Dinera brevipalpis, Zhang & Shima, 2006

Zhang, Chun-Tian & Shima, Hiroshi, 2006, A systematic study of the genus Dinera Robineau-Desvoidy from the Palaearctic and Oriental regions (Diptera: Tachinidae), Zootaxa 1243 (1243), pp. 1-60 : 16-19

Dinera brevipalpis sp. nov.

Figs. 9–12

Diagnosis

Large reddish species with patterned wing, palpus reduced, wing yellowish at base and brown on anterior and middle portion, abdomen broadly yellowish.

Body length 13.3–17.2 mm.

Description

Male. Head brownish in ground color, face reddish yellow and gena reddish brown, occiput black, with yellowish white pruinosity, fronto­orbital plate more yellowish; frontal vitta dark brown; antenna reddish yellow except for brown apical 2/3 of flagellomere 1; arista dark brown; palpus reddish yellow. Vertex slightly less than 1/7 head width, frontal vitta strongly widened anteriorly, about twice as wide as fronto­orbital plate at middle; facial carina wide and flat on anterior surface, lower margin of face only slightly produced forward beyond vibrissal base; parafacial parallel­sided, about 3 times as wide as flagellomere 1; gena about 2/5 eye height. Fronto­orbital plate with a few or a row of several fine and short hairs; inner vertical setae about 1/2 eye height; outer vertical seta fine hair­like, ocellar seta slightly shorter than inner vertical seta; 11–12 inclinate frontal setae, upper ones shorter than lower ones and the latter about as long as ocellar seta; parafacial bare; vibrissa inserted slightly above lower margin of face; occiput with dense pale yellowish white pile, 2–3 rows of fine black hairs present on upper 1/3. Flagellomere 1 rather narrow, about 4 times as long as wide and about 4 times as long as pedicel; pedicel with 2–3 long and strong setae, longest seta almost as long as flagellomere 1; arista subequal in length to antenna, including plumosity about twice as wide as flagellomere 1. Prementum about 1/2 eye height; palpus greatly reduced, slightly shorter than pedicel.

Thorax black in ground color, with dense grayish white pruinosity; dorsum with 5 dark brown longitudinal vittae on presutural scutum, outer vitta broad and about 1.5 times as wide as pruinose portion between inner and outer vittae on presutural area, 3 median vittae narrow on presutural area and fused with each other and widened squarely on anterior 2/5 of postsutural scutum, median portion of the band extending longitudinally almost to suture betwen scutellum; scutellum broadly dark brown, posterior margin grayish white. Postpronotal lobe with 5–6 setae; 3+3 ac; 3–4+4 dc; 0+3 ia, anterior one weak; 4 sa; scutellum with 3 pairs of marginal setae and 4–5 discal setae, apical scutellar seta about 1.5 times as long as scutellum, subapical scutellar seta subequal in length to basal seta and slightly longer than apical seta. Wing yellow on subcostal cell, cell r 1 from base to level of apex of subcosta and basal area from base to level of dm­cu crossvein, brown to dark brown on anteromedian portion from level with dm­cu crossvein to apex especially along veins, brownish tinge faded in cells and posterior and apical portion; tegula and basicosta black; calypter yellowish brown. Costal spine absent, relative length of second, third and fourth costal sections approximately as 2.1:2.2:1; base of vein R 4+5 with 3–4 hairs dorsally and ventrally; vein M from dm­cu crossvein to its bend 2.5 times as long as distance between the bend and wing margin. Legs black, trochanters brownish; 5th tarsomere with silvery gray pruinosity on dorsal surface; pulvilli brownish yellow. Hind tibia weakly sinuate on basal 1/3. Fore tibia with 2 short p; mid tibia with 1 ad, 2 short pd and 1 v; hind tibia with a sparsely set row of short ad, of which submedian 3–4 are longer than others, 2–3 pd and 1–3 v, without apical pv.

Abdomen long ovate; broadly pale reddish yellow in ground color, black on median longitudinal portion from syntergite 1+2 to tergite 5 and on posterior 1/2 of tergite 5, sometimes narrowly brownish to dark brown on posterior margin of tergites 3 and 4, with grayish white pruinosity on median black longitudinal portion and on entire tergite 5. Syntergite 1+2 excavated to posterior margin; hairs on abdominal dorsum dense fine and suberect, sometimes strong on posterior portion of tergite 4 and strong and erect bristlelike on 5; syntergite 1+2 without median marginal seta, with 1–2 lateral marginal setae; tergite 3 with 2 median marginal and 1–2 lateral marginal setae, without discal seta; tergite 4 with a row of marginal setae; tergite 5 with an irregular row of discal setae and a row of strong marginal setae. Sternite 5 subretangular, posterior lobe wide and rounded apically, V­shaped median cleft moderately deep and slightly wide. Male terminalia. Cerci strongly narrowed on apical half and evenly bent ventrally; surstylus wide and bluntly rounded at apex, pregonite long and bent posteriorly, postgonite slightly shorter than basiphallus, distiphallus long, with spinules on membranous ventral surface, membranous apical part longer than sclerotized basal part, ejaculatory apodeme small.

Female. Differing from male as follows: Head with more whitish pruinosity; vertex wide, about 0.3 of head width; frontal vitta about 1.3 times as wide as fronto­orbital plate at middle; fronto­orbital plate with 2–3 rows of fine and short hairs, lower ones minute and descending to level of base of arista; parafacial about 4 times as wide as flagellomere 1 at middle height; ocellar seta as long as posterior proclinate orbital seta; outer vertical seta slightly shorter than ocellar seta; 1 outwardly directed prevertical seta; 2 proclinate orbital setae; 11–12 inclinate frontal seta; antenna shorter than in male, flagellomere 1 about 3.5 times as long as pedicel, falling short of lower margin of face by about length of flagellomere 1 and pedicel combined; arista longer than antenna (6:5). Thorax with more whitish pruinosity than in male; 2 ia. Legs shorter than in male, hind femur distinctly shorter than thoracic length between anterior margin of postpronotal lobe and anterior margin of scutellum; mid tibia with 3 ad, 2 p and 2 v; hind tibia with 2–3 strong p; 5th tarsomere without whitish pruinosity; claw and pulvillus shorter than 5th tarsomere. Abdomen ovate, broadly reddish brown, dark brown on median longitudinal portion and posteior 2/5 of tergites 3 and 4 and entire 5, with grayish white pruinosity; syntergite 1+2 without median marginal seta.

Type material

Holotype ♂, VIETNAM, Mt. Tam Dao , 930–1230 m, Vinh Phu Prov., 15–17.v.1999, H. Kurahashi ( BLKU) . Paratypes VIETNAM. 4 males, same data as holotype ; 3 males, Tam Dao, 900–1200 m, Vinh Phu Prov. , 1–6.v.1998, R. Matsumoto . THAILAND. 1 female, nr. Sai Yok, 500 m, Kanchana Buri , 9.ix.1975, H. Kurahashi ( BLKU) . MALAYSIA. 1 male, Pahang, F.M. S., Cameron Highland , 4600­4800 feet, 23.vi.1935 ( USNM) . CHINA. Zhejiang: 1 male, Mt. Tianmu , 8.vii.1936 ( IZCAS) . Guangdong: 1 male, Mt. Nanling, 1000–1700 m, Ruyuan , 12–16.v.2005, C.­t. Zhang ( SNUC) .

Etymology

Specific name from the Latin adjective brevis (breviculus = short) plus noun palpus is taken from a diagnostic character of this species, the short palpus.

Remarks

This species is very characteristic in its large body size, greatly reduced palpus and patterned wing.