Suffomyia sabroskyi, McAlpine, 2007

McAlpine, D. K., 2007, The Surge Flies (Diptera: Canacidae: Zaleinae) of Australasia and Notes on Tethinid-Canacid Morphology and Relationships, Records of the Australian Museum 59 (1), pp. 27-64 : 61-62

Suffomyia sabroskyi n.sp.

Figs 19, 87–89

Material examined. HOLOTYPE?, Caroline Islands (Federated States of Micronesia): Giliman, Yap Island , 10.vi.1957, C.W.S. ( BPB). Double-mounted on micro-pin . PARATYPES. Caroline Islands: 1?, 5!!, same data as holotype ( AM, BPB); 5??, 3!!, Rumung Island, Yap Group , 19.vi.1957, at light, C.W.S. ( AM, BPB) .

Description (?,!). General characters as given above for subfamily and for genus Suffomyia ; somewhat resembling S. scutellaris as descried by Freidberg (1995).

Coloration (material slightly faded). Head brown, with covering of grey pruinescence, paler on face, anterior part of cheek, and parafacial; anterior margin of postfrons yellow; bristles black. Antenna dull tawny; segment 3 and arista largely brown. Palpus pale yellow, without dark setulae. Thorax grey, with brownish tinge; bristles black. Wing greyish hyaline, slightly darker in costal and marginal cells and part of submarginal cell (this pigmentation perhaps forming a brownish costal band in fresh material). Halter tawny. Abdomen greyish brown, with tergites almost uniformly coloured in male, often with irregular paler zones in female.

Head oval in profile, narrowed below; eye large, oblique, in profile occupying much more than half visible area of head; parafacial very narrow; postfrons c. 1.2–1.5 times as long as width at mid-length, and c. 0.37–0.43 times as wide as head; height of cheek c. 0.2 of height of eye; postgenal bristles forming a series near posteroventral margin of eye. Antenna: segment 3 smaller than in S. scutellaris , not distinctly longer than deep; arista two-segmented. Palpus smaller and less strongly clavate than in S. scutellaris .

Thorax. Scutellum shorter and more nearly semicircular than in S. scutellaris ; thoracic chaetotaxy generally as for other Zaleinae ; four dorsocentral bristles often not all much larger than adjacent setulae; acrostichal setulae biserate, extending most of length of mesoscutum, often somewhat irregular, one or sometimes two hindmost pairs often (not always) largest so that pair of prescutellar bristles may be differentiated; mesopleuron with one relatively large midposterior bristle, dorsally directed posterodorsal setula, and several other slightly variable setulae; scutellum with two pairs of major bristles, pair of somewhat shorter middorsal bristles and pair of still shorter, often crossed apical bristles. Fore femur with two to four posteroventral bristles and shorter or less distinct dorsal bristles; mid femur with several irregularly enlarged anterior setulae and few short, well spaced posteroventral bristles or setulae; hind femur coarsely setulose on anterior surface; all tibiae with some enlarged dorsal setulae, often as long as diameter of tibia; fore basitarsus with some setulae apparently apically bifid, almost straight (SEM not used). Wing not noticeably narrowed across anal region, but generally slightly narrower in female than in male; distal sections of veins 3 and 4 almost parallel; cell-4 index = 0.36–0.47.

Abdomen. Male: dorsal protandrial sclerite as long as tergites 3–5 combined, its anterior section (tergite 6) setulose, more than twice as long as bare posterior section (sternite 8); epandrium compact, rounded, with few setulae and two pairs of longer bristles, produced into small rounded lobe at anterolateral angle; surstylus somewhat elongate, subcrescentic, slightly narrowed towards the very oblique base, apically acute, with anterior margin much thickened on whole length, with setulae of various sizes including a few large, thickened ones on inner surface not shown in Fig. 89; aedeagal apodeme very long, extending into anterior part of abdomen; cercus shorter than in S. ismayi . Female: tergite 7 relatively large, undivided; sternite 7 present, apparently divided into two narrow sclerites.

Dimensions. Total length,? 1.0– 1.3 mm,! 1.4–1.6 mm; length of thorax,? 0.47–0.58 mm,! 0.55–0.64 mm; length of wing,? 1.1–1.3 mm,! 1.3–1.5 mm.

Distribution. Micronesia: Yap Group, Caroline Islands.

Notes

Suffomyia sabroskyi can be distinguished from S. scutellaris by the shorter antennal segment 3, shorter non-spatulate palpus, shorter, more rounded scutellum, and by other characters given in the key.

The specific epithet refers to the late Curtis W. Sabrosky, who collected the type series.