Chonocephalus marginatus, Disney, R. Henry L., 2002

Disney, R. Henry L., 2002, Revisionary notes on Chonocephalus Wandolleck (Diptera: Phoridae) with keys to species of the Holarctic Region, Zootaxa 60, pp. 1-36 : 27-28

Chonocephalus marginatus sp. nov.

( Figs 26­30 , 42 )

Chonocephalus depressus Rao, 1961: 163 , nec Meijere, 1912: 151. Misidentification.

In 1915 Meijere misidentified the series of males and females that were collected by Rao. While the female of the newly recognised species is indeed very similar to that of C. depressus , the male described by Rao is quite distinct from the then unknown male of C. depressus .

Male

Frons brown with pale median band as wide as anterior ocellus and a pale narrow bor­ der to dark brown ocellar triangle. Third antennal segment brown, but not dark, and about 1.5x as broad as palp, which is about as dark and bears numerous hairs of which the most apical is differentiated as a fine bristle. The brown hypopygium has half a dozen hairs on each side of epandrium. The processes of the latter as Figs 26 and 27 . Left gonopod and the short hypandrial lobe as Fig. 28 . The right gonopod as figs 29 and 30.. Legs light brown, the hind femora being darkest. Wing 0.8­0.9 mm long and tinged grey.

Female

Length (front of head to rear of tergite 7) 0.8­0.9 mm. Eyes small with only about a dozen ommatidia in each. Microsetae (between hairs) on thoracic notum and frons minute and only slightly larger on abdominal tergites, where they are similar to Fig. 38 . General colouring chestnut brown, but at rear margins of T1/T2 ­ T6 there is a dark band embracing the pale spots bearing the posterior row of hairs. The latter number about 24 on T3. T8, S8, furca and spermatheca as Fig. 42 .

Material

HOLOTYPE male, India, Coimbatore, 10 April 1915, Y. R. Rao ( ZMUA ­ 29­ 67). PARATYPES 6 males, 14 females, as holotype, except 1 male, 1 female ( CUMZ). 6 males, 3 females, Indonesia, Sumatra, Medan, de Bussy ( ZMUA ­ 29­ 66).

Natural history

Rao (1961) describes the egg, larva and puparium and reported it breeding in ‘various types of rotting vegetable matter, but its favourite medium appeared to be the pulp of rotting fruits’. He also observed females imbibing fluids from the same fruits.

Figures

FIGURE 38. Chonocephalus depressus. females, vestiture of abdominal tergites.

FIGURE 42. Chonocephalus marginatus female, tergite 8 (to left) and sternite 8, furca and spermatheca. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 26 ­ 30. Chonocephalus marginatus male, hypopygium from below: (26) left anterior process of epandrium; (27) right anterior process of epandrium; (28) left gonopod and hypandrial lobe; (29) right gonopod; (30) right gonopod from another angle. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.