Miroslava knajfli, Šifner, 2010

Šifner, František, 2010, Two new genera and species of the family Scathophagidae (Diptera) from the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions with additional faunistic records, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 50 (2), pp. 609-618 : 613-615

Miroslava knajfli sp. nov.

( Figs. 11–15 ) Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, NEPAL: ‘ 27°57′N 84°59′E, Mal.tr.5 [Malaise trap No.5], 10.000′, 30 May 1967, Canad. Nepal Exped.[leg.]’ / ‘ Megaphthalmoides sp. [det.?]’. ALLOTYPE: ♀, NEPAL: ‘ 27°58′N 85°00′E, Mal.tr.1 [Malaise trap No. 1], 11.100′, 8–11 June 1967, Canad. Nepal. Exped. [leg.]’ / ‘ Megaphthalmoides sp. [det.?]’ (CNC).

Description. Body length 5 mm. Ground colour brown to yellow-brown.

HEAD. Three orbital bristles, 2–3 frontal bristles, frontal vitta, parafacials, face, genae yellow-brown, scapus, pedicellus and first flagellomere including arista black, arista bare and thickened basally, vibrissal callus with two bristles and together with 3–4 short bristles, palpi narrow, yellow-brown with 3–4 black bristles apically, one genal bristle.

THORAX. Setation consisting of few but distinct acrostichal bristles, 3+2 dorsocentral bristles, two humeral bristles, one intra-alar bristle, two supra-alar bristles, one postalar bristle, two notopleural bristles, one katepisternal bristle, two strong and 1–2 weak anepisternal bristles and one distinct anepimeral bristle in central part of anepimeron. Two pairs of scutellar bristles of equal size. Wing with vein M 3+4 ending outside wing margin, vein A 1 reaching wing margin. Legs yellow-brown, covered with short black setae; six anterodorsal bristles present on anterior femora, those on posterior femora little distinct.

ABDOMEN. Male. Sternite 3 oval; sternite 4 more or less rounded; lobes of sternite 5 narrowed apically, slightly arched, basally dilated with short and dense short black bristles, sternite 5 between lobes prolonged. All sternites covered with distinct black bristles ( Fig. 11 ). Cerci wide with long bristles, surstyli almost straight, apically arched forwards with distinct long bristles ( Figs. 12 and 13 ). Epiphallus slightly arched and pointed; pregonite with one dorsal bristle; postgonite long, apically narrowed ( Fig. 14 ). Female. Sternites 2–4 rectangular; sternite 5 very short; sternite 6 caudally dilated; sternite 7 oval; sternites 8 very small with several setae ( Fig. 15 ).

Etymology. I dedicate this species to Ladislav Knajfl, an excellent surgeon working at the Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine, Praha – Motol, Czech Republic.

Distribution. Nepal.

Comments. Both type specimens were listed by Vocker ot h (1977: 437) in the Catalog of Oriental Region as an unnamed species of the genus Megaphthalmoides . The differences between Megaphthalmoides and Miroslava can be summarized as follows:

1 Palpi broadened; arista distinctly plumose; anepimeron without black bristle in its central part. .......................................................................... Megaphthalmoides Ringdahl, 1936

– Palpi narrow; arista bare; anepimeron with one black bristle in its central part. .............. ..................................................................................................... Miroslava Šifner, 1999

Figures

Figs. 11–15. Miroslava knajfli sp. nov. 11–14 – J, holotype: 11 – abdominal sternites 3 to 5, 12–13 – cerci and surstyli (caudal and lateral views), 14 – penis apparatus with pregonites and epiphallus; 15 – ♀: abdominal sternites 2 to 8. Scale bars: 0.5 mm (Figs. 11–13 and 15); 0.1 mm (Fig. 14).