Megaselia shabestarensis, Khameneh & Khaghaninia & Disney & Maleki-Ravasan, 2019

Khameneh, Roya Namaki, Khaghaninia, Samad, Disney, R. Henry L. & Maleki-Ravasan, Naseh, 2019, Twenty one new species of Megaselia Rondani (Diptera: Phoridae) from Iran, Zootaxa 4711 (1), pp. 1-50 : 11

Megaselia shabestarensis n. sp.

( Figs 70–78 )

Material examined. Holotype male, East Azerbaijan province, Shabestar city—Shanejan region, 38°13.85’ N, 45°42.93’ E, 1664 m, grassland, 18.vi.2014, R. Namaki Khameneh (20, UCMZ 13-94 ) . Paratypes: 37 males, locality data as the holotype (5 UCZM, 32 ICHMM) .

Description. Male. Whole fly as Fig. 70 . Head as Fig. 71 , with the frons lacking microtrichia except at its edges. Cheek with 4 bristles and jowl with 2 that are longer and more robust. Postpedicels Fig. 72 , without SPS vesicles but with pale spots. Palps with small pits ( Fig. 72 ). Three notopleural bristles, with no cleft in front of these, and mesopleuron bare Fig. 73 . Scutellum with an anterior pair of hairs and a posterior pair of bristles. Abdominal tergites brown and venter gray, the latter with hairs on segments 5 and6 only ( Fig. 74 ). Hypopygium as Figs 74 & 75 . Legs brown. Fore tarsus ( Fig. 76 ) with posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1–4 and 5 clearly longer than 4. Dorsal hair palisade of mid tibia extends about 0.6 times its length. Hairs below basal half of hind femur longer than those of anteroventral row of outer half ( Fig. 77 ). Hind tibia with about 20 weakly differentiated posterodorsal hairs, without anterodorsals, and spinules of apical combs simple. Wings ( Fig. 78 ) 0.9–1.6 mm long. Costal index 0.30–0.35. Costal ratios 7.8–7.9: 1.5–1.7:1. Costal cilia 0.09 mm long. Hair at base of vein 3 0.02 mm long. With 2 unequal axillary bristles, the outermost being 0.09 mm long. Vein Sc not reaching vein 1.

Recognition. In the key the British species ( Disney 1989) it runs to couplets176 and 179. This complex of species has since been revised ( Disney 2014). In the revised key to this group it runs to M. devia Schmitz and M. hirticaudata (Wood) . It differs from both in having the hairs of the abdominal venter restricted to segments 5 and 6, its costal index being less than 0.4, and from M. devia having dusky as opposed to yellow palps. In the rest of the world fauna it most closely resembles the Nerarctic M. pygmaeola Borgmeier (1966) but its costal ratios are 4: 1: 1, as opposed to section 2 being clearly longer than 3, and its abdominal tergites are much more sparsely haired.

Etymology. Named after the type locality Shabestar City.

Figures

FIGURES 70–78. Megaselia shabestarensis n. sp. male. 70, whole fly; 71, head; 72, postpedicel; 73, side of thorax; 74–75, hypopygium; 76, front tarsus; 77, hind femur; 78, wing. Scale bars 20 μm.