Chonocephalus cummingae, Disney, 2005

Disney, R. H. L., 2005, Revision of Afrotropical Chonocephalus Wandolleck (Diptera: Phoridae), Journal of Natural History 39 (5), pp. 393-430 : 401-408

Chonocephalus cummingae sp. nov.

( Figures 18–22 )

Material

Holotype: male, Zimbabwe, Harare, 17 ° 159S, 31 ° 029E, water trap on compost heap, September 1991, M. Cumming ( CUMZ —22-47) . Paratypes: four males, one female, as holotype; likewise nine males, two females, except in garden, 8–15 October 2001 ( CUMZ —22-50–52). Two males, Madagascar, Fianarantosa , 7 km W. Ranomafana, 20.83 ° S, 44.7 ° E, Malaise pans, 22–31 October 1988, W. E. Steiner ( LACM Ent. 075523, 090481—26-60). Four males, South Africa, Cape Prov., Tsitsikamma N. P., 33.97 ° S, 23.75 ° E, 23 December to 23 January 1995, J. Allen ( LACM Ent. 052820, 052870—26-57) .

Etymology

The species is named after Meg Cumming, who collected the holotype and the only known females.

Male

Palps ovoid, 0.14 mm long and 0.07 mm wide, with about 24 hairs on outer face, the longest (apical) one being 0.07 mm long. Left side of epandrium with a strong spine and about six hairs, and a surstylus present ( Figure 18 ). The right side has as many hairs but the most ventral one is developed as a differentiated longer bristle. The right hypandrial process dark brown and ending in a long curved point, the adjacent gonopd ending in a bristle ( Figure 19 ). The left process paler and not curved or so strongly tapered, and the adjacent gonopod more parallel-sided and with two pale hairs at tip ( Figure 20 ). Legs brown, the femora being darkest and the tarsi palest, except the distal two-thirds of mid tibiae are white. Wings 1.0–1.3 mm long. Costal index 0.5–0.6. Membrane strongly tinged grey.

Female

Length 1.1–1.4 mm. Frons, thoracic notum and abdominal tergites brown, but not dark apart from dark brown rear margins (embracing a pale spot at base of each hair of posterior row) of T1+2–T6. These dark bands do not extend to lateral margins of the tergites. Eyes small, with 11–13 ommatidia. Antennae pale brown. Palps straw yellow, broad, with several hairs of which the apical and a pre-apical of the lower margin are strongly differentiated. Legs straw yellow variably lightly tinged brown, especially the femora. All tarsi with a ventral hair palisade on basitarsus only. Up to 20 hairs at rear margin of T3. T8 and S8 are a simple rod-shape, the furca is pale and smaller than the large spermatheca ( Figures 21, 22 ). Microtrichia of abdominal tergites and thoracic notum dense and minute, but still larger than those on frons.

Chonocephalus depressus Meijere, 1912

( Figures 23–27 , 38 )

Chonocephalus depressus Meijere 1912, p 151 (female only). Disney 1991, p 208 (male). Chonocephalus similis Collin 1912, p 105 (part) nec Brues 1905. Misidentification, Disney 2002, p 14.

Chonocephalus ecitophilus Borgmeier and Schmitz 1923, p 145 . Disney 2002, p 14. Chonocephalus japonicus Schmitz 1941, p 82 , figure of male wing only. Disney 2002, p 15. Chonocephalus dimakae Paulian 1958, p 12 . Syn. nov.

Chonocephalus pallidulus Beyer 1964 , in Hardy and Beyer 1964, p 298. Disney 2002, p 15. Chonocephalus simiolus Beyer 1964 , in Hardy and Beyer 1964, p 300. Disney 2002, p 15.

I previously proposed four synonyms of this tramp species ( Disney 2002). I now propose a further synonym. The type material of C. dimakae is lost. Furthermore, Paulian’s (1958) descriptions are inadequate in the light of current knowledge. However, his figures of the male hypopygia are the most useful parts of his descriptions. Despite being shown in a tilted side view, his figure of the hypopygium of C. dimakae suggested it might be C. depressus . I therefore mounted the male hypopygia of this species in various ways until some achieved the same orientation as Paulian’s figure for C. dimakae . Allowing for some simplifications in Paulian’s figure (as with his figure of C. vadoni , which was correctly synonymized with C. heymonsi by Prado) these hypopygia are evidently the same. I therefore propose the synonymy of C. dimakae with C. depressus .

Material

Figures

Figures 18–20. Chonocephalus cummingae male, details of hypopygium from below. (18) Left side of epandrium and surstylus. (19) Right lobe of hypandrium and gonopod. (20) Left gonopod and lobe of hypandrium. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

Figures 21, 22. Chonocephalus cummingae female, details of abdomen. (21) Tergite 8. (22) Sternite 8, furca and spermatheca. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

Figures 23–25. Chonocephalus depressus male, hypopygium. (23) From below, with right gonopod somewhat foreshortened and with detail of left gonopod to left and right posterior process of epandrium from another specimen and other angle. (24) Right gonopod. (25) Left face of hypopygium. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figures 26, 27. Chonocephalus depressus female, details of abdomen. (26) Sternite 8, furca (f) and spermatheca (s). (27) Tergite 8. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

Figures 38, 39. Chonocephalus females, hairing and microtrichia of abdominal tergites. (38) C. depressus. (39) C. heymonsi.