Docosia distributa, Kurina, Olavi & Ševčík, Jan, 2012

Kurina, Olavi & Ševčík, Jan, 2012, Notes on Docosia Winnertz (Diptera: Mycetophilidae), with description of six new species from Central Asia and the first generic record from the Afrotropical region, Zootaxa 3570, pp. 25-40 : 34-36

Docosia distributa sp. nov.

Figure 6 .

Type material. Holotype. 3, TURKMENISTAN, Karakala 3 km SW, Moon Mts., 38°26’55,8’’N 56°12’53,2’’E, 330 m a.s.l. light trap, 03.iv.2011 (A. Pototski leg.) [ IZBE, micropinned]. Paratypes. 3, TURKMENISTAN, Kugitang Mts., 50 km NE Carsanga, 1500 m a.s.l. sweeping, 28.iv.1989 (V. Blagoderov leg.) [ BMNH, glued to a triangular card point]; 3, KAZAKHSTAN, Kapchagai, 43°44’03,7’’N 77°01’36,4’’E, 535 m a.s.l. light trap, 21.v.2003 (A. Selin leg.) [ IZBE]; 3, KAZAKHSTAN, Uch-Aral, 46°23’48,3’’N 80°42’56,5’’E, light trap, 21.v.2004 (A. Selin leg.) [ IZBE].

Description. Male. Body length 3.19–3.42, 3.33 [3.42] mm (n=4).

Head black, with numerous pale setae. Three ocelli, with laterals separated from eye margins by a distance less than their own diameter. Clypeus dark brown, with pale setae. Mouthparts light brown. Palpus light brown with two apical segments yellow. Scape, pedicel and flagellomeres entirely dark brown or pedicel basally somewhat lighter. Flagellum with short pale setae. Flagellomeres cylindrical, median flagellomeres about 1.6 times as long as broad, apical flagellomere cylindrical, about two times as long as broad at base.

All parts of thorax black with yellowish white bristles and setae. Mesonotum slightly shining. Scutellum with numerous setae, including marginal bristles not arranged to distinct pairs. Antepronotum and proepisternum with bristles and setae. Upper part of antepronotum with two strong bristles, one of them crossing the neck. Laterotergite and other pleural parts bare. Halteres yellow.

Legs. Forecoxa brown on basal fifth to fourth, otherwise yellow. Mid- and hind coxae brown at basal third to half, otherwise yellow. All trochanters brown. Forefemur yellow except ventral margin narrowly brown. Mid- and hind femora yellow except hind femur apically infuscated. All tibiae yellow. First two tarsal segments yellowish, successive tarsal segments seem more brownish because of dense setae. Midtibia with 3–6 a, 4–5 d and 2–3 av. Hind tibia with 8–14 d, 10–13 a and 3–5 av. Ratio of femur to tibia for fore-, mid- and hind legs: 1.16–1.23, 1.19 [1.23]; 0.97–1.12, 1.04 [1.12]; 0.76–0.83, 0.80 [0.80]. Ratio of tibia to basitarsus for fore-, mid- and hind legs: 1.32–1.42, 1.39 [1.42]; 1.25–1.45, 1.36 [1.45]; 1.62–1.82, 1.73 [1.62].

Wing hyaline, length 2.90–3.70, 3.20 [3.06] mm (n=4). Costa, radial veins and r-m brown, other veins paler and M-stem faint. Sc, R4, bM-Cu, M-stem, basal third of cu-stem and basal fourth of A1 bare; C, R1, R5 and r-m setose on both surface; M1, M2, apical two third of cu-stem, CuA1, CuA2 and apical three fourth of A1 setose on dorsal surfaces. Costa reaches 0.22–0.27, 0.24 [0.27] from R5 to M1. Sc distinctly ends in R, before the origin of Mstem. Anterior fork begins at the level of R4. Posterior fork begins before anterior fork at the middle (or slightly beyond) of r-m. R1 2.4–2.8, 2.5 [2.5] times as long as r-m, which is about as long as M-stem.

Abdomen brown with pale setae, sternites somewhat lighter. Terminalia ( Fig. 6 ) yellow with gonocoxite somewhat darker. Ventroapical margin of gonocoxite with a stick-like medial process and with lateral setose extensions. Internal flange of ventroapical margin of gonocoxa with sabre-like megasetae medially. Gonostylus with two narrow lobes, with apical spines, ventrally. Tergite 9 slightly elongated with convex apical margin and with small basal incision. Cercus with 11 combs of retinacula.

Female. Unknown.

Biology. Unknown.

Etymology. The name refers to the wide distribution of this species in Central Asia.

Discussion. Among Central Asian species, D. distributa forms a group with D. blagoderovi and D. turkmenica because of the outline of the ventroapical margin of gonocoxite. All three species have a prominent medial process and lateral extensions. Docosia distributa has lanceolate megasetae on the internal flange of the ventroapical margin of the gonocoxite while D. blagoderovi and D. turkmenica have apically split megasetae on the medial process itself. Tergite 9 is apically convex while it is concave in D. turkmenica and almost straight in D. blagoderovi . The cercus has 11 combs of retinacula instead of 12 and 13 in D. turkmenica and D. blagoderovi , respectively. Docosia distributa also remarkably resembles two Western Palaearctic species, namely D. helveola Chandler, 1994 from Israel and D. muelleri Plassmann, 1986 from Sweden (cf. Chandler 1994, Plassmann 1986). Docosia distributa differs from D. helveola mainly in the shape of tergite 9, in the slender ventromedial projection of gonocoxite and in the number of combs of retinacula on the cercus (11 in D. distributa and 14 in D. helveola ). Docosia muelleri is not sufficiently described and is reliably known only from the male holotype. It is possibile that the species figured by Zaitzev (1994: fig. 81, 9) as D. moravica Landrock, 1916 actually represents D. muelleri .

This view is also supported by Dr. J. Jakovlev (pers. comm. to JŠ) who recently collected this species in northern Europe. Comparing the figure of the genitalia published by Zaitzev (1994: 81, 9) with D. distributa ( Fig. 6 c), both species differ mainly in the shape of ventrolateral extensions of the gonocoxite. In D. moravica sensu Zaitzev , these extensions are narrow and almost as long as the ventromedial projection but distinctly shorter and wider than those of both D. distributa and D. helveola .

Figures

FIGURE 6. Docosia distributa sp. nov., male terminalia. a, lateral view; b, posterior view; c, ventral view of gonostylus; d, dorsal view of tergite IX; e, dorsal view of cerci; f, ventral view of aedeagal complex; g, lateral view of aedeagal complex. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.