Antocha (Antocha) taiwanensis, Podenas, Sigitas & Young, Chen W., 2015

Podenas, Sigitas & Young, Chen W., 2015, Antocha crane flies from Taiwan (Diptera: Limoniidae: Limoniinae), Zootaxa 4048 (4), pp. 523-537 : 532-534

Antocha (Antocha) taiwanensis n. sp.

( Fig. 14 )

Diagnosis. This is a medium-sized brown crane fly. Antenna short, not reaching wing base, when bend backwards. Prescutum with three distinct blackened stripes, pseudosutural fovea surrounded by yellow. Wings with brownish tinge. Wing stigma indistinct, nearly invisible. Posterior margin of ninth tergite of male genitalia straight, gonocoxite oval with distinct lobe on inner surface at base. Both inner and outer gonostyli long and narrow with blunt tips. Aedeagus with large shield, paramere long and bifid at apex.

Description. Based on dry-mounted males. Body length: 4.35–4.80 mm. Wing length: 5.8–6.4 mm.

Head dark brown, covered with dense grayish brown pruinosity, with dorsal blackish median line and grayish orbits. Few black setae surround posterior margin of eye. Antenna brown throughout, 16–segmented, 0.83–1.08 mm in males. Antenna not reaching base of wing, when bend backwards. Scape large, nearly cylindrical. Pedicel large, wider distally, narrower basally. Flagellomeres oval, distinctly narrower than both basal segments, decreasing in size towards apex, subapical segment rounded. Apical segment distinctly longer than preceding segment, about 2.5–3 times as it in length. Verticils short, brownish, slightly longer than dense, whitish pubescence covering flagellomeres. Rostrum brown dorsally, brownish yellow ventrally. Palpus black, covered with scarse, short, erect, whitish setae and brown pruinosity.

Thorax. Generally thorax brown. Pronotum covered with brownish pruinosity, with dorsal black median line, pale brown laterally. Mesonotal prescutum brown with three distinct darker stripes, color of stripes changes depending on angle light strucks. Stripes black anteriorly, lighter posteriorly. Area between median and lateral stripes with scarce, erect, brown setae. Pseudosutural fovea surrounded by yellow. Median stripe separated from lateral stripes by rows of short erect, brown setae. Mesonotal scutum brown, covered with dense bluish gray pruinosity. Scutellum uniformly brown, covered with dense gray pruinosity. Mediotergite polished-brown, with denser gray pruinosity anteriorly. Pleuron generally brown. Anepimeron below wing base yellowish. Dorsal margin of katepisternum yellowish, remaining part of segment brown. Wing with brownish tinge. Stigma faded, nearly invisible. Wing veins brown. Venation typical for subgenus: discal cell closed, Rs very long and straight, basal deflection of CuA1 before branching point of M, anal angle big and nearly right-angled. Stem of haltere pale, just slightly infuscated towards knob, which is distinctly blackened. Haltere 0.80–0.98 mm long. Frontal coxae dark brown, turning yellowish distally, second and third coxae brownish yellow. Trochanters brownish yellow with darkened distal margins. Legs brown, just very bases of femorae lighter, tips of tibiae slightly infuscated, and just very tips of tarsi dark brown. Femur I: 4.6–5.5 mm long, II: 5.0– 5.9 mm, III: 5.2–6.3 mm; tibiae I: 5.3–6.8 mm, II: 5.3–6.3 mm, III: 6.0–7.0 mm; tarsus I: 5.4–6.9 mm, II: 4.7–5.6 mm, III: 5.0– 5.8 mm long. Claw with a single subbasal spine.

Abdomen. Abdominal tergites blackish brown, with narrowly grayish posterior margins, covered with brownish pruinosity. Four basal sternites brown, rimmed by blackish brown laterally and posteriorly, fifth sternite with small brownish spot at base, distal sternites blackish brown. Posterior margins of all sternites narrowly rimmed by gray. Abdomen covered with semi-erect, yellowish setae.

Hypopygium. Male genitalia ( Fig. 14 ) generally brown, tips of gonocoxites blackened, outer gonostyli rusty brown. Ninth tergite with nearly straight posterior margin. Gonocoxite elongate, nearly cylindrical, with distinct lobe at base on inner surface. Both gonostyli long and slender. Outer gonostylus slightly arched, inner gonostylus nearly straight. Both inner and outer gonostyli with blunt tips. Outer gonostylus bearing small subbasal emargination. Inner gonostylus fleshy, covered with scarce setae. Paramere long, bearing bifid tip. Aedeagus long and narrow, covered with wide sheath.

Distribution. This species was represented by a two male specimens collected in late April in Taiwan (Fig. 19).

Type material. TAIWAN: Holotype: Kaohsiung Tao Yuan, Hsi Nan Shan Shih-Shan-Lin-Tao, 23.05N, 120.47E, C. Young, 22 April 2005, ♂; Paratype: topotypic, 1 ♂.

Etymology. The name taiwanensis emphasizes the first record of this species in Taiwan.

Remarks. Species is most closely related to Antocha (Antocha) bidigitata Alexander, 1954 , which is known only from Japan, islands of Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu ( Torii, 1992). Both species have long slender paramere, which is split into two branches at apex. Both species have long and slender gonostyli. The most distinct differences between these species are observed in male terminalia. Gonocoxite of A. bidigitata is simple, having no extra lobes at base, when gonocoxite of A. taiwanensis n. sp. has distinct lobe at base of inner surface. Paramere of A. bidigitata is longer than aedeagus, but shorter than aedeagus in A. taiwanensis n. sp. Distinctly different aedeagus, which has wide shield in A. taiwanensis n. sp., but has no such structure in A. bidigitata . General body coloration and structure of antennae are similar in both species.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Antocha (Antocha) taiwanensis n. sp., male genitalia, dorsal aspect.