Sciara turgidula, Vilkamaa, Pekka, Hippa, Heikki & Mohrig, Werner, 2015

Vilkamaa, Pekka, Hippa, Heikki & Mohrig, Werner, 2015, The genus Sciara Meigen (Diptera, Sciaridae) in New Caledonia, with the description of two new species, Zootaxa 3974 (4), pp. 589-594 : 592-593

Sciara turgidula sp. n.

Fig. 2 A–D

Material studied. Holotype male. NEW CALEDONIA, Mont Nondoué, sclerophyllous forest, fogging, 3.VII.1992, Bonnet de Larbogne, Chazeau & Guilbert (in MNHN), sclerophyllous forest, fogging, 30.VI.1992, Bonnet de Larbogne, Chazeau & Guilbert (in MNHN).

Description. Male. Head. Dark brown, antenna unicolorous, paler brown, maxillary palpus very pale brown. Eye bridge 5 facets wide. Setae of face and clypeus not detectable in the specimen. Maxillary palpus with 3 palpal segments; palpal segments long, palpal segment 1 and palpal segment 2 subequal, palpal segment 3 longest; palpal segment 1 with 5 setae, with a dorsal patch of sensilla; body of flagellomere 4 ( Fig. 1 A) 3.8x as long as wide, without distinct apical margin, the neck much shorter than broad, the longest setae shorter than the width of flagellomere. Thorax. Brown. Setae dark. Anterior pronotum with 3 setae. Prothoracal episternum with 5 setae. Scutum with short dorsocentrals, with some longer and shorter laterals, scutellum with some longer and short setae. Wing. Fumose brown. Length 3.8 mm. Width/length = 0.40. Veins distinct. R1/R = 1.20. c/w = 0.80. r-m longer than bM. Membrane non-setose. Fork of M and CuA setose, stM, r-m with 2 setae, bM non-setose. Legs. Yellow, forecoxa yellow, midcoxa and hind coxa brown, femora paler. Coxal setae dark. Foretibial organ with pale vestiture forming an indistinct patch ( Fig. 2 B). Foretibial spur as long as the tibial width. Hind tibia without spinose setae. Claws without teeth. Abdomen. Setae dark and long. Hypopygium, Fig. 2 C, D. Brown, concolorous with abdomen. Gonocoxa broad, slightly longer than gonostylus, broad, mesial margin with sparse setosity. Gonostylus broadened at the middle, nearly straight, with the mesial side slightly impressed at the apical half; apex narrow, with dense vestiture, without an apical tooth or megasetae. Tegmen subquadrangular, non-sclerotized, with a large area of large aedeagal teeth, aedeagal apodeme short.

Discussion. Sciara turgidula belongs to Sciara Meigen on the basis of the following characters: the apical edges of the body of the flagellomeres continuous with the neck, without a distinct margin, the setae of the flagellomeres pale and fine, thoracic setae fine, the wing veins M and CuA setose, the gonocoxite broad and with fine setae, the aedeagus short but with a long fork. The apical setae of the gonostylus of Sciara turgidula are only slightly thickened, whereas Trichosia basdeni Freeman, 1987 , T. glabra (Meigen, 1830) , T. jenkinsoni Freeman, 1983 and the species of Trichosia (Palaeotrichosia) Mohrig & Röschmann, 1994 (type-species Sciara errans Meunier, 1904 ) have megasetae at the apex of their gonostylus. Sciara turgidula most resembles the Oriental S. palliceps Edwards, 1928 and the Holarctic S. hebes Loew, 1869 in having an unmodified gonostylus, without megasetae, but with dense apical setosity. Sciara turgidula differs from S. palliceps in being darker, and having a medially swollen gonostylus (narrow in S. palliceps ), and from S. hebes in the narrower apex of the gonostylus and having the gonostylus broadest at its middle, not on the basal half.

Etymology. The name is Latin, turgidula (swollen), referring to the medially swollen gonostylus of the species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Sciara insulana sp. n. (holotype). A. Antennal flagellomere 4, lateral. B. Apical portion of foretibia, prolateral. C. Part of hypopygium, ventral. D. Gonostylus, ventral. Scale 0.10 mm.

FIGURE 2. Sciara turgidula sp. n. (holotype). A. Antennal flagellomere 4, lateral. B. Apical portion of foretibia, prolateral. C. Gonostylus, ventral. D. Part of hypopygium, ventral. Scale 0.10 mm.