Platypalpus teberdaensis, Kustov, Semen, Shamshev, Igor & Grootaert, Patrick, 2015

Kustov, Semen, Shamshev, Igor & Grootaert, Patrick, 2015, New data on the genus Platypalpus (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Caucasus with description of seven new species, Zootaxa 3973 (3), pp. 451-473 : 466-468

Platypalpus teberdaensis sp. nov.

( Figs 20–22 , 27 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE, ♂ labelled [printed in Cyrillic], [ RUSSIA: Karachay-Cherkessia], “Teberdinskiy zapov. [=Teberdinskiy Nature Reserve] / okr. usad’bi [=env. of homestead]/ Kavkaz [= Caucasus]/ 2.vi. 964 [= 2.vi.1964], coll. Gorodkov” ( ZIN). PARATYPES: RUSSIA: Karachay-Cherkessia: same data as holotype, 30.iv.1964, Gorodkov (1 ♂, KSU); valley of river Teberda, Teberda, 1350 m a.s.l., 21.vi.1982, E. Nartchuk, (1 ♀, ZIN).

Recognition. Large species of the P. pallidiventris-cursitans group (body 3.0– 3.2 mm); occiput with 1 pair of black verticals; antenna brown to black, postpedicel about twice longer than wide, stylus 1.5X longer than postpedicel; palpus brown, large, oval; mesonotum grey pollinose, with black bristles, 2 notopleurals, katepisternum with polished black patch; legs yellow in ground-colour; mid tibia with long pointed apical spur; abdomen almost entirely shiny black.

Description. Male. Body length 3.0– 3.2 mm; wing length 4.1–4.3 mm. Head black. Occiput with dense grey pollinosity; with 1 pair of black verticals; upper part of occiput with numerous moderately long, black bristly hairs above and longer whitish hairs below. Ocellar tubercle with greyish pollinosity, with long anterior and minute posterior setae. Frons narrow, widened before ocellar tubercle, greyish pollinose. Face nearly as broad as frons, slightly widening below, dense silver-grey pollinosity; clypeus with small triangular patch of silver pollinosity above otherwise shiny. Antenna brown to black (sometimes basal segments slightly paler); postpedicel conical, covered with numerous minute setulae, about twice as long as wide; stylus black, 1.5X longer than postpedicel. Gena narrow, shiny. Proboscis dark brown, about 2/3rds as long as head height. Palpus brown, rather large, oval, whitish pubescent, apically with 2–3 whitish long bristly hairs.

Thorax with mesonotum grey dusted; pleura with dense silvery grey pollinosity; large thoracic bristles black; katepisternum with polished black patch occupying about half of sclerite in middle. Postpronotal lobe with 1 long and several short setae. Mesonotum with 2 moderately long notopleurals (some specimens with short anterior notopleural bristle), 1 strong postalar and 4 scutellars (apical pair long, cruciate, lateral pair short); acrostichals dark, moderately long, hair-like, arranged in 2 close irregular rows; dorsocentrals black, 1–2-serial, 2 prescutellar pairs long; some setulae present just behind postpronotal lobe, on notopleuron and supra-alar face.

Legs yellow but fore coxa near base, entire mid and hind coxae, trochanters of all legs and knees of mid and hind legs brown; tarsomere 1 narrowly brown annulated, segments 2–5 almost entirely brown (except extreme base); mid femur narrowly brownish ventrally. Coxae and trochanters with yellowish setae of different lengths, fore coxa strongly silvery dusted anteriorly. Fore femur thickened, with rows of long anteroventral and posteroventral yellowish setae (2/3rds as wide as femur). Fore tibia spindle-shaped, with somewhat longer pale, hair-like posteroventral setae and several brownish bristly hairs dorsally. Mid femur strongly thickened, distinctly stouter than fore femur, with double row of short black spines ventrally, and row of moderately long yellow posteroventral bristles; anteriorly with 1 strong anterior bristle on apical third (sometimes with several weak brownish bristles additionally). Mid tibia slender, slightly curved, with row of black ventral spinules; tibial spur large, pointed, black at tip. Hind legs long and slender, covered with short pale hairs, tibia slightly curved, with several brownish bristly hairs dorsally. Tarsi of all legs unmodified.

Wing almost clear with brownish veins. Costal bristle brownish, moderately long. Veins R4+5 and M1+2 somewhat convergent near wing margin, M1+2 slightly bowed on apical part; CuA2 almost perpendicular. Crossveins m-cu and r-m somewhat separated. Calypter yellow, with yellow setae. Halter yellow.

Abdomen black, shining, tergite 1 slightly dusted, all tergites with small dusted patches laterally (broader on tergites 2–3); sternites entirely shiny; segments covered with long pale hairs. Terminalia ( Figs 20–22 ) moderately large, shiny black, subglobular; cerci ( Fig. 21 ): right cercus rather digitiform (dorsal view) but narrowed apically, short, covered with short ordinary setae; left cercus nearly as long and broad as right cercus, narrowed apically, short, covered with short ordinary setae, without apical hook and ventral bulge (lateral view); right epandrial lamella (lateral view) elongate ovate, with row of numerous long subapical setae ( Fig. 20 ); right surstylus subrectangular, rounded apically, with some short ordinary setae; left epandrial lamella ( Fig. 22 ) broad, rather subrectangular, pointed apically, with broad ventral projection covered with numerous long curved setae.

Female. Resembling male but acrostichals and dorsocentrals slightly shorter; abdomen with shorter hairs and bristles; all tergites on lateral margin with faint pollinosity; segments 7–8 and cercus with dense greyish pollinosity; cercus long, slender, with pale hairs.

Etymology. The name of the new species refers to the area of its origin, Teberda, Karachay-Cherkess Republic.

Distribution. Russia (Karachay-Cherkessia). Known only from Teberdinskiy Nature Reserve.

Remarks. The new species should be compared with P. tergestinus Egger , P. riojaensis Chvála and P. halli Grootaert & Chvála. The new species differs from P. tergestinus by shorter stylus, brown palpus, yellow in ground colour legs and polished abdomen (in P. t e rg e s t i nu s stylus twice as long as postpedicel, palpus yellowish brown, legs extensively black and grey dusted abdomen (Chvála 1975)). Platypalpus riojaensis differs from the new species by longer stylus (more than twice as postpedicel), 3 notopleural bristles and darkened femora; P. ha l l i differs from the new species by longer stylus (twice as postpedicel), largely polished katepisternum, black legs, black veins on wing and grey dusted abdomen.

Figures

FIGURES 20 – 22. Platypalpus teberdaensis sp. nov., male. 20, right epandrial lamella and surstylus, ventral view; 21, epandrium and cerci, dorsal view; 22, left epandrial lamella, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 23 – 27. Habitus of males of Platypalpus, lateral view. 23, Platypalpus akhunensis sp. nov; 24, Platypalpus lantsovi sp. nov.; 25, Platypalpus pseudosilvahumidus sp. nov.; 26, Platypalpus subcaucasicus sp. nov.; 27, Platypalpus teberdaensis sp. nov. Scale bar = 1 mm.