Rhodesiella guangdongensis, Xu, Yanling & Yang, Ding, 2005

Xu, Yanling & Yang, Ding, 2005, Species of Rhodesiella from Guangdong, South China (Diptera: Chloropidae), Zootaxa 1046, pp. 49-53 : 50-52

Rhodesiella guangdongensis sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–4 )

Diagnosis. Frontal triangle polished black. Scutellum elongate­conical, about 1.6 times as long as wide, with 3 pairs of distinct tubercles, each of which is yellow on distal half and blackened on basal half; distance between tips of the tubercles of 2 ap sc nearly equal to that between those of ap sc and distal la sc. Legs largely yellow, but blackish brown only on distal 3 tarsomeres of fore leg and the last tarsomere of mid­ and hind legs; hind femur not thickened. Surstylus very large, band­shaped; pregonite oblong.

Description. Male Body length 2.85–3.10 mm, wing length 2.15–2.40 mm.

Head black, about 2 times as wide as long, in profile about 1.2 times as broad as long; frons dark brown, slightly longer than wide; frontal triangle polished black, much longer than wide, its anterior extremity obtuse and its lateral sides somewhat convex. Hairs and bristles on head yellow. Antenna with basal 2 segments yellow, 3rd segment largely yellow with brown dorsodistal margin; arista blackish. Proboscis brown; palpus reddish brown.

Thorax black. Hairs and bristles on thorax yellow, 1+1 npl. Mesonotum weakly convex, slightly broader than long; scutellum elongate­conical, about 1.6 times as long as wide and about 3/4 as long as mesonotum; 3 pairs of yellow scutellar bristles present on distinct tubercles, each of which is nearly 2 times as long as wide, yellow on distal half and blackened on basal half; ap sc about 0.7 times as long as scutellum and 2.7 times as long as basal la sc; basal la sc about 1/2 as long as distal la sc; distance between tips of the tubercles of basal and distal la sc shorter than that between those of ap sc and distal la sc; distance between tips of the tubercles of 2 ap sc nearly equal to that between those of ap sc and distal la sc. Legs mostly yellow, blackish brown only on distal 3 tarsomeres of fore leg and the last tarsomere of mid­ and hind legs. Hairs on legs mostly yellow. Hind femur not thickened, about 1.4 times as broad as succeeding tibia at middle. Wing hyaline, about 2.2 times as long as wide, veins brownish yellow; relative lengths of costal sections 2nd: 3rd: 4th = 3.5: 3.0: 1.6; crossvein r­m slightly distad beyond middle of discal cell, opposite 0.57 of its length; R4+5 and M1+2 nearly parallel; M1+2 slightly convex forward basally. Halter yellow.

Abdomen blackish brown, basal 2 segments yellow. Hairs on abdomen black.

Male genitalia ( Figs.2–4 ). Epandrium dark brown, in dorsal view about 0.28 mm in width and about 0.15 mm in length, dorsodistal notch of epandrium deeply incised; surstylus brownish yellow, very large, band­shaped and about 3 times as broad as epandrium in lateral view; hypandrium laterally broadened; pregonite oblong; postgonite incurved at basal 1/3; distiphallus in lateral view bending ventrad at middle, then upcurved near apex.

Female. Body length 2.80–3.38 mm, Wing length 2.40–2.65 mm.

Type material. Holotype male, CHINA: Guangdong, Ruyuan, Nanling National Nature Reserve, 2003. VII. 24, Shuwen, An. Paratypes 1 male, same locality as holotype, 2003. VII. 23, Shuwen, An; 2 females, same as holotype.

Etymology. The species is named after the type locality Guangdong.

Remarks. The new species is similar to R. monticola Kanmiya from Taiwan and R. postinigra Yang &Yang from Yunnan in having the frontal triangle polished black; the scutellum prolonged with 3 pairs of distinct tubercles, each of which is yellow on distal half and blackened on basal half; the legs largely yellow with hind femur not thickened and the surstylus very large, band­shaped. This species may be separated from R. monticola by the distance between tips of the tubercles of 2 ap sc nearly equal to that between those of ap sc and distal la sc, and from R. postinigra by having the hind tibia entirely yellow. In R. postinigra , the hind tibia is blackish with the yellow base and apex. In both R. monticola and R. postinigra , the distance between tips of the tubercles of ap sc and distal la sc is longer than that between those of 2 ap sc. The new species is also easily distinguished from them by the male phallic organs.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Rhodesiella guangdongensis sp. nov. Male. 1. Scutellum, dorsal view; 2. epandrium and surstylus, posterior view; 3. epandrium and surstylus, lateral view; 4. hypandrium and phallic complex, ventral view.