Platypalpus nigritellus Zouhair & Grootaert, 2024

Zouhair, Laila, Grootaert, Patrick & Kettani, Kawtar, 2024, Twelve new species of Platypalpus Macquart (Diptera: Hybotidae) from Morocco, with additional new records, European Journal of Taxonomy 951 (1), pp. 1-53 : 33-35

Platypalpus nigritellus Zouhair & Grootaert sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3D43B29F-75DE-4F1A-AA70-910918E2B9E9

Figs 21–22 , 25A

Diagnosis

A small dark species (2.3 mm long) of the pallidiventris-cursitans group, with one pair of verticals. Antennae blackish brown with postpedicel broader, elongate, about 3 × as long as wide at base, stylus about 1.5× as long as postpedicel. Thorax with mesoscutum including postpronotal lobe greyish dusted, pleura greyish dusted leaving a polished spot on katepisternum. Legs entirely blackish brown including coxae and tarsi, with only knees of fore legs and fore femur at tip somewhat yellowish. Mid tibia with short, flattened, black apical spur. Wings faintly brown infuscate with veins R 4+5 and M 1+2 slightly convergent just before meeting wing margin.

Etymology

This species is named after the black colour of the body.

Material examined

Holotype

MOROCCO – High Atlas • ♂; Amizmiz ; 24 Mar. 2017; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; RBINS.

Paratype

MOROCCO – High Atlas • 1 ♂; Moulay Brahim ; 25 Mar. 2017; sweep net; K. Kettani leg.; LESCB.

Description

Male

LENGTH. Body: 2.3 mm; wing: 2.2 mm.

HEAD. Black in ground colour, occiput densely greyish pollinose with long pale setae, one pair of verticals. Gena densely greyish pollinose with long pale setae. Ocellar tubercle greyish pollinose. Frons densely greyish pollinose, narrower than postpedicel at base, somewhat broader toward ocellar tubercle. Face greyish dusted, narrower than pedicel. Clypeus polished and very short. Antennae blackish brown, postpedicel broader at base, somewhat triangular, elongate, about 3 × as long as wide at base, stylus about 1.5× as long as postpedicel. Proboscis blackish, shorter than head is high. Palpus brown, elongate ovate, with scattered pale setulae and one long yellow subapical seta.

THORAX. Black. Mesoscutum including postpronotal lobe greyish dusted, pleura greyish dusted, leaving a polished spot on katepisternum. Postpronotal lobe with 1 weak, short, yellow seta. Mesoscutum with 2 long black notopleurals, 1 pair of brown prescutellars, 1 brown postalar, 4 brown scutellars (apical pair long and cruciate, lateral pair very short and weak), acrostichals yellow, biserial, dorsocentrals yellow, uniserial, as long as acrostichals.

LEGS. Entirely blackish brown including coxae and tarsi, with fore knees and fore femora at tip somewhat yellowish. CoXae and trochanters with ordinary yellowish setae of different lengths. Fore femur moderately thickened, with pale anteroventral and posteroventral setae. Fore tibia thickened, clothed with ordinary pale setulae. Mid femur as thick as fore femur, with double row of black ventral spinules and row of long, yellow posteroventral setae. Mid tibia slender, with ordinary short pale setae and very small, short, flattened, black apical spur. Hind femur slender, clothed with ordinary pale setulae. Hind tibia slender, as long as femur, covered with ordinary pale setulae.

WINGS. Uniformly faintly brown infuscate, with brown veins. Costa with one moderately long brown seta. Veins R 4+5 and M 1+2 slightly convergent just before meeting wing margin. Crossveins m-cu and r-m separated, bm longer and larger than br. Vein Cu 2 straight. Vein Cu not reaching wing border. Anal vein distinct in apical part and evanescent in basal part. Squama yellowish, with long pale setae. Haltere yellowish.

ABDOMEN. With brown tergites, subshining, covered with long pale setae. Sternites brown, with similar setation. Male terminalia ( Fig. 21 ) with apex of left cercus long, pointed, bent to the inside ( Fig. 21B ).

Female

Unknown.

Remarks

The key in Grootaert & Chvála (1992) leads to P. pragensis Chvála 1989 (couplet 90). According to the original description of P. pragensis , it is very close to the new species described above by having these same main characters: one pair of verticals, antennae with postpedicel broad at base, triangular, 2.5–3× as long as deep, stylus slightly longer than postpedicel, thoracic hairs yellow, acrostichals biserial, fore femur with antero- and posteroventral setae, and mid tibia with very short, blunt apical spur. However, the two species differ in the colour of some parts of the legs: they are yellow in P. pragensis with the coxae brown, the fore femur is brown except for the tip, the posterior four femora are yellow with brown tips, the tibia is brown and the tarsi are completely blackish brown, while in the new species all legs are entirely dark blackish brown, with only the fore knees and the fore femur at the tip somewhat yellowish brown. Unfortunately, no illustrations of the male terminalia of P. pragensis have been provided, but Chvála wrote that the cerci are short and blunt, while in the new species the cerci are long and the tip of the left cercus is prolonged and curved inwards ( Fig. 21 ).

Figures

Fig. 21. Platypalpus nigritellus Zouhair & Grootaert sp. nov., male terminalia (holotype, RBINS). A. Right epandrial lamella. B. Epandrium with cerci. C. Left epandrial lamella. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

Fig. 22. Platypalpus nigritellus Zouhair & Grootaert sp. nov., ♂, habitus (holotype, RBINS).

Fig. 25. Comparison of left epandrial lamella with internal structures. A. Platypalpus nigritellus Zouhair & Grootaert sp. nov. (holotype, RBINS).B. P. shamsheviZouhair & Grootaert sp. nov. (holotype, RBINS). Scale bar = 0.1 mm.