Valera ariana Mohamadzade, Memari & Hakimitabar

Memari, Fatemeh, Namin, Saeed Mohamadzade & Hakimitabar, Masoud, 2016, A new genus and species of Xyphosiini (Diptera: Tephritidae) from Iran, Zootaxa 4126 (2), pp. 280-286 : 283-285

Valera ariana Mohamadzade, Memari & Hakimitabar , new species

( Figs. 1–10 )

Type material. Holotype (female): Iran: Khorasan Razavi Province, Kashmar, Aria mountain, 35º30.368′ N 58º26.970′ E, h 2050 m, 12. vi. 2015, swept from an asteraceous plant, Memari leg. ( JAZM).

Paratypes: 3♂, same collection data as in the holotype, Memari leg. ( JAZM; some paratypes are deposited also in ICSU and SMNC).

Diagnosis. The new species can be differentiated from all known species of the Xyphosiini in having banded wing pattern and aculeus tip with preapical steps. Because of the yellow body and brown banded wing pattern Valera aranai new species is similar to species of Terellini with banded wings, but can be easily differentiated from them by having setulose frons and vein R4+5, only yellow setae and setulae on body, and phallus glans with unpaired acrophallus and no sclerotised apicodorsal rod, as well as wing with M-shape pattern as on Figs. 1 and 4 (the discal and preapical crossbands connected at posterior margin), unknown for any terelliine species.

Description. Head: ( Fig. 3 ) Head yellowish brown except ocellar triangle black; length: height: width ratio = 1: 1.23: 1.35. Frons 1.3-1.5 times as wide as long. Frontal and orbital plates with yellowish setulae. Eye 1.65 times as high as long. Antenna yellow, scape with 10–12 dark brownish setulae at dorso-apical margin; first flagellomere 1.45 times as long as wide and distinctly rounded apicodorsally; arista very short pubescent, yellow at base and brown in its slender part. Gena 0.85 times as high as first flagellomere and 0.33 as high as eye. Proboscis capitate with yellowish brown setulae. Three frontal and two orbital setae present. All setae dark yellow and all setulae yellow except genal setulae anterior to genal seta short, brown. Palpus yellow, with sparse yellow and brown setae.

Thorax: ( Fig. 2 ) Yellow in ground color. Scutum 1.2 times as wide as long (between presutural supra-alar setae). In greasy specimens small round black presutural spots are visible near supra-alar setae and black vitta is present in the middle of scutum from anterior margin, extending posteriorly beyond transverse suture. The black pattern is obscured by yellow microtrichia in dry specimens. Pleuron yellow; only triangular mark on katepisternum reddish brown, obscured by yellow microtrichia; scutellum subshining yellow; slightly wider than long, with 12–15 white setulae on each margin. Scutellum slightly convex with 2 pairs of setae (apical 0.9 as long as basal one). Subscutellum and mediotergite yellow. All setae on thorax dark yellow. Halter yellow.

Legs: uniformly yellow, without modifications, not swollen; fore femur with 2 rows of posterodorsal and one row of posteroventral setae; all setae and setulae yellow.

Wing: ( Fig. 4 ). Hyaline with pattern of somewhat m-like appearance because of four well developed brownish crossbands. Base of wing, excluding (partly) distal half of cell c, cells bm and bcu and alula, yellowish brown. pterostigma entirely brown. Subbasal crossband reaching from pterostigma to vein A1+Cu2. Discal crossband complete, crossing wing from pterostigma through R-M crossvein, reaching posterior margin of the wing. Discal crossband fused with subbasal crossband in anterior margin (perostigma, cells r1 and r2+3) of the wing. Preapical band complete, crossing wing from pterostigma through dm-cu crossvein, reaching posterior margin of the wing. Preapical and apical crossbands fused in cells r1 and r2+3; preapical and discal crossbands are converging and widely connected near posterior margin of wing, forming m-shape pattern. Brown spot present in the hyaline interspace between discal and preapical crossbands in cell r1 ( Fig. 1 ). In 3 paratype males this spot merged with preapical crossband ( Fig. 4 ). Setae on dorsal side of vein R1 without gap at Sc apex level. Vein R4+5 with 4–5 setulae dorsally.

Abdomen: General colour dark yellow; tergites without black spots, covered by white setulae; all setae yellow. Marginal setae on female tergites 5–6 pale yellow; tergite 5 of male 0.3 times as long as abdomen and without spots on hindmargin.

Male terminalia: Epandrium oval in dorsal view, with posterior lobe of lateral surstylus well protruding and moderately setulose. surstylus with two prensisetae. lateral prensiseta much smaller than medial one ( Fig. 8 ). Glans of phallus as in Fig. 10 ; with wide tubular base of acrophallus and rather large and wide apical semitubular lobes. Ejaculatory apodeme as in Fig. 9 .

Female terminalia: Oviscape brown, about as long as preabdomen. Aculeus brown, length/width ratio = 6.25 ( Fig. 5 ). Aculeus tip blunt with pair of preapical steps ( Fig. 6 ). Two round densely and long papillose spermathecae ( Fig. 7 ).

Measurements. Female. Body length 8.3 mm (including the oviscape), wing length 6.2 mm. Aculeus length 2.25 mm. Male. Body length 5.25—6.5 mm, wing length 5.7–6 mm.

Etymology. The new species is named after Aria Mountain, near Kashmar (Khorasan Razavi Province), where the type species was collected.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Valera ariana, 1. Lateral habitus, Holotype, ♀. 2. Thorax. 3. Head in profile. 4. Wing, Paratype.

FIGURES 5 – 10. Valera ariana, 5. Aculeus. 6. Aculeus apex. 7. Spermatheca. 8. Epandrium, posterior view. 9. Ejaculatory apodeme. 10. Glans of phallus, lateral.