Psychomasina paedagogica, Kvifte, 2015

Kvifte, Gunnar M., 2015, Review of the genus Psychomasina (Diptera: Psychodidae: Psychodinae), with descriptions of two new species, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) 55 (2), pp. 495-503 : 497-499

Psychomasina paedagogica sp. nov.

( Figs 1–5 , 10 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♁, ‘ KENYA: EAST PROVINCE, Njuki-ini forest station (0.51660° S, 37.41843° E), 1455 m.a.s.l., 19–20.IV.2011, A.H. & M.H. Kirk-Spriggs leg.ʼ (coll. BMSA).

Diagnostic characters. Psychomasina paedagogica can be separated from all other Psychomasina species by the eyebridges separated by one facet diameter, wing veins without expanded areas, gonostylus with a row of five spiniform sensilla subapically on mesal surface and without terminal hook, and distal phallomeres of aedeagus without teeth or spines on mesal or lateral surfaces ( Figs 1, 2, 4 ).

Description. Male (n = 1). Head ( Fig. 1 ) about as long as wide, vertex covering about 0.3 of total head length; five pairs of postocular setae present on dorsal side, reaching fourth facet column from middle, only slightly larger than other setae on vertex; eyebridge comprised of four rows of facets, separated by one facet diameter; interocular suture present, broadly U-shaped; frontal scar patch nearly square, posteriorly with line of hairs reaching interocular suture; sides of frons area sharply delimited from rest of face by keels; clypeus with anterior margin straight; labellae bulbous with seven setae; palps with only segments 1–3 present, length of preserved palp segments 80: 155: 150.

Antennae not completely preserved; scapus cylindrical, pedicel round; flagellomeres subsymmetrically nodiform with node onion-shaped; slightly projected on mesal side; length of preserved antennal segments 100: 65: 115: 100: 95; ascoids not preserved.

Thorax with dorsum, anepisternum and scutellum densely setose; laterotergite sparsely haired; other thoracic sclerites bare; coxae with dorsal stripe of setae; mid coxae with strong mesal protuberance covered in pores ( Fig. 3 ); legs otherwise not present.

Wing ( Fig. 2 ) 2.22 mm long, 0.78 mm wide; costa with single break, thickened basally over S c; S c elongate, weakly curved, almost reaching C, distally narrowed; R 5 terminating nearly in wing apex; radial fork distal to medial fork, apex of CuA 2 between medial and radial fork; jugum broadly rounded triangular; section of R 1 that runs parallel to Sc reduced; crossveins reduced.

Genitalia ( Fig. 4 ) with hypandrium narrow, connected laterally to gonocoxal condyles; gonocoxite about two thirds of gonostylus length; dorsally without mesal seta or projections; gonocoxal condyles broadly fused with paramere, forming a broad ventral bridge; gonostylus bent towards the lateral side; basally bulb-shaped with long tube-shaped main shaft, apical fifth narrowed, blade-like; row of five sensillae present subapically on mesal surface; aedeagus with basiphallus narrow in dorsal and ventral views, distally Y-shaped; distiphallus consisting of two symmetrical phallomeres shaped like the number 3 or the calligraphic letter G, jointed to basiphallus; with distal mesal joint to ventral epandrial plate and basal lateral joint to basiphallus; parameral sclerite elongate V-shaped, weakly sclerotized distally; more than twice as long as distiphallus.

Epandrium ( Fig. 5 ) about as wide as long, with long curved anterior projections half the length of basal epandrial body; aperture not evident; ventral epandrial plate large, U-shaped, well-developed; surstyli tapering, strongly curved in the dorsoventral plane, with tenacula along entire dorsal surface; tenacula of varying length, distalmost one almost as long as surstylus; with feathery apices; proctiger with hypoproct diamond-shaped, epiproct densely setose, small and circular; areas of surstylus flanking proctiger with dense microsetae.

Biology. The only known specimen was collected in a Malaise trap in a montane forest.

Etymology. The specific epithet is an adjective, derived from Greek παΙΔαγωγός (= paidagogos), pedagogue; referring to the possible morphological insights the species reveals into the ontogenesis of parameral appendages and surstyli.

Remarks. In Psychomasina paedagogica sp. nov., the surstylus is jointed by one sclerite to the ventral epandrial plate and by another to the lateral sides of the proctiger. This may be interpreted as evidence of a dual ontogenetic origin of the surstyli in Psychodinae , or at least in some Psychodinae – rather than being an appendage derived only from the epandrium (surstylus, see CURLER & MOULTON 2012) or an appendage derived only from the proctiger (cercus, e.g. QUATE & VOCKEROTH 1981), it may be a fusion of both. A dual origin could also explain the difference in sclerotization, pigmentation and setation of the basal mesal areas of the surstyli in some Pericomaini (e.g. KVIFTE et al. 2013, Fig. 2D ) and Paramormiini ( Fig. 9 , cr sst). The occurence of the latter kind of surstylus texture heterogeneity, however, is a variable character in Psychodinae and must be examined for a greater taxon sample in order to determine whether it has any phylogenetic implications.

Figures

Figs 1–5. Psychomasina paedagogica sp. nov., holotype, male. 1 – head; 2 – wing; 3 – mid coxa; 4 – aedeagus and gonopods; 5 – epandrium and proctiger. For abbreviations see Material and methods. Length of scale bars in μm: 100 (1, 4, 5), 250 (2), 50 (3)

Figs 6–12. 6–9 – Psychomasina violina sp. nov., holotype, male. 6 – head; 7 – wing; 8 – aedeagus and gonopods; 9 – epandrium and proctiger. 10–12 – aedeagal joint shape in Psychomasina spp.: 10 – P. paedagogica sp. nov., 11 – P. violina sp. nov., 12 – P. armata Ježek, 2004 (Fig. 12 redrawn from JEŽEK 2004). For abbreviations see Material and methods. Length of scale bars in μm: 100 (6, 8, 9) 250 (7)