Pseudolycoriella teo, Köhler, 2019

Köhler, Arne, 2019, The genus Pseudolycoriella Menzel & Mohrig, 1998 (Diptera, Sciaridae) in New Zealand, Zootaxa 4707 (1), pp. 1-69 : 22-23

Pseudolycoriella teo sp. n.

( Fig. 15 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:NomenclaturalActs/ 5CAAD136-9980-4B4D-8536-B0A7034BFD41

Material studied. Holotype male. New Zealand: Taupo , Tongariro NP, Mangawhero River Valley 3 km NE Ohakune, 690 m, mixed podocarp/broadleaf forest; sweep net, 03– 04.02.2002, leg. M. Jaschhof ( NZAC, SDEI- Dipt-0001528).

Description. Male. Head. Head capsule brown. Eye bridge three facets wide, two facets at margin. Scape, pedicel and flagellomeres concolourous; fourth flagellomere 3.3 times longer than wide; necks of flagellomeres well differentiated; surface of flagellomeres slightly rough without deep pits, sparsely scattered with long setae, which are 1.5 times as long as flagellomere width; small sensilla and longer, curved sensilla present. Maxillary palp threesegmented; palpomeres inappropriately prepared in the holotype; first palpomere with four bristles, one of these bristles longer and more robust. Prefrons and clypeus slightly bulging. Thorax brown, paler than head, central parts brighter. Posterior pronotum bare. Anterior pronotum with two setae. Episternum 1 with five setae. Mesonotum with four robust lateral bristles; row of dorsocentral bristles present. Scutellum with four sockets, which formerly contained robust bristles. Katepisternum longer than high. Wing. Length 1.9 mm; width/length ratio 0.36. Membrane transparent and without macrotrichia, anal area well developed; all posterior veins distinct, stem of M weakest, R 5 only with macrotrichia on the dorsal side; bM bare and r-m bare; R 1 0.6 times as long as R; c/w ratio 0.59; r-m 0.9 as long as bM. Haltere short; knob as long as shaft. Legs pale. Tibial organ surrounded by a circular border and as long as half width of tibial apex; tibial organ consists of an irregular transverse row of bristles. Fore and mid tibia without robust bristles among vestiture. Hind tibia with seven very robust bristles arranged in a longitudinal, posteriodorsal row; on posterior side of hind tibia two robust bristles among vestiture. All tibial spurs equal in length. Claws strongly toothed. Abdomen concolourous with thorax. Hypopygium ( Fig. 15 ). Gonocoxites wider than long, inner side of gonocoxites basally not fused. Gonostylus short, bean-shaped and only with a very slight curvation, 2.3 times longer than wide, apex rounded and with a small inner cavity; two robust spines present, not inserting on basal lobes; one whip-lash hair present on the ventral apex of the gonostylus. Tegmen broader than long, apicolaterally with two not very broad, strongly sclerotized lobes, apex membranous; parameral apodeme short and robust. Area of teeth consisting of approximately 15 small teeth. Ejaculatory apodeme brown, medium long and broad; base of ejaculatory apodeme delicate. Posterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme medium sized and brown. Anterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme long and broad.

Body size: 1.7 mm.

Female. Unknown.

Genetic distances. Because there is only a single specimen, no intraspecific distance is calculable. The nearest neighbour is Psl. jaschhofi , diverging by a minimum of 4.92%. For the 28S sequence the nearest neighbour is Psl. mahanga , diverging by a minimum of 0.13%.

Etymology. The Māori adjective teo means small and was therefore deemed to be a suitable name for one of the smallest New Zealand Pseudolycoriella species.

Distribution. New Zealand.

Discussion. Pseudolycoriella teo has the smallest body size of the six species of Psl. bispina complex. Nevertheless, some specimens of Psl. orite have similarly small body sizes. In fact, this species is very similar to Psl. teo . The best distinguishing characters for Psl. teo are the shorter length of the gonocoxites and the very round apex of the gonostylus, which also has a small inconspicuous apical cavity.

Figures

FIGURES 14–19. Pseudolycoriella bispina complex, hypopygia. 14. Pseudolycoriella bispina Mohrig. 15. Pseudolycoriella teo sp. n. 16. Pseudolycoriella puhihi sp. n. 17. Pseudolycoriella orite sp. n. 18. Pseudolycoriella mahanga sp. n. 19. Pseudolycoriella porehu sp. n. Abbreviation: ti = insertion of the tendon of the gonostylus adductor.