Iteaphila gracilis, Sinclair & Shamshev, 2021

Sinclair, Bradley J. & Shamshev, Igor V., 2021, World revision of Iteaphila with unbranched radial vein (Diptera: Empidoidea: Iteaphilidae), Zootaxa 4968 (1), pp. 1-89 : 44-47

Iteaphila gracilis sp. nov.

( Figs 45 , 81 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EE873BBA-FABC-4109-A6C8-841C198826F3

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, labelled: “ RUSSIA: Altai Rep., Kosh-/ Agach distr. , 17 km NE vill./ Kokorya, 2200m, 50°00′N,/ 89°14′E, 30.06.– 2.07.2014 / leg. I. Shamshev ”; “ HOLOTYPE / Iteaphila / gracilis/ Sinclair & Shamshev [red label]” ( ZIN) . PARATYPES: MONGOLIA. Ikh-Jarantyn-Gol, 20 km NW of Bulgan [48°48′N 103°32′E], 4.vii.1980, M. Kozlov (1 ♂, ZIN) . RUSSIA. Altai Republic: Same data as holotype (1 ♂, ZIN); Mount Aktru , 50.078720°N 87.776840°E, 2–3.vii.2013, MT , J.H. Skevington (1 ♂, CNC) .

Additional material examined. RUSSIA. Altai Republic: Same data as holotype (14 ♀, ZIN) .

Recognition. This species is recognized by slender male cerci and hypoproct processes, elongate ejaculatory apodeme and dorsally projecting surstylus ( Fig. 45 ).

Description. Wing length 3.6–3.7 mm. Male. Head black in ground-colour, with brown to black setation, occiput finely greyish pollinose. Eyes holoptic, with upper ommatidia enlarged. Frons represented by small triangular space just above antennae, bare, brownish pollinose. Ocellar triangle prominent, with 2 subequally long thin proclinate setae. Postvertical and postocular setae long, thin; additionally, occiput covered with numerous similar setae in lower part. Antenna black; scape short, subequal to globular pedicel, both with short setulae; postpedicel rather narrow basally, nearly 3 times longer than wide, smoothly tapered; stylus rather long, nearly 1/3 length of postpedicel, sensillum-tipped; segment 9 tubular, about 3 times as long as wide, apical sensillum nearly 1/3 length of segment 9. Proboscis long, projected obliquely; labium about as long as head height; palpus narrow, long, with long setae, projected parallel to labrum, nearly as long as labrum.

Thorax black in ground-colour, mostly with black setation, with posterior part of postpronotal lobe and postalar tubercle often paler; scutum viewed dorsally matt brown, subshiny, finely brown pollinose, viewed anteriorly brown pollinose; mesopleuron uniformly densely brownish grey pollinose. Proepisternum with several yellowish hairlike setae. Postpronotal lobe with 2 long and several short setae. Mesonotal setae prominent but thin, hair-like; acr rather long, irregularly biserial, arranged in pair of closely spaced rows, lacking on prescutellar depression, distance between rows shorter than length of acr; dc irregularly 2–3-serial and offset from rows anteriorly, somewhat longer than acr, ending by 2 long prescutellar pairs; 1 ph, 2–3 presut spal, 5 npl (with 2 additional shorter setae), row of several psut spal of different lengths, 1 pal, 6–8 pairs of sctl.

Legs almost wholly brownish, only knees brownish yellow. Coxae and trochanters with ordinary hair-like setae. Fore femur with moderately long bristly hairs on posteroventral, dorsal and posterior faces. Mid femur with similar pattern of setation but posteroventral setae longer. Hind femur with long anteroventral and dorsal bristly setae. Tibiae with rows of more prominent dorsal setulae. Tarsomere 1 of mid and hindlegs with pair of rows of stiff ventral setae; tarsomere 5 on all legs somewhat flattened; pulvilli broad, shorter than tarsal claw.

Wing largely hyaline, with brownish yellow veins; basal costal seta absent; pterostigma distinct brown, elliptical, overlapping apex of R 1; anal lobe very prominent, acute. Sc complete; vein R 2+3 straight to slightly curved in apical part; R 4+5 unbranched; cell dm broad, longer than basal cells, hardly produced apically, almost truncate; base of M 2 (crossvein) nearly one-fourth length of dm-m, M branches widely separated; dm-cu crossvein straight to slightly curved. Apex of cell cua recurved, CuA+CuP long, faint, ending just short of wing margin. Halter brown.

Abdomen brown, subshiny, finely brownish pollinose, covered with numerous long yellowish brown setae. Terminalia ( Fig. 45 ) concolorous with abdomen, large. Hypandrium with several short setae, rounded, upcurved with narrowly rounded and folded apex; gonocoxal apodeme long and slender; inner apodeme expanded and flattened, subequal in length with gonocoxal apodeme; postgonite long, arched, extended to near epandrial margin as plate. Phallic guide extended well beyond epandrium, parallel with phallus and bent nearly at right angles subapically; bent apical section paired with jagged surface apically and toothed margin at base; apex tapered and pointed. Epandrium not inflated laterally; dorsal bridge narrow; produced distally into broad, curved, dorsally projecting surstylus; apex of surstylus with tooth-like projection medially. Phallus very slender, arched well beyond epandrium, bent nearly at right angles subapically; apical section very slender, tapered to point; ejaculatory apodeme plate-like, enlarged, rounded, more than twice length of gonocoxal apodeme. Cercus short, very slender, one-third length of epandrium, with short medial projection near base; apex narrowly rounded, extended free from epandrium; hypoproct produced into pair of very long, slender processes, longer than cercus, projecting beyond epandrium.

Female. Similar to male [associated by collecting event], except as follows: Eyes dichoptic; ommatidia equally small. Frons very broad, somewhat widened toward ocellar tubercle, shiny to finely brownish grey pollinose, with marginal setulae. Stylus short, length shorter than width. Scutum with acr biserial, not irregular. Scutellum usually with 3–5 pairs of setae. Legs, including coxae, yellow; tarsomeres darker. Halter yellow. Abdomen paler, especially sternites with shorter, less prominent setae. Cercus brownish, long, slender, covered with dark setae.

Distribution. Palaearctic: Mongolia, Russia. This species is known from the Altay Mountains ( Fig. 81 ).

Etymology. The specific name is after the Latin gracilis (slender), in reference to the slender male cerci and hypoproct processes.

Remarks. The long female series collected with the males, differ in scutal chaetotaxy (distinct biserial acr) and very short stylus, which possibly suggests that they are not conspecific. Consequently, they were listed as additional material, rather than paratypes.

Figures

FIGURES 45–48. Male terminalia of Iteaphila with unbranched R, lateral view. 45, I. gracilis sp. nov.; 46, I. grandis sp. 4+5 nov.; 47, I. lolo sp. nov.; 48, I. longipalpis (Melander). Scale bar = 0.1 mm. Abbreviations: cerc—cercus; epand brg—epandrial bridge; hyprct proc—hypoproct process; ph—phallus; ph gd—phallic guide; sur—surstylus.

FIGURES 79–81. Distribution of Iteaphila with unbranched R 4+5. 79, I. longiphallus sp. nov., I. recurvata sp. nov.; 80, I. falcata Sinclair, I. parastentor sp. nov., I. stentor (Melander); 81, I. atruensis sp. nov., I. gracilis sp. nov., I. kyrgyzstanensis sp. nov., I. sakhalinensis sp. nov., I. spinosa sp. nov.