Stevenia gilasiani Ziegler, Gisondi & Cerretti, 2019

Gisondi, Silvia, Lenzi, Alice, Ziegler, Joachim, Giulio, Andrea Di & Cerretti, Pierfilippo, 2019, Stevenia gilasiani sp. nov. (Diptera: Rhinophoridae): the first woodlouse fly with male sexual-patches, Zootaxa 4571 (3), pp. 423-431 : 425-429

Stevenia gilasiani Ziegler, Gisondi & Cerretti , sp. nov.

( Figs 2–14 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂: Iran, West Azerbaijan, Ulugh Dagh mountain range, south of Urmia. Label data: “ Iran: Azarbayjan-e Gharbi prov. / Kulabi ( Ulugh Dagh ) S of Disaj / S of Orumiyeh , Mountain top / 37°09'51.8"N 044°53'08.5"E / 24.VII.2008 2250 m / legit Joachim Ziegler ” ( ZMHB).

PARATYPES: 6 ♂♂, same data as holotype (4 in ZMHB, 1 in MZUR, 1 in SMNS) ; 5 ♂♂: “ Iran - West Azarbaijan / Oshnavieh-Dizaj-Kulabi / N 37 0 9 19.7, E 0 44 53 0 4.1 / 2242 m. / leg. E. Gilasian / 24.VII.2008 ” (1 in MZUR, 4 in HMIM) [all collected by hand net on stones and rocks] .

Etymology. The specific epithet is chosen in honour of our Iranian colleague Ebrahim Gilasian, who collected 5 paratypes of this species. Furthermore, one of us (JZ) is thankful for Ebrahim’s long staying friendship, collegial cooperation and organization of wonderful collecting trips in Iran.

Diagnosis. Two postpronotal setae, instead of the usual three arranged in a distinct triangle. Male with ventral sexual-patches on abdominal tergites 3, 4 and 5 and sternites 3 and 4.

Description. Male (measurements in square brackets refer to the holotype).

Length: [6.7] mm.

Colour ( Figs 2–8 ). Head black in ground colour, covered with silvery-grey microtomentum; frontal vitta black; area between gena and parafacial dark brown; scape and pedicel orange (same colour as abdomen laterally) to brownish and postpedicel mostly dark brown, shading to yellowish at junction with pedicel; palpus yellow. Thorax black, mostly covered with grey microtomentum, with three broad presutural dark vittae in posterior view. Legs black in ground colour. Upper and lower calypters whitish. Wing hyaline; area between vein R 2+3 and anterior wing margin slightly brownish infuscated; tegula reddish-brown, basicosta yellow; veins black or dark brown. Abdomen largely reddish-orange laterally, with a mediodorsal dark vitta interrupted mediodorsally; syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 orange laterally, with orange portion not reaching posterior margin; tergite 4 black dorsally and slightly reddish anterolaterally; tergite 5 black; tergites 3–4 each with a band of whitish microtomentum on anterior 1/4 (dorsally) to 1/2 (laterally), syntergite 1+2 with diffuse whitish microtomentum; terminalia blackish.

Head ( Figs 3, 5 ). Frons about 0.53–0.65 [0.55] of a compound eye in dorsal view. Outer vertical seta not differentiated. Ocellar setae short, hair-like and proclinate. Frons with 6–9 frontal setae reaching upper margin of pedicel. Fronto-orbital plate with scattered setulae lateral to row of frontal setae. One upper reclinate orbital seta and no proclinate orbital setae. Parafacial variable, approximately 0.8–1.4 times as wide as postpedicel at mid length, with 2–3 setae on lower half and with a few hairs over its whole length. Facial ridge concave with robust setae above vibrissa on lower 1/5 of its length. Vibrissa inserted at level of lower facial margin. Face and lower facial margin not visible in lateral view. Occiput with black setulae only. Gena approximately 0.3–0.4 of compound eye height. Genal dilation well developed. Antenna long, 5/4 of the height of gena. Postpedicel about 1.6–2.0 times as long as pedicel. Arista bare and thickened on proximal 1/5. First aristomere very short, not longer than wide. Second aristomere about as long as wide. Prementum about twice as long as width at mid length. Palpus apically enlarged.

Thorax. Postpronotum with two setae ( Fig. 6 ). Acrostichal setae absent. Two presutural and three postsutural dorsocentral setae. Two postsutural intra-alar setae separated by a distance greater than distance between first seta and suture, or only one postsutural intra-alar seta. First postsutural supra-alar seta not differentiated. Two katepisternal setae. Katepimeron bare. Anepimeral seta present but mostly weak. Two pairs of marginal scutellar setae: apical pair crossed. One pair of discal scutellar setae. Anatergite bare. Anterior and posterior fringes of posterior spiracle of approximately the same size. Postmetacoxal area membranous. Legs. Preapical anterodorsal seta of fore tibia about as long as preapical dorsal seta. Mid tibia with two anterodorsal setae. Hind tibia with three preapical dorsal setae. Preapical posteroventral seta of hind tibia about as long as preapical anteroventral one. Hind tibia with two well-developed anterodorsal setae. Posterodorsal margin of coxa bare. Wing ( Fig. 4 ). Lower calypter tongue-shaped. Second costal section (CS 2) bare ventrally. Costal spine not differentiated from other costal setulae. R 1 bare. Base of vein R 4+5 with 2–5 setulae dorsally and ventrally. Bend of M 1 forming an obtuse angle. Fourth costal section (CS 4) longer than sixth (CS 6). Section of M between crossveins r-m and dm-cu 1.7–2.3 times longer than section between dm-cu and bend of M. Cell r 4+5 with a petiole 3/4 the length of postangular section of M.

Abdomen ( Figs 7–8 ). Mid-dorsal depression of syntergite 1+2 confined to anterior 1/4 of syntergite. Syntergite 1+2 without median marginal setae, with several lateral discal and lateral marginal setae. Tergite 3 with one pair of median marginal setae, one pair of lateral discal setae and two pairs of lateral marginal setae. Tergites 4 and 5 each with a row of marginal setae and without discal setae. Tergite 5 very short, approximately 1/3 length of tergite 4. Sternite 4 exposed. Ventral sides of tergites 3, 4 and 5 with paired patches of appressed setae and cuticular microsculpture (i.e., sexual-patches) ( Figs 8–11 ). Sexual-patches also present on sternites 3 and 4. Terminalia ( Figs 12–14 ). Epandrium short and convex. Cercus with curled cuticular microsculpture, long setae on lateral surface and one pair of long setae on apical dorsal surface; cerci approximately 2/3 of length of surstylus, with a dorsomedial suture separating them. Surstylus dagger-like in lateral view and rounded at apex in posterior view, twisted inward ( Figs 12–13 ). Processus longus stick-like and firmly fused to base of surstylus. Distiphallus as long as surstylus; lateroventral face of distiphallus sclerotized and covered with scale-like spinules. Acrophallus with tripartite sperm duct ( Fig. 14 ).

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Palaearctic: Iran (West Azerbaijan).

Biology. Unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 2–5. Stevenia gilasiani Ziegler, Gisondi & Cerretti sp. nov. (holotype ♂). 2. Habitus in lateral view. 3. Head in lateral view. 4. Right wing in dorsal view. 5. Head in frontal view.

FIGURES 6–11. Stevenia gilasiani sp. nov.. 6–8. Holotype ♂. 6. Detail of thorax, showing two postpronotal setae. 7. Abdomen in dorsal view. 8. Abdomen in lateral view, showing the sexual-patches on tergites 3 and 4. 9–11. Details of cuticle and setae composing the sexual-patches, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (paratype, MZUR). 9. Sexual-patches of tergite 3 in ventral view. 10. Seta and porous area. 11. Internal surface of cuticle at of the base of a seta composing a sexualpatch, showing the sieve-like structure at level of porous area.

FIGURES 12–14. Stevenia gilasiani Ziegler, Gisondi & Cerretti, sp. nov., terminalia (paratype, MZUR). 12. Lateral view. 13. Dorsolateral view. 14. Detail of the terminalia in ventral view. Abbreviations: aj = ejaculatory apodeme; app = phallus apodeme; c = cerci; ep = epandrium; hyp = hypandrium; pr = pregonite; ps = postgonite; s = surstylus; sd = sperm ducts.