Japanagromyza crinicolis, Lonsdale, Owen, 2013

Lonsdale, Owen, 2013, Japanagromyza Sasakawa (Diptera: Agromyzidae) of Africa, Zootaxa 3709 (5), pp. 445-460 : 447-449

Japanagromyza crinicolis sp. n.

Figs 1–6

Description. Wing length 3.0mm (♂). Female unknown. Length of ultimate section of vein CuA1 divided by penultimate section: 0.6; vein r-m slightly past midpoint of cell dm. Eye height divided by gena height 11.4. Lunule subshining, much wider than high with dorsum bent inwards (margin appearing flat when viewed anteriorly). Ocellar triangle relatively shiny. Face with very shallow carina. Clypeus slightly thicker than that of African congeners.

Chaetotaxy: Prescutellar acrostichal seta absent. Approximately 8–10 rows of acrostichal setulae. Intra postalar small. Katepisternum with an additional 3 short, developed setae. Fore tibia with medial seta. Mid femur with long posterodistal seta.

Colouration: Setae black, setulae with brown tint. Halter entirely black. Calypter margin and hairs dark brown.

Genitalia: Subepandrial sclerite with long, dark, plate-like halves that meet at a narrow point medially. Cercus narrowest at base. Surstylus not projecting, completely fused to broad margin of epandrium; anterior and ventral margins with scattered tubercle-like setae on inner surface. More than half of hypandrial length composed of apical apodeme; inner setose lobe of hypandrium (possibly homologous with pregonite) separate, floating. Phallophorus short, symmetrical. Basiphallus composed of small dorsobasal plate that extends slightly onto right lateral surface; well separated from mesophallus by membranous space. Mesophallus small and lobate, forming simple chamber connecting duct and distiphallus. Distiphallus large with base forming a dark, compact chamber with a short dorsal extension and similarly short, but spinulose right lateral lobe; with long, paler medial extension that curves to the right where it forms shallow corkscrew-like annulations; left lateral membrane with narrow sclerotized band that separates a smaller ventral spinose patch from a larger, more heavily spinulose dorsal patch. Ejaculatory apodeme with pileus ejaculatorius extended laterally as short, dark apodemes; stem short with basal process atrophied; blade broadly ovate, moderately well pigmented and with thin medial rib; base of duct with pigmented patches produced from stem and pileus ejaculatorius.

Host. Unknown.

Distribution. Uganda.

Etymology. The specific epithet compounds the Latin for “hair” [crinis] and “penis” [colis], referring to the characteristic phallus.

Material examined. UGANDA. Entebbe, 20–31.xii.1972, H. Falke, 1160m (1♂, CNC).

Comments. External and male genitalic characters support a close relationship between the African Japanagromyza dolobrata and J. crinicolis , and the Southeast Asian J. setigera (Malloch) . These species are most readily characterized by an entirely black halter, and a large, spinose, hatchet-shaped phallus. Hosts are unknown for all three species.

Japanagromyza dolobrata , which also occurs in the D.R. Congo, can only be reliably differentiated from this species on the basis of male genitalic features, although the collection of additional material may allow for more confident separation of the two. Japanagromyza dolobrata has a sight posteroventral extension of the epandrium, and the phallus is much longer with a much larger, carinate distiphallus. Also see comments for J. meridiana .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Japanagromyza crinicolis sp. n., male genitalia; 1: external genitalia, anterior (subepandrial sclerite shaded); 2: external genitalia, ventral; 3: external genitalia, left lateral; 4: ejaculatory apodeme; 5: internal genitalia, ventral; 6: internal genitalia, left lateral.