Neurosystasis starki Wagner, 2017

Kvifte, Gunnar Mikalsen & Wagner, Rüdiger, 2017, Review of Neurosystasis Satchell, with two new species from Cuba and a discussion of cerci and surstyli in Psychodinae (Diptera: Psychodidae), Zootaxa 4306 (1), pp. 81-90 : 87-89

Neurosystasis starki Wagner , sp. nov.

Type material. Holotype male, Cuba, Sierra de Escambray , Pretiles, 26 April 1992 leg. A. Stark, coll. ZMBH

Diagnosis. Neurosystasis starki sp. nov. can be distinguished from other Neurosystasis species on the following combination of characters: wing infuscate with large translucent spots along margin between wing apices; M3 not connected to M4; left gonocoxite with an elongate curved lateral lobe with lateral margin serrate and a shorter, sinous median lobe, right gonocoxite with bilobed lateral lobe with lateral margin of lateral branch serrate and a slightly curved median lobe; hypopod with an incurved cercal branch about twice as long as the epandrial branch; with single tenaculum apically on epandrial branch and a tubercle carrying three setiform accessory tenacula on the cercal branch near the base of the epandrial branch; cercal branch apically with two tooth-like tubercles.

Description. Adult male (n=1). Head wider than long, with large eyes extending to front and lateral; eyebridge of 3 facet rows, distance between eyes one facet diameter; Interocular suture incomplete at middle with two broad crescent-shaped extensions of the eyes; occiput narrow with median v-shaped incision; frons with pair of oval patches of setae; antennae with scape on inner distal side with bases of more than 10 strong setae (androconia); pedicel spherical, shorter than scape; flagellomeres ( fig. 3 A) nodiform spindle-shaped, with many digitate ascoids in one row along upper rims of ‘bulb’ and a few irregularly positioned additional ascoids; relative length of antennomeres: 17-12-15-18 -18-17-16-16-15-16- terminal segments missing; absolute length: 0.11-0.08-0.10-0.12- 0.12-0.11-0.11-0.11- 0.10-0.11 mm; palp of four palpomeres, sclerotization of all segments equal; relative length of palpomeres: 9-25-22-25; absolute length: 0.06-0.16- 0.14-0.16 mm; thorax: Mid coxa with short frontal protuberance with apical area of microsetae ( fig. 3 C); two or three rows of seta bases along coxae, regularly arranged on front and hind coxa, irregular on middle coxa; tarsi not modified; wing ( fig. 3 B) infuscate with elongate oval translucent areas between most vein tips along wing margin; areas between costa and subcosta, and subcosta and radius darker brown; Sc short and sinuous, ending just short of R1; near tip of Sc is a hardly visible spherical structure with circular apertures; radial fork very basal, close to the incomplete fork R2+3/R4 and basal of medial fork; R5 basally with small brown spot, straight, ends in wing tip; four medial veins; CuA basally swollen, darker than other veins; CuP short, straight; wing length: 2.20 mm; greatest wing width 1.10 mm; abdomen with 8 pregenital segments and inverted genitalia; hypandrium ( figs. 3 D—E) unsclerotized, hardly recognizable; epandrium and hypopods symmetric ( fig. 3 G), gonopods and aedeagus asymmetric ( fig. 3 D); gonocoxites brown; left gonocoxite bilobed, slightly bent, ventral lobe longer than dorsal, its straight distal part behind bend about 2 times longer than basal part; at basal part a short dorsal lobe arises whose distal blunt end is curved medially and ventral to approximate the corresponding but straight lobe of the right gonocoxite; left gonostyle arising near base of inner gonocoxite lobe, almost translucent, longer than gonocoxite, with 4 or 5 seta bases along distal edge; right gonocoxite shorter than left, bilobed with straight inner ventral lobe longer than lateral dorsal; this lobe serrate along lateral edge; right gonostyle similar to left, tip sharper as well with four to five seta bases; gonocoxites basally connected by dorsal lobe of left gonocoxite that turns towards inner lobe of right gonocoxite and probably connects to the basiphallus as well; aedeagus with large calabash-shaped basiphallus, distally with two thin bladeshaped phallomeres of unequal length ( fig. 3 H, 3F); morphologically dorsal of the basiphallus lies a rounded trapezoid transverse sclerite, forming a broad bridge between gonocoxites with medial basal prolongation with a keel ( fig. 3 E); the lateral ends connect to gonocoxites, thin keel probably connected with basiphallus; paramere ( fig. 3 F) bilobed, distal ends meet tips of phallomeres; basally with an additional short digitate lobe; epandrium ( fig. 3 G) subrectangular, with a pair of narrow transversely oblong apertures in the basal third; subepandrial sclerite basally not clearly discernable; distal connection with hypopods bilobed; hypoproct with a microsetose triangular projection, epiproct small, setose; hypopods shorter than epandrium, bilobed; mesal lobe blunt, with a globular tubercle with 3 elongate straight accessory tenacula near origin of lateral lobe, lateral lobe thin with single apical tenaculum.

Distribution. Recorded only from the type locality in Cuba.

Biology. Unknown.

Etymology. Dedicated to Dr. Andreas Stark, who collected the specimen and donated his fine collection of Psychodidae from Cuba to RW.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Morphology of Neurosystasis starki sp. nov. A. Flagellomeres with ascoids. B. Wing. C. Coxae. D. Gonopods. E. Gonocoxal apodeme plate, gonocoxal bases and aedeagal keel. F. Paramere, distiphallus and distal part of basiphallus. G. Epandrium and hypopods. H, Distiphallus and distal part of basiphallus. Scale bars: 1 mm (B), 0.01 mm (A, C – H).