Strongylophthalmyia inundans Evenhuis

Evenhuis, Neal L., 2016, World review of the genus Strongylophthalmyia Heller (Diptera: Strongylophthalmyiidae). Part I: Introduction, morphology, species groups, and review of the Strongylophthalmyia punctata subgroup, Zootaxa 4189 (2), pp. 201-243 : 224

Strongylophthalmyia inundans Evenhuis , n. sp. ( Figs. 25 , 67 )

Diagnosis. This new species is similar to S. malayensis , n. sp. and can easily be distinguished from it by having the dorsal antennal process much longer than the head (much shorter than head length in S. malayensis ) and lacking a subbasal thorn-like cluster of hairs ventrally on the fore femur.

Description. Lengths. Ƌ: body, 3.1 mm; wing, 2.9 mm. Male. Head: globular, frons shining black, yellow just above ptilinal suture; face yellow; gena yellow, silvery pollinose, row of short white hairs ventrally; occiput black, brown posteroventrally; clypeus thin, brown; palpus bacilliform, unmodified, clothed with minute yellow hairs; proboscis brown.

Antenna ( Fig. 25 ): yellow; flagellomere ovoid, clothed with white hairs, with very long, slender, slightly sinuous brown dorsal process densely clothed with white hairs, four times length of flagellomere; arista short, onehalf length of dorsal process, styliform, bare.

Thorax: shining brown; mesonotum and scutellum sparsely clothed with short hair-like setulae; katepisternum with white hairs ventrally near mid coxa.

Wing: hyaline; vein R2+3 nearly straight, ending in costa before level of crossvein dm-cu; crossvein r-m at basal one-third of cell dm; veins R4+5 and M1+2 slightly converging distally; crossvein dm-cu sloping to CuA1; last section of CuA1 to wing margin shorter than dm-cu; halter white.

Legs: yellow; fore coxa with 2 long yellowish white hairs; fore femur ( Fig. 67 ) dorsally with 6–7 black thornlike spicules at base, ventrally with subbasal thorn-like cluster of yellowish hairs; mid femur yellow; hind femur yellow, brown apically; fore tibia white; mid and hind tibiae brown basally, white apically; tarsi white.

Abdomen: tergites I–II brown medially, dark brown laterally; tergites III–VI dark brown, with short sparse brown hairs, these hairs longest on tergites V–VI; sternites brown.

Male genitalia. Not dissected; epandrium and surstylus shining brown, with white hairs; cerci yellow, narrow basally, flared and rounded apically, with admixed black white hairs apically.

Female. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype ♂ ( BPBM 17816 ) from PHILIPPINES: [Luzon Island:] Camarines Sur Province: Mt Isarog [13.650°N, 123.389°E], 500 m, 4 Apr 1963, H.M. Torrevillas ( BPBM) . Holotype deposited in the Bishop Museum.

Remarks. Hermani Torrevillas, who collected the type specimen, gave a short account of this collecting trip, which was near a Very High Frequency (VHF) relay station on the volcanic cone of Mt. Isarog ( Torrevillas 2011: 109). He tells of just escaping, in the last seconds before it hit, a three-meter tall flash flood that ripped through their camp, which was alongside a river. He and the specimens collected were barely saved as he grabbed them and scampered up to higher ground.

Distribution. Philippines.

Etymology. This species epithet derives from the Latin “ inundans ” = “flood”; referring to this specimen surviving the flash flood during the collecting trip that secured its capture.

Figures

FIGURES 18 – 25. Male Strongylophthalmyia, antennae. 18. S. borneensis, n. sp.; 19. S. caestus, n. sp.; 20. S. darlingi, n. sp. 21. S. federeri, n. sp.; 22. S. hauseri, n. sp.; 23. S. immaculata Hennig, arrow points to minute dorsal antennal process; 24. S. indochinensis, n. sp., arrow points to short dorsal antennal process; 25. S. inundans, n. sp.

FIGURES 62 – 69. Male Strongylophthalmyia, fore femur, left lateral view. 62. S. albisternum, n. sp.; 63. S. borneensis, n. sp.; 64. S. hauseri, n. sp.; 65. S. immaculata Hennig, arrow points to tight thorn-like cluster of setae; 66. S. indochinensis, n. sp.; 67. S. inundans, n. sp.; 68. S. lowi, n. sp., arrow points to ventral cluster of setae; 69. S. malayensis, n. sp., arrow points to tight thorn-like cluster of setae.