Psilota livida Young and van Steenis, 2020

Young, Andrew D., Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Steenis, Wouter Van, 2020, Revision of the Psilota Meigen, 1822 flower flies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Australia, Zootaxa 4737 (1), pp. 1-127 : 55

Psilota livida Young and van Steenis sp. nov.

(Species plate: Fig. 22 ; Genitalia: Fig. 43 E–F; Map: Fig. 58A )

Diagnosis: Metallic blue species with face thinly white pollinose. Frons with mixed black and white pilosity, vertex dark pilose. Pleuron white pilose, scutum white pilose anterior to transverse suture, mostly black pilose behind transverse suture. Scutellum mostly black pilose. Hind leg simple. Halter dark brown. Calypter pale. Body length: 7.3–8.2 mm.

Description: MALE: Head: Head black, face shining blueish-black, with thin white pollinosity covering the sides of the face. Central stripe of face shining, free of pollinosity. Face white pilose, frons with mixed black and white pilosity, vertex black pilose. Antenna entirely orange, baseoflagellomere oval, approximately 1.5 times as long as wide. Eye densely white pilose. Thorax: Thorax blueish-black, shining and free of pollinosity. Legs mostly dark brown, with apices of fore- and mid femora, basal one-third of fore tibia orange. Hind leg simple. Pleuron shining, pollinosity free. Pile on pleuron white, pile on scutum white anterior to transverse suture, mostly black posterior to suture. Scutellum mostly black pilose, with a few white pile. Wing colourless, with cell bm entirely bare, cell cua bare on anterior half, cells c, and r 1 bare on basal half, and cells m 4, dm, and r 4+5 bare on basal one-quarter. Alula completely microtrichose. Halter white. Calypter white. Abdomen: Abdomen blueish-black. Tergite 1 white pilose, tergite 2 mostly white pilose with a few short black pile medially, tergite 3 white pilose laterally with many black pile medially, tergite 4 mostly white pilose with a few black pile medially. Sternites black, white pilose. Genitalia: Epandrium compact, about as long as tall. Cercus approximately triangular. Outer lobe of surstylus inserted at midheight and mid-length of the inner lobe, short, thick and curved smoothly downwards over its entire length. Inner lobe of surstylus long and straight, approximately 4 times as long as wide (at base), with a semicircular ventral excavation at two-thirds its length, almost square at apex. Phallapodeme smooth. Postgonite thick, not darkened.

FEMALE: Identical except for normal sexual dimorphism.

Etymology: The specific epithet livida derives from the Latin “lividus”, meaning “blueish black, or leaden”. This is in reference to the blueish-black abdomen of Psilota livida sp. nov., which distinguishes it from similar species such as Psilota azurea sp. nov. and Psilota calva sp. nov.

Specimens examined: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 6km N Taroom ; -25.600000 149.766667; eucalyptus woodland, 25.XI.1992; coll. G. Daniels, GDCBReg_19609; (1♂, AM) . PARATYPE: Queensland: Mc- Ilwraith Range 8km NE Coen, -13.888333 143.253500, 200m; mercury vapour light, 7.I.1995, G. and A. Daniels, GDCBReg_19571, (1♀, GDCB) .

Discussion: This species has been collected in a Eucalyptus woodland at a mecury vapour light, otherwise nothing is known about its biology.

Figures

FIGURE 22. P. livida sp. nov., A) male dorsal habitus, B) male anterolateral face, C) male lateral habitus. Scale bar =1 mm.

FIGURE 43. Lateral and dorsal male genitalia ofA, B) P. flavoorta sp. nov.; C, D) P. fuscifrons sp. nov.; E, F) P. livida sp. nov., and G, H) P. longipila sp. nov.. Scale bar =1 mm.

FIGURE 58. Known range of A) P. livida sp. nov.; B) P. longipila sp. nov.