Leptomydas rapti, Dikow, Torsten, 2010

Dikow, Torsten, 2010, New species and new records of Mydidae from the Afrotropical and Oriental regions (Insecta, Diptera, Asiloidea), ZooKeys 64, pp. 33-75 : 38-40

Leptomydas rapti sp. n. Figs 4-63146

Etymology:

The specific epithet refers to the Rapti Valley, Nepal in which the type locality is situated and is a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis:

The species is distinguished from congeners by the entirely light brown stained wings, the long brown setae on the posterior abdominal sternites, the fusion of abdominal sternite 8 with tergite 8, and its apparent distribution in south-central Nepal.

Description Male:

Head: brown, in general grey pruinose; width distinctly greater than thorax, interocular distance on vertex larger than at ventral eye margin, vertex between compound eyes ± horizontally straight, medially only slightly below dorsal eye margin, parafacial area less than ½ the width of central facial gibbosity; facial gibbosity distinct, well-developed and discernible in lateral view; mystax white, covering only lateral facial gibbosity (asetose medially); frons medially apruinose, laterally grey pruinose, vertex predominantly apruinose, only lateral margins grey pruinose, postgenae apruinose; setation: vertex white, frons white, ocp setae white, pocl setae white; ocellar triangle apruinose; proboscis brown, long, projecting beyond fronto-clypeal suture; labella large, much wider than prementum, as long as prementum, unsclerotised laterally; maxillary palpi cylindrical, brown, shorter than length of pedicel.

Antenna: brown, scape and pedicel white setose dorsally and ventrally; postpedicel cylindrical in proximal ½, symmetrically bulbous in distal ½, ≥ 6.0 times as long as combined length of scape and pedicel; apical ‚seta-like‘ sensory element situated apically in cavity on postpedicel.

Thorax: brown, scutum predominantly grey pruinose, pleura predominantly apruinose; scutum medially bluish-black, laterally brown, surface entirely smooth, predominantly grey pruinose, only broad sublateral stripes and narrow paramedial stripes (not reaching posterior margin) apruinose, scutal setation comprised of distinct rows of long dorsocentral setae and lateral scutal setae; dc setae pre- and postsuturally white, acr setae absent, lateral scutal setae white, npl, spal, and pal setae absent; postpronotal lobe light brown, grey pruinose; proepisternum, lateral postpronotum, and postpronotal lobes long brown setose or long white setose; scutellum grey pruinose proximally, apruinose distally, asetose, apical scutellar setae absent; mesopostnotum, anatergite, and katatergite grey pruinose, mesopostnotum asetose, anatergite asetose, katatergite long white setose; katatergite ± flat; anterior anepisternum asetose, supero-posterior anepisternum asetose; posterior anepimeron long white setose, katepimeron asetose; metepimeron ± flat, same colour as T1, grey pruinose, long white setose; metepisternum grey pruinose, asetose.

Leg: brown, setation predominantly white; all coxae apruinose, long white setose; met trochanter setose medially; femora brown, met femora evenly clubbed in distal ¾, in distal ½ macrosetose, 1 antero-ventral and 1 postero-ventral row of macrosetae; all tibiae laterally arched, met tibia cylindrical, ventral keel absent; pro and mes tarsomere 1 about as long as individual tarsomeres 2, 3, or 4, met tarsomere 1 as long as combined length of tarsomeres 2-3; pulvilli well-developed, as long as well-developed claws, and as wide as base of claws; empodium absent.

Wing: length = 9.0- 9.3 mm; slightly brown stained throughout, veins light brown, microtrichia absent; cells r1, r4, r5, m3, + cup closed except r5 open; C terminates at junction with M1 (or M 1+ M 2); R4 terminates in R1; R5 terminates in R1; stump vein ( R 3) at base of R4 present, short not reaching R2; R4 and R5 widest apart medially; r-m distinct, R4+5 and M1 apart, connected by crossvein or indistinct, R4+5 and M1 fused; M1 curves anteriorly at r-m, M1 (or M 1+ M 2) terminates in C; CuA1 and CuA2 split proximally to m-cu (cell m3 narrow proximally); M3+CuA1 do not terminate together in C; A1 undulating, cell a1 wide, A1 and wing margin further apart proximally than distally, alula well-developed; halter brown.

Abdomen: brown to bluish-black; setation comprised of scattered white setae, surface entirely smooth; T1-7 brown, yellow posterior margins; T1 and anterior ½ of T2 long white setose, remaining T2 and T3 short white setose; T predominantly apruinose; S1-7 brown, yellow posterior margins; S1 asetose, S2 long white setose, S3 short white setose; S predominantly apruinose; T2-4 parallel-sided and not constricted waist-like; bullae on T2 brown, transversely elongate, surface entirely smooth, T2 surface anterior to bullae smooth.

Male terminalia:

T1-7 well-developed, entirely sclerotised, T8 postero-medially weakly sclerotised, with anterior transverse sclerotised bridge connecting lateral sclerites; T7-8 anteriorly with 2 lateral apodemes; S6 regular, without any special setation postero-medially, S8 medially divided into two halves, fused to T8 dorso-laterally, divided entirely ventro-medially; epandrium formed by single sclerite (fused medially ± entirely), blunt, evenly rounded; subepandrial sclerite without lateral or median protuberances; hypandrium slightly concave, partially divided ventro-medially, anteriorly with heavily sclerotised transverse bridge, entirely fused with gonocoxite, forming a gonocoxite-hypandrial complex; gonocoxites dorso-ventrally flattened (same height throughout, expanded laterally and medially), with median protuberance, gonocoxal apodeme absent; 1 functional aedeagal prong; aedeagal epimere absent; lateral ejaculatory processes absent; ejaculatory apodeme formed by single dorso-ventrally oriented plate; ventro-median margin of dorsal aedeagal sheath heavily sclerotised (appearing entirely closed); dorsal aedeagal sheath short, sperm sac entirely free; sperm sac appearing ± heavily sclerotised.

Description Female:

unknown.

Material examined:

Nepal: Bagmati: 1 ♂ Megouli (= Megauli), Rapti Valley , 27°35'00"N; 084°14'00"E, 29.iii.-4.iv. 1962, 300 m, G. Ebert H. Falkner ( AAM- 000113 paratype, ZSMC) ; 2 ♂ Jhawani, Rapti Valley , 27°35'00"N; 084°31'00"E, 200 m, 16.iv.1967, Dierl Forster Schacht ( AAM-000115 1 ♂ holotype, AAM-000114 paratype, ZSMC) .

Type locality and distribution:

Jhawani (27°35'00" N; 084°31'00" E), Nepal (Fig. 46). Biodiversity hotspot/high-biodiversity wilderness area: Himalaya/-.

Remarks:

The particular shape of the tip of the aedeagus, which is not tapered distally (Fig. 4) as in other members of Leptomydas , is generally indicative of a species of Eremomidas Semenov, 1896 as suggested by Richter and Ovtshinnikova (1996) and Richter (1997). However, the proboscis of this species is projecting well-beyond the fronto-clypeal suture, a feature considered to be specific to Leptomydas . The correct generic placement of this species needs to be established with a phylogenetic analysis of Mydidae genera that is currently in preparation by the author.