Platypalpus lokonda, Grootaert & Shamshev, 2014

Grootaert, Patrick & Shamshev, Igor, 2014, New species of Platypalpus (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, European Journal of Taxonomy 103, pp. 1-20 : 8-10

Platypalpus lokonda sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9D8BC13D-DB91-423E-8A20-AB96DB911E61

Figs 14–20

Diagnosis

A medium-sized species of the albiseta -group. One pair of long vertical bristles. Antenna black, postpedicel nearly 4 times as long as wide; with white stylus, almost 2.5 times as long as postpedicel. Mesonotum dark brown; pleura brown. Mid tibia with short pointed apical spur.

Etymology

The specific epithet ‘lokonda’ means forest in Tumburu language, the language spoken at Yangambi.

Type material

Holotype

♂, DR Congo, Yangambi , 27 May 2013, primary mixed forest (0°48’04.69” N 24°31’37.87” E; reg. 33011; leg. P. Grootaert; MS name Plat 2); mid leg in tray Entomo 004 at position A6 with barcode AB42406131; COI barcode available in GenBank with accession number: KJ768328 .

Paratype

1 ♂, DR Congo, Yangambi, 31 May 2013, monodominant Gilbertiodendron forest GIL3, sweeping (0°47’46.09” N 24°29’53.46” E; reg. 33025; leg. P. Grootaert); in tray Entomo 001 at position E2 with barcode AB48937147; COI barcode available in GenBank with accession number: KJ768327 .

Description

Male

LENGTH. Body 2.5 mm; wing 2.2 mm.

HEAD. Entirely black. Occiput densely greyish pollinose; with 1 pair of long black verticals. Ocellar tubercle greyish pollinose, with long anterior and minute posterior setae. Frons narrow, somewhat broadened toward ocellar tubercle, greyish pollinose. Face very narrow, somewhat broadened below, greyish pollinose, clypeus subshining. Antenna ( Fig. 15 ) with scape, pedicel and postpedicel brown; postpedicel conical, long, 3.7 times as long as wide; stylus white, densely pubescent, 2.4 times as long as postpedicel. Proboscis brownish yellow, shorter than head is high. Palpus pale yellow, short, elongate ovate, with scattered pale setulae.

THORAX. ( Figs 14, 15 ). With mesonotum dark brown, otherwise yellowish brown; faintly tomentose, scutum shining anteriorly; bristles black. Pleura also finely tomentose including katepisternum (= sternopleuron). Postpronotal lobe small, narrow, with several minute setulae. Mesonotum with 2 notopleurals (anterior seta very short, posterior seta long), 1 moderately long postalar and 4 scutellars (apical pair long, cruciate, lateral pair very short); additionally, notopleuron with several setulae; acrostichals biserial, very short, few setae on anterior part of scutum; dorsocentrals uniserial, very short, 2 prescutellar pairs (anterior setae proclinate, posterior setae inclinate) long.

LEGS. Yellow. Coxae and trochanters with ordinary yellowish to brownish yellow setae of different lengths. Fore femur slender; with rows of anteroventral and posteroventral yellowish setae longer on basal part. Fore tibia slender, clothed with ordinary setulae. Mid femur ( Fig. 17 ) very thickened; with double row of black ventral spinules and row of long, brownish yellow posteroventral setae. Mid tibia bearing a row of black ventral spinules; with short flattened apical spur. Hind femur slender, with short anteroventral setae. Hind tibia slender, clothed with ordinary setulae. Tarsi of all legs unmodified.

WING. ( Fig. 16 ). Faintly infuscate, with brownish veins. One moderately long costal seta. Veins R 4+5 and M 1+2 convergent just before meeting wing margin. Crossveins m-cu and r-m contiguous; cell bm somewhat longer and broader than cell br. Vein CuA 2 sinuate. Anal vein distinct in apical part and evanescent in basal part. Calypter brown, with brown setae. Halter brownish.

ABDOMEN. With tergites brownish, subshining, covered with faint very short setae; sternites brownish, with similar setae; segment 8 with several long black posteromarginal setae. Terminalia ( Figs 14 , 18–20 ) small, brown. Left cercus much longer than right cercus, both widely separated. Cerci clothed by unmodified hairs and setae. Left epandrial lamella ( Figs 19, 20 ) much shorter than right epandrial lamella ( Figs 18, 19 ). Left epandrial lamella with two long apical setae.

Female

Unknown.

Comparison

Platypalpus lokonda sp. nov. is very closely related to P. ngomensis Smith, 1969 described from Natal, South Africa. It differs in having brown prothoracic sterna and propleura which are yellow in P. ngomensis . In the latter species, the left epandrial lamella is about as long as the right epandrial lamella, in P. lokonda sp. nov., the left lamella is very short.

Distribution

DR Congo.

Figures

Figs 14–17. Platypalpus lokonda sp. nov., paratype ♂. 14. Habitus, lateral view. 15. Head and thorax, dorsal view. 16. Wing. 17. Mid legs, posterior view.

Figs 18–20. Platypalpus lokonda sp. nov., holotype ♂. 18. Right epandrial lamella. 19. Epandrium with cerci, dorsal view. 20. Left epandrial lamella. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.