long, slender, with inner basal lobe. Parameres acute, diverging at about 60° and downcurved, as long as aedeagus. Female cerci long (as long as height of abdomen), sclerotized, markedly downcurved, acuminate apically; sternite 8 with oval apical incision. Three spermathecae.

Composition. Monobasic.

Comparison. Distinct from all other genera in the characters listed under the subfamily diagnosis. The shape of the male gonostyle in Ewaurista resembles that of some species of Trichocera Meigen, 1803 , s.l. (subgenus Metatrichocera Dahl, 1966 , especially T. tetonensis Alexander, 1945 ) and Nothotrichocera Alexander, 1926 , while the slender gonocoxites lacking basal lobes are similar to those of Cladoneura Scudder, 1894 (= Diazosma Bergroth, 1913 ) and some species of Paracladura Brunetti, 1911 . For further comparison, see the Table 1.

Distribution. Lower Cretaceous of Lebanon.

Etymology. After Ewa Krzemińska, the world authority in Trichoceridae . The genus name is feminine.