Pseudolycoriella whakahara, Köhler, 2019

Köhler, Arne, 2019, The genus Pseudolycoriella Menzel & Mohrig, 1998 (Diptera, Sciaridae) in New Zealand, Zootaxa 4707 (1), pp. 1-69 : 41-42

Pseudolycoriella whakahara sp. n.

( Fig. 45 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:NomenclaturalActs/ 2227602E-6F96-471F-BED4-CAEB57B55893

Material studied. Holotype male. New Zealand: South Island , Tasman, Kahurangi NP, Takaka River Valley (Cobb Dam Road), altitude 450–800 m, mixed podocarp/broadleaf forest, Malaise trap, 31.08– 07.10.2001, leg. M. & C. Jaschhof ( NZAC, SDEI-Dipt-0001439) . Paratypes. 2♂♂ same locality and same date as holotype (all SDEI, SDEI- Dipt-0001386 and a second specimen in poor condition) .

Description. Male. Head. Head capsule brown. Eye bridge two to three facets wide. Scape and pedicel pale brown, slightly paler than the flagellum. Fourth flagellomere 3.5 times longer than wide; necks of flagellomeres well differentiated; surface of flagellomeres rough, with deep pits, sensilla of two different lengths, setae on the flagellomere robust, longer than flagellomere width, slightly curved. Maxillary palp long and pale, consisting of three palpomeres, first one longest, second shortest, first palpomere with four bristles, one of them more robust; sensilla on first palpomere present. Prefrons and clypeus bulging. Thorax pale brown. Posterior pronotum bare. Anterior pronotum with three to four setae. Episternum 1 with five to nine setae. Mesonotum with five to six robust lateral bristles. Scutellum with four to six robust bristles and several smaller setae. Katepisternum as long as high. Wing. Length 3.1–3.2 mm; width/length ratio 0.32–0.39. Membrane slightly shaded and without macrotrichia, anal area present; all posterior veins distinct, stem of M weak; apical 50% to 60% of R 5 with macrotrichia on both sides; R 1 0.9–1.0 times as long as R; c/w ratio 0.75–0.77; r-m 0.6–0.7 as long as bM. Haltere brownish; head of haltere shorter than shaft. Legs pale brown, brighter than thorax. Tibial organ surrounded by a circular border and as wide as half width of tibial apex; bristles of tibial organ arranged in an irregular row. Front tibia without robust bristle among the vestiture; mid tibia with two robust bristles among the vestiture; hind tibia with an inconspicuous posteriodorsal row of longer setae, two to three robust bristles in the middle of this row. All tibial spurs equal in length. Claws with robust teeth. Abdomen slightly paler than thorax; with long, dark setae. Hypopygium ( Fig. 45 ). Gonocoxites wider than long, inner side of gonocoxites with medium sized setae, outer side with long setae; ventral, inner side of gonocoxites widely separated basally. Gonostylus 2.2–2.5 times longer than wide; broad, slightly tumid in the middle, apical part not strikingly set off; apical cavity conspicuous, whole inner side without microtrichia; subapically one spine and one long whip-lash hair. Tegmen of the typical ground plan of the Psl. jejuna complex; the dorsal folds strikingly developed; parameral apodemes strongly sclerotized basally, moderately sclerotized apically. Area of teeth absent. Ejaculatory apodeme short and strongly sclerotized, base of ejaculatory apodeme delicate, broad, longer than remaining ejaculatory apodeme. Posterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme of medium size and brown, joined medially. Anterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme of medium length and dark brown.

Body size: 3.4–3.8 mm.

Female. Unknown.

Genetic distances. Only one specimen was successfully sequenced. The nearest neighbour is Psl. tewaipounamu , diverging by a minimum of 3.51%. For the 28S sequence the nearest neighbours are Psl. sudhausi and Psl. tewaipounamu .

Etymology. Whakahara is the Māori modifier for large or giant. It was chosen as the epithet to reflect the large size of the new species.

Distribution. New Zealand.

Discussion. With a body size of more than 3.4 mm, Psl. whakahara is the largest species of the Psl. jejuna complex and thus nearly unmistakable. There is a small overlap with larger specimens of Psl. tewaipounamu . Nevertheless, such specimens can be separated by comparing wing lengths. The wing of Psl. tewaipounamu never reaches in the length of the wing of Psl. whakahara (2.3–2.7 mm vs. 3.1–3.2 mm, respectively). Some specimens of Psl. dagae also has a wing length which reaches the lower span of Psl. whakahara , but the former species can be separated by the more slender and concave gonostylus.

Figures

FIGURES 43–47. Pseudolycoriella jejuna complex, hypopygia. 43. Pseudolycoriella tewaipounamu sp. n. 44. Pseudolycoriella hauta sp. n. 45. Pseudolycoriella whakahara sp. n. 46. Pseudolycoriella jejunella sp. n. 47. Pseudolycoriella maddisoni sp. n.