Dolichopus subimmaculatus Kazerani, Pollet & Khaghaninia

Kazerani, Farzaneh, Khaghaninia, Samad, Talebi, Ali Asghar, Persson, Magnus & Pollet, Marc, 2017, Eight new species of Dolichopodinae (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from northern Iran, Zootaxa 4242 (1), pp. 111-141 : 117-119

Dolichopus subimmaculatus Kazerani, Pollet & Khaghaninia sp. nov.

( Figs 7–9 )

Dolichopus immaculatus of authors, not Becker, 1909: 323. Parvu 1996: 280; Kazerani et al. 2013: 140; Khaghaninia et al. 2014: 589; Grichanov 2016: 13.

Diagnosis. Moderate-sized dark species. Antenna and legs entirely black, with only tarsi I–II paler at extreme basis. Upper postocular bristles black, central ones white and lowermost black. Male: face coppery brown. Cercus rounded triangular, whitish with brown tinge and dark margin. Distinct MSSCs lacking.

Description. Male. Body length: 4.6 mm; wing length: 3.9 mm (n=1). Head. Face coppery brown, parallelsided, at upper edge of clypeus 0.8 x as wide as postpedicel (length), bare. Frons bronze, dusted. Occiput bronze, slightly convex. Palpus very small, less than 1/10 of eye, ovoid, black, with rather long, black pubescence and 1 strong, black apical bristle. Proboscis brownish yellow. Eyes red, with very short yellow pubescence. Upper postocular bristles black, central ones (5) white and lowermost (4) black. Three-four pairs of black postocellar bristles. Antenna entirely black, with postpedicel triangular with rather acute apex, 1.3 x as long as deep and as long as scape and pedicel combined; stylus dorsal, inserted at about apical 1/3, 1.3 x as long as first three antennal segments combined, nearly bare. Thorax. Entirely metallic green, pleura with greyish dusting; scutellum with 2 strong median and 2 very small, curved lateral bristles, with distinct fringe of pale setae, and only a few on disk. With group of 3 minute setae in front of posterior spiracle. Main thoracic bristles black. Six dc, with 5th dc medially off-set; 12 biserial ac, reaching almost to level of 5th dc, 2 x as long as distance between rows; with 1 strong and 2 minute ant pprn, 1 internal and 1 external bas pprn, 1 psut ial, 1 sut ial (smaller than dc), 2 npl, 2 spal, and 1 pal bristles. Upper proepisternum with rather long, pale setae, and lower proepisternum with 1 strong erect black bristle and group of rather long pale setae at base. Wing. Very slightly and evenly infuscate. Vein R4+5 slightly curved at apex, M1+2 strongly curved in about apical 1/3, R4+5 and M1+2 parallel near wing apex. Proximal section of M1+2 as long as apical section. Proximal section of CuA1 1.7 x as long as apical section. CuA x ratio: 2.3. Halter white, calypteral fringe black. Legs. Entirely dark brown to black, including coxae and trochanters, with black bristles. Coxa III with external bristle, inserted at about middle. Femur I with 1 small pv preapical bristle; femur II with 1 strong ad preapical bristle, and 1 smaller pv preapical bristle; femur III with 1 ad preapical bristle, with one row of short inclined av bristles and with one row of short ds bristles in basal 1/2, about 0.5 x as long as femur is deep. Tibia I with 2 ad and 2 pd bristles, with smaller basalmost pair at about basal 1/4, apicalmost bristles about 3 x as long as tibia is deep, and with ad serration of short black bristles on apical 3/5, not as long as tibia is deep; with 2 pv bristles, about 1.5 x as long as tibia is deep; with 1 strong and 2 thin ap bristles. Tibia II with 5 ad bristles inserted in basal 2/3, about 3.5 x as long as tibia is deep, basalmost bristle smaller; with 2 pd bristles, inserted at about basal 1/5 and 3/5, about 4 x as long as tibia deep; with 5 very strong ap bristles; with 1 strong av bristle at apical 1/3, about 4 x as long as tibia. Tibia III with 5 ad and 5 pd, about 3 x as long as tibia is deep, with basalmost bristle pair shorter; with 2 ap bristles, and distinct pd row of bristles on apical 1/2; with row of short vt bristles, not as long as tibia is deep, and 1 strong vt bristle at apical ¼, about 3 x as long as tibia is deep; with pd tooth at extreme apex, articulating with small tooth on taIII1. Tarsi I–II black with taI1 and taII1 yellowish at extreme basis; taIII1 with 2 ds bristles. Length ratios of femur/tibia/tarsomeres 1–5 in leg I: 8.3/7.7/4.3/1.7/1.2/1/1.1, in leg II: 5.2/ 6.9/4.2/2.4/1.7/1.1/1, and in leg III: 4.3/ 6.0/3.2/2.8/2.1/1.2/1. Abdomen. With 5 pubescent segments, T6 bare, about 0.7 x as long as T5. Tergites bronze. Bristles black. S2-4 metallic green, with short pale pubescence. Hypopygium with brownish black epandrium; hypandrium brown, elongate triangular, slightly asymmetrical; apv epandrial lobe with rounded quadrate apex, with 1 strong bristle at ventral margin and 2 small bristles at apex; cercus moderate-sized, rounded triangular, whitish with brown tinge and with dark margin, with strong curved bristles on tubercles at ventral and caudal margin. Female. Body length: 4.8 mm; wing length: 4.2 mm (n=1). As male, except for the following features: face at clypeus about 1.3 x as wide as postpedicel is long. Antenna with postpedicel about as long as deep, and 0.8 x as long as scape and pedicel combined. Abdomen with T6 entirely covered by T5, sternites with short dense black pubescence. Legs entirely black, only femora yellow at extreme apex and tarsi I–II at extreme basis. Tibia I with longest pv bristle about 2 x as long as tibia is wide, and with 2 small av bristles; tibia II with bristles 2.5 x as long as tibia is wide. Length ratios of femur/tibia/tarsomeres 1–5 in leg I: 9.7/8.8/4.7/1.7/1.2/1/1.1, in leg II: 5.8/8.6/4.5/2.3/1.6/1.2/1, and in leg III: 6.2/7.2/3.5/3.1/2.2/1.2/1.

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, IRAN: East Azerbaijan, Arasbaran , Chichekli (forest), 38°39.899′ N, 46°31.248′E, 2140 m, 15.vi.2013, SW, leg. Samad Khaghaninia ( ICHMM) . PARATYPES: IRAN: 1♂, 1♀, same data as holotype ; 2♂, East Azerbaijan, Arasbaran , Chichekli (forest), 38°30.437′N, 46°36.447′E, 1724 m, 25.viii.2012, SW, leg. S. Khaghaninia ( TMUC) ; 1♂, same data ( MAPC) ; 6♂, 4♀, East Azerbaijan, Qurigol (wetland), 37°54.736′N, 46°41.617′E, 1928 m, 5.vii.2013, SW, leg. S. Khaghaninia ( ICHMM) . ISRAEL: 1♂, 3♀, Golan Heights , Birket-Bab (Hana), 8.v.1995, leg. V. Gheorghiu ( MGAB) .

Distribution and ecology. Thus far, this species has only been collected in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran, both in forest and wetland habitats. It was previously erroneously recorded as D. immaculatus Becker, 1909 from East Azerbaijan ( Iran) by Kazerani et al. (2013) and Khaghaninia et al. (2014), and from Israel by Parvu (1996).

Etymology. The name “ subimmaculatus ” refers to the close resemblance of this species with D. immaculatus , the holotype (in ZMHB) of which has been examined by us.

Remarks. Both the keys of Parent (1938) and Stackelberg (1930) are problematic for this species due to the unusual arrangement of pale postocular bristles which are situated between black uppermost and lowermost postoculars. In the key to Dolichopus ( Leucodolichopus Frey ) ( Stackelberg 1930) this species leads to Dolichopus perversus Loew, 1870 . Though the latter species shares the mixed arrangement of postoculars with D. immaculatus , it differs from it by its smaller posture, a posterior paler zone on (at least) femur I, and the smaller cercus with marginal peduncles at regular intervals. Ignoring the central yellow bristles in the key to Dolichopus ( Melanodolichopus Frey ), the species eventually keys to D. immaculatus , from which it can be separated as follows:

1 Uppermost and lowermost postocular bristles black, central ones yellow. Face coppery brown. Cercus ( Fig. 9 ) rounded triangular, whitish with brown tinge and dark margin, with strong curved bristles on tubercles at ventral and caudal margin. Postpedicel ( Fig. 8 ) triangular with rather acute apex. Tibia I with 2 pv bristles, 1.5 x as long as tibia is deep........................................................................... Dolichopus subimmaculatus sp. nov. ( Iran, Israel) ( Fig. 7 )

- All postocular bristles black. Face grey with brownish tinge. Cercus ( Fig. 11 ) trapezoid, brownish with broad apical darker margin, with 1 tubercle bearing flattened bristles and one separate flattened bristle at apicodorsal margin, and apical margin with dense pubescence of short curved bristles on inner side. Postpedicel subcircular with blunt apex. Tibia I with 1 pv bristle at about basal 1/3, 3 x as long as tibia is deep............................. Dolichopus immaculatus (Europe) ( Fig. 10 )

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 9. Dolichopus subimmaculatus sp. nov., male. (7) habitus; (8) head; (9) hypopygium.

FIGURES 10 – 11. Dolichopus immaculatus, holotype. (10) habitus; (11) hypopygium.