Empis (Empis) cartusiana, Langlois & Daugeron, 2024

Langlois, Dominique & Daugeron, Christophe, 2024, Two new species of the genus Empis Linnaeus, 1758 (Diptera, Empididae, Empidinae) from French nature reserves, Zoosystema 46 (13), pp. 319-325 : 320-322

Empis (Empis) cartusiana n. sp.

( Fig. 1 A-C)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:98CB22EC-C56D-4172-9186-D550D4CAE76A

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype. France • ♂; Saint-Pierre de Chartreuse (38), Réserve naturelle nationale des Hauts de Chartreuse, Dent de Crolles; 45°19’8”N, 5°51’25”E; 1762 m a.s.l.; 22.VII.2019; J. Claude leg.; Malaise trap no. 118, subalpine meadows and moorland, nestled in a pine forest; MNHN-ED-ED10932.

Paratypes. France • 3♂; same data as for holotype; MNHN-EDED10933, MNHN-ED-ED10934, MNHN-ED-ED10935 • 4♀; same data as for holotype; MNHN-ED-ED11399, MNHN-EDED11400, MNHN-ED-ED11401, MNHN-ED-ED11402 • 6 ♂, 5 ♀; same data; Coll. DL • 1♂; same data; 45°19’12”N, 5°51’25”E; 1755 m a.s.l.; 17. VI.2020; Malaise trap no. 127; Coll. DL • 1 ♂; same data; 45°19’12”N, 5°51’18”E; 1776 m a.s.l.; 17. VI.2020; Malaise trap no. 128; Coll. DL • 1♂; Chapareillan , Mont Granier; 45°27’0”N, 5°55’33”E; 1832 m a.s.l.; 1.VII.2020; Malaise trap no. 125; Coll. DL .

ETYMOLOGY. — From the Latin word Cartusia meaning Chartreuse, in reference to the Chartreuse mountain range, an Alpine massif located in the French departments of Isère and Savoie, in which the specimens were collected (between the cities of Grenoble and Chambéry).

DIAGNOSIS. — Rather small greyish dusted species of the Empis pennipes- group of the subgenus Empis (sensu Chvála 2011) , with white abdominal pubescence, dark halteres, an anterodorsal tuft of black hairs at the base of male cercus; phallus well visible, long, thin, curved; wing clear in male, dark in female; legs of female with pennation.

DISTRIBUTION. — France: Alps ( Fig. 3 ).

DESCRIPTION

Male ( Fig. 1A, B ).

Head. Occiput dull black to dusted grey, covered with many black occipital setae, a distinct row of postoculars, postgena with yellowish fine setae. Frons reduced to small triangle above antennae. Face dull black. Antennae blackish, scape as long as pedicel, postpedicel three times scape length. Proboscis blackish, labrum about twice head height, palpus black with a few black bristly-hairs.

Thorax. Dull black with grey pruinosity. Antepronotum with row of short black setae. Proepisternum and prosternum with a few rather pale yellow setae. Postpronotum with one strong, long apical seta and a few fine, short anteriors. Acrostichals biserial, rather short, absent in prescutellar depression; dorsocentrals irregularly biserial, a little longer than acrostichals, ending in two strong, long setae in prescutellar depression. Laterotergite with fan of mix black and yellowish setae. Scutellum with two strong, long apical setae, two thinner, shorter subapicals. Other strong, long setae as follows: three notopleurals, two pre- and one postsutural supraalars, one postalar, two distinct intraalars in the front of scutum on each side.

Legs. Dark brown blackish. Fore and mid coxae with mainly pale yellow setae, hind coxa with rather strong black setae mixed with a few pale yellow setae. Fore femur with short dorsal setae, longer fine ventrals; fore tibia with dorsal rows of distinct setae especially one posterodorsal row of rather strong, longer than tibia depth setae; first four fore tarsomeres with rather strong apical setae. Mid femur with dorsal setae shorter than femur depth, one antero- and one posteroventral rows of strong, long setae except apically; mid tibia with one anteroand one posteroventral rows of rather strong, short setae, one strong, long dorsal seta at middle; first four mid tarsomeres with rather strong apical setae. Hind femur with many dorsal and ventral setae shorter or as long as femur depth; hind tibia with many ventral setae, shorter than tibia depth, dorsal row of strong, long setae mixed with many thinner, shorter other setae; first hind tarsomere somewhat swollen with distinct apical setae, remaining tarsomeres with rather short setae.

Wing. Length: 4.4 mm. Clear, distinct brown stigma. Sc abbreviated, A1 complete. Haltere dark.

Abdomen. Dull to dusted greyish, with whitish setae at base. First five tergites with many rather long yellowish marginal and lateral setae; sternites with yellowish setae ventrally.

Hypopygium. Dull black with black setae, cercus with anterodorsal fan of dense thin setae; epandrial lamella about 2.5 times higher than wide with strong, long setae on the posterior margin; hypandrium reduced to simple ventral plate; phallus yellowish brown, thin, forming a long posterior loop.

Female ( Fig. 1C )

Similar to male except for the usual sexual differences and the following characters: setae shorter; eyes dichoptic, all ommatidia of equal size; frons as wide as face with a few distinct setae along margin of eyes; wing darkened; legs with many pennate setae: fore femur with a few anterodorsal subpennate setae basally, fore tibia with short posterodorsal pennate setae; mid femur with long dorsal and ventral pennation, mid tibia with short dorsal pennation except at tips, short ventral pennation at base, first mid tarsomere with a few dorsal subpennate setae; hind femur with long dorsal and ventral pennation, hind tibia with rather long dorsal pennation and ventral pennation at basal half, first hind tarsomere slightly longer, less swollen with dorsal and ventral subpennate setae, more distinct dorsally.

REMARKS

In Chvála’s key to the E. pennipes group ( Chvála 2011), E. cartusiana n. sp. is near the pair E. rufiventris Meigen, 1838 / E. provencalis Chvála, 2011 , but it must be compared to the latter as both species have a mix of yellowish and black setae on the laterotergite; however the labrum of E. cartusiana n. sp. is distinctly shorter, the females have well-developed pennation on legs and the male genitalia are different. On the other hand E. cartusiana n. sp. does not correspond to any Caucasian species of the E. pennipes group as reviewed by Kustov & Shamshev (2014).

Figures

FIG. 1. — Empis (Empis) cartusiana n. sp.: A, male habitus; B, male hypopygium; C, female habitus. Abbreviations: see Material and methods. Scale bars: A, C, 1 mm; B, 0.2 mm.

FIG. 3. — Map of France showing the distribution of Empis (Empis) cartusiana n. sp. (●) and Empis (Xanthempis) montsegurensis n. sp. (Ω). Background map: Sémhur, Wikimedia Commons.