Elaphropeza monospina, Published, 2007

SHAMSHEV, IGOR V. & GROOTAERT, PATRICK, 2007, Revision of the genus Elaphropeza Macquart (Diptera: Hybotidae) from the Oriental Region, with a special attention to the fauna of Singapore, Zootaxa 1488 (1), pp. 1-164 : 81-83

Elaphropeza monospina sp. nov.

( Figs. 125–130 )

Diagnosis. Occiput black, postpedicel nearly 3.0 times longer than wide, style about 2.0 times longer than postpedicel; scutum with brownish pattern; acrostichal and dorsocentral bristles multiserial; legs entirely yellow, hind tibia with 1 anterodorsal bristle, hind basitarsus with 1 spine-like ventral bristle near base.

Description. Male. Body length 1.8–2.1 mm, wing length 2.0– 2.1 mm. Occiput wholly black, subshining, with yellow to brownish yellow setation. Anterior ocellars long, proclinate; posterior ones very short. Two pairs of verticals, inner ones long, outer ones somewhat shorter. Frons subshining. Antenna ( Fig. 125 ) wholly brownish yellow. Pedicel with circlet of subequally short setulae. Postpedicel 2.7–3.0 times longer than wide. Style normally pubescent, brown, about 2.0 times longer than postpedicel and nearly 1.5 times as long as scape, pedicel and postpedicel combined. Proboscis brownish yellow. Palpus yellow, small, rounded, with scattered brownish yellow setulae.

Thorax brownish in varying extent, shining, with yellow to brownish yellow bristles; in darker specimens scutum with 1 yellow rounded space above wing base and very narrow vitta on theoretical line of dorsocentral bristles, postalar tubercle yellowish, otherwise thorax brownish; in paler specimens pleurae brownish yellow (yellowish near sutures) and scutum with broader yellow spaces, rarely appearing almost wholly yellow. Prothoracic episterna lacking long upturned bristle just above fore coxa, with 2–3 moderately long upturned bristles in upper part. Postpronotal bristle very short, hardly prominent. Mesonotum with 2 notopleural, 1 postsutural supra-alar, 1 postalar and 4 scutellar (inner ones very long, cruciate; outer ones very short) bristles. Acrostichals and dorsocentrals multiserial, uniform (except for 2 pairs of long prescutellars), extending to base of scutellum.

Legs almost entirely yellow, mostly with brownish yellow to yellow setation; apical tarsomeres brownish yellow. Coxae and trochanters with unmodified setation. Fore and hind femora and tibiae somewhat thickened. Fore femur with rows of short antero- and posteroventral bristles, 1 bristle near base longer. Fore tibia lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Mid femur with rows of spinule-like, short, ventral bristles disappearing in apical part of femur (posterior bristles longer), 1 long bristle near base and 1 anterior subapical bristle. Mid tibia with hardly prominent ventral spinules, lacking prominent bristles (except subapicals). Hind femur with 1 row of short anteroventrals (2 subapicals longer) and 3–4 erect dorsal bristles near base. Hind tibia bearing 1 anterodorsal bristle in basal half nearer to middle; apical projection short, rounded, covered with dense brownish setulae. Hind tarsomere 1 with 1 black spine-like ventral bristle near base.

Wing normally developed, finely uniformly brownish infuscate, covered with uniform microtrichia; veins brownish yellow to brownish. Costal vein with moderately long setulae along anterior margin. Basal costal bristle long, brownish. Costal index: 40/39/32/18. Vein Rs somewhat longer than crossvein bm-cu. Veins R4+5 and M1+2 somewhat divergent near wing apex, both straight. Vein CuA1 reaching wing margin. Crossvein bm-cu transverse. Crossvein r-m before middle of cell bm. Vein A1 present as trace. Halter darkened.

Abdomen. Tergite 1 almost entirely pale yellow, with very small, narrow, brownish space on each side. Tergites 2 and 3 subequal in width, represented by 2 large lateral subtriangular sclerites broadly separated along midline; with unmodified brownish setation. Tergite 4 broad, nearly 2.0 times broader than tergite 3, bearing numerous squamiform setae intermixed with ordinary setulae. Tergite 5 very narrow, with somewhat flattened and ordinary setulae. Tergites 6–8 unmodified; tergites 6 and 7 with rather long posteromarginal bristles, especially tergite 7. Sternites 1–3 almost entirely pale yellow; sternite 3 with small brownish yellow spot on each side; sternites 4–8 brownish, unmodified. Gland-like structures present between tergites 4 and 5.

Terminalia ( Figs. 126–128 ) large, brownish yellow. Cerci closely approximate, hardly separated; left cercus unbranched, subrectangular, with bristles of different length; right cercus well prominent, narrow, bearing several long marginal bristles apically. Epandrium completely divided. Right epandrial lamella subtriangular, with numerous long bristles. Right surstylus not prominent. Left epandrial lamella fused to hypandrium, with several long bristles apically. Left surstylus with upper lobe large, broadly oval, with scattered very short bristles. Hypandrium with 2 subapical bristles. Phallus very short. Two rod-shaped apodemes.

Female. Body length 2.2–2.4 mm, wing length 1.9–2.2 mm. Resembling male. Segment 8 ( Fig. 129 ) dark brown, elongate, with sclerites separated; sternite 8 folded apically. Cercus broad oval, brown.

Material examined: Holotype male labelled: SINGAPORE, Sungei Buloh , 6 July 2005, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 25200, leg. PG, E-10).

Paratypes: SINGAPORE: 3 ♀♀, Chek Jawa , 19 November 2003, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 23080, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Chek Jawa , 11 December 2003, mangrove, Mal 1 (reg. 23119, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Chek Jawa , 26 March 2005, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 25031, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Chek Jawa , 12 September 2005, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 25343, leg. PG) ; 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, Chek Jawa , 12 September 2005, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 25343, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Chek Jawa , 15 December 2005, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 25452, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Pasir Ris , 4 December 2003, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 23106, leg. PG) ; 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, Sungei Buloh , 6 October 2000, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 20032, leg. PG & N. Evenhuis) ; 1 ♀, Sungei Buloh , 27 November 2003, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 23090, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Sungei Buloh , 27 November 2003, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 23092, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Sungei Buloh , 28 March 2005, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 25035, leg. PG) ; 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Sungei Buloh , 22 April 2005, mangrove, Mal 2 (reg. 25078, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Sungei Buloh , 27 April 2005, mangrove, Mal 2 (reg. 25096, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Sungei Buloh , 25 May 2005, mangrove, Mal 1 (reg. 25163, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Sungei Buloh , 6 July 2005, mangrove, Mal 1 (reg. 25197, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Sungei Buloh , 5 August 2005, mangrove, Mal 2 (reg. 25285, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, Sungei Buloh , 19 August 2005, mangrove, Mal 1 (reg. 25302, leg. PG) ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Sungei Buloh , 26 August 2005, mangrove, sweeping (reg. 25321, leg. PG) . 3 ♂♂, Semakau Island , 26 June 2005, mangrove (reg. 25188, leg. PG) .

MALAYSIA: 2 ♀♀, Pulau Tioman , Monkey Bay, 14 July 2005, beach, sweeping (reg. 25216, leg. PG) ; 1 ♀, Pulau Tioman , Monkey Bay, 17 July 2005, beach, sweeping (reg. 25226, leg. PG) .

Derivatio nominis. The name monospina refers to the single ventral spine in the basal part of hind tarsomere 1.

Distribution. Singapore, Malaysia. Mangrove.

Singapore. This is a common species in mangrove. It is present throughout the year with no marked peak activity. The sex ratio is 1/ 1 female to male .

Remarks. The relationships of E. monospina sp. nov. are unclear beyond inclusion within the monophyletic lineage of Elaphropeza sharing completely fused cerci (see “Discussion” for details).

Figures

FIGURES 125–130. Elaphropeza monospina sp. nov. 125. antenna. 126. epandrium with cerci. 127. right epandrial lamella and cerci. 128. left surstylus. 129. ovipositor. 130. egg.