Empis (Polyblepharis) fandariensis Shamshev, 2023

Shamshev, I. V., 2023, Dance flies (Diptera: Empididae) in A. P. Fedtschenko’s Collection from Turkestan: Empis subgenus Polyblepharis, Russian Entomological Journal 32 (2), pp. 221-233 : 222-224

Empis (Polyblepharis) fandariensis Shamshev , sp.n.

Figs 1–5 .

MATERIAL EXAMINED. Holotype, ♂, labels as in Fig. 4 , [ Tajikistan] small bluish green label only with number 19. [= 19.vi.1869] [A. Fedtschenko] // [printed in Cyrillic, Russian, pre- 1918 orthography] Fan [= Fan Darya River ] ( ZMMU).

Paratypes. Tajikistan: same data as holotype (2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, ZMMU; 2 ♂♂ (both dissected), 1 ♀, ZISP) .

DIAGNOSIS. Mid-sized species (body about 5 mm); male eyes holoptic; proboscis with labrum nearly 2X longer than eye height; palpus mostly brownish in male, yellow in female; mesoscutum with 3 brownish vittae along rows of acrostichal and dorsocentral setae; acrostichal setae irregularly 2–3-serial, presutural dorsocentrals irregularly 3–4- serial, laterotergite with pale setae; abdominal tergites 2–6 extensively shiny (lateral view); female mid and hind femora with flattened setae.

DESCRIPTION. Body length 4.8–5.1 mm, wing 5.3–5.5 mm. Male ( Fig. 1 ). Head capsule regions black, mostly densely greyish pruinose, face along lower margin and clypeus shiny. Eyes holoptic, upper ommatidia enlarged. Frons represented by small subtriangular space just below ocellar triangle and larger space above antennae, bare. Face broad, bare. Ocellar setae black, long, fine. Occiput covered with numerous, long, fine, black setae (including postoculars); postgena with pale, long, hair-like setae. Antenna with scape and pedicel brownish, postpedicel and stylus black; scape nearly 1.5X longer than subglobular pedicel, both with short setulae; postpedicel nearly 3X as long as basal width; stylus nearly as long as postpedicel basal width. Proboscis with labrum brownish, paler apically; nearly 2X longer than eye height; palpus short, mostly brown, rather yellowish brown at tip; bearing long, black setae.

Thorax black in ground-colour, mostly densely greyish pruinose; mesoscutum with 3 brownish, indistinct vittae along rows of acrostichal and dorsocentral setae. Prosternum bare. Proepisternum with tuft of numerous pale, fine setae on lower part, bare on upper part. Antepronotum with 4–5 black, short setae dorsally and numerous pale, long, fine setae laterally. Postpronotal lobe with 1 long, strong, black and numerous short, fine, black and pale setae. Mesonotal setae black (except noted): acrostichals arranged in 2–3 irregular rows (often entirely biserial), rather long, fine, absent on prescutellar depression; presutural dorsocentral setae arranged in 3–4 irregular rows, similar to acrostichals; postsutural dorsocentrals sparser,becoming uniserial,longer and stronger towards scutellum, 1 pair of prescutellars longest; 1 rather fine presutural supra-alar; 3 notopleurals, 2 postsutural supra-alars (anterior seta shorter and finer), 1 long and 1 minute postalars, 4 scutellars (setae of lateral pair slightly shorter); in addition, supra-alar face with numerous black and pale setulae, notopleuron with similar pale setulae anteriorly. Laterotergite with numerous pale setae. Anterior and posterior spiracles pale.

Legs with coxae densely greyish pruinose, remaining podomeres subshiny. Legs colour: almost entirely brown, usually only hind femur at apex and hind tibia near base narrowly brownish yellow (sometimes hind femur entirely brownish). Legs mostly black setose. Fore coxa covered with pale, dense, hair-like setae (2–3 stronger, black, subapical setae); hind trochanter with numerous pale, short, fine setae, 4–5 brownish to black, long, strong, subapical setae ventrally and 1–2 similar setae dorsally. Fore and mid femora whitish pubescent ventrally; hind femur with indistinct ventral pubescence only closer to apex. Fore femur with rows of fine anteroventral and posteroventral setae, which are pale on about basal half, short closer to apex and becoming longer towards base (longest setae nearly as long as femur width); dense, long, fine setae posteriorly (pale closer to base). Fore tibia with 4–6 short anterodorsal setae and subequal to them in length, fine setae posterodorsally (2–3 setae on apical half usually stronger). Fore basitarsus slender; with 2 short anterodorsal setae; anteroventral and posteroventral spine-like setae. Mid femur with rows of subequally long anteroventral and posteroventral setae; additional fine setae near extreme base and spinule-like ventral setulae on basal half; 1 anterior subapical seta. Mid tibia with 4–5 anterodorsal and 4–5 posterodorsal long setae; stronger setulae closer to apex ventrally. Mid tarsus with anteroventral and posteroventral, spine-like setae. Hind femur only slightly broader than mid femur; with 2 anterodorsal setae near apex, 1 anterior subapical seta; complete row of moderately long strong anteroventral setae (longest setae at most half as long as femur width); row of short posteroventral setae intermixed with additional fine setae; dense ventral spinule-like setulae. Hind tibia slightly, gently thickened towards apex; bearing rows of 4–5 moderately long anterodorsal and posterodorsal setae; simple setulae ventrally; no seta in posteroapical comb. Hind tarsomeres rather slightly thickened; basitarsus with 2–3 short anterodorsal and posterodorsal setae; spine-like setae ventrally.

Wing membrane faintly brownish infuscate; entirely covered with microtrichia; veins mostly brownish, well-sclerotized (except noted). Veins R 5 and M 1 divergent towards wing margin; radial fork acute; R 5 meeting costa before wing apex; CuA+CuP (anal vein) complete but weakened beyond middle. Cell dm rather short, with elongate apex; apical portion of M 4 nearly 3.5X longer than its middle portion. Pterostigma absent. Basal costal seta present, short. Anal lobe well-developed; axillary incision acute but closer to 90°. Squama yellow, pale fringed. Halter pale yellow.

Abdomen entirely dark-brown. Tergite 1 entirely greyish pruinose; tergites 2–6 mostly shiny, narrowly brown pruinose antero-dorsally (dorsal view); tergite 7 with brownish, slightly iridescent pruinosity dorsally and greyish pruinose laterally; tergite 8 invisible; tergite 1 with pale setae, tergites 2–6 with black setulae dorsally and numerous long pale setae laterally, slightly stronger lateral posteromarginal setae pale yellow; tergite 7 with scattered pale setulae laterally. Sternites 1–7 densely greyish pruinose, with pale setae, sternite 1 bare; sternite 8 contrastingly subshiny, mostly with black setae. Pregenital segments: segment 6 unmodified; tergite 7 with straight posterior margin, slightly humped mid-dorsally (lateral view); sternite 7 simple; pleuron 7 unmodified; segment 8 with separated tergite and sternite; tergite 8 represented by two subtriangular sclerites separated mid-dorsally, with several short setae posteriorly; sternite 8 scoop-shaped, unmodified anteriorly, with 2 digitiform, short, lateral projections on each side closer to upper margin anteriorly (posterior projection slightly longer).

Hypopygium ( Fig. 2 ) moderately large; epandrium black; cerci pale brown to yellowish brown; hypandrium invisible; phallus brownish yellow. Epandrium entirely broadly divided (epandrial bridge absent); epandrial lamella subtriangular (lateral view), with broadly rounded apex; bearing dark fine setae more numerous along lower margin and dense at apex. Hypandrium separated from epandrium; mostly membranous, narrowly sclerotized along margin, with truncate apex, narrowly separated on apex; bare; gonocoxal apodeme small. Cerci separated with each other and from epandrium; cercus egg-shaped, with posterior margin extending beyond apex of epandrial lamella, undivided, with smoothed inner margin; covered with dark setulae. Phallus ( Fig. 3 ) almost entirely hidden, only medial curvature and, often, short apical portion visible; zigzag bent; its basal portion almost horizontal, mostly thick, with mid-dorsal tubercle; apical portion long, almost vertical and straight, slightly curved on apex (with its tip pointing almost to rear), becoming gently slenderer towards apex. Ejaculatory apodeme very large, extended far beyond basal curvature of phallus, with lateral wings.

Female ( Fig. 5 ). Similar to male except as follows. Dichoptic, ommatidia equally small.Frons very broad, broader than distance between outer margins of posterior ocelli; with marginal setulae. Occiput with sparser and stronger setae. Palpus yellow, with scattered short setae. Mesoscutum with shorter acrostichal and dorsocentral setae; presutural supra-alar space only with black fine setae. Legs colour: mid and hind femora narrowly yellow at apex; mid and hind tibiae rather brownish yellow (the former generally slightly darker). Hind trochanter only with pale fine setae ventrally. Fore leg with simple setae (similar pattern but somewhat shorter than in male). Mid femur with short, fine anteroventral setae longer closer to base; moderately long, flattened setae on about apical 2/3 posteroventrally. Mid tibia with 2–3 anteroventral and 1–2 posteroventral setae. Hind femur with fridge of short, dense, slightly flattened setae posteroventrally (except extreme base). Hind tibia with 1–2 anteroventral setae. Abdomen with shorter setae, only pale setose; tergites mostly shiny, narrowly greyish pruinose along lateral margin (in addition, tergite 2 narrowly pollinose anteriorly; tergite 1 entirely pruinose); sternite 8 subshiny. Cercus very short, covered with dense, erect setulae.

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS. The new species is very similar to Empis tajikistanica Chvála, 1999 . Empis fandariensis sp.n. differs from E. tajikistanica by shorter proboscis (labrum nearly 2X longer than head height) and extensively shiny abdominal tergites 2–6 (lateral view). In addition, the male of the new species has sparser and finer subapical, ventral setae on hind trochanter and rounded cerci. In E. tajikistanica the labrum of proboscis is nearly 3X longer than head height and abdominal tergites 2–6 extensively greyish pruinose (lateral view). The male of E. tajikistanica has a tuft of strong, black, ventral setae on the hind trochanter and somewhat pointed cerci [ Chvála, 1999: 210, fig. 28]. The female of E. fandariensis sp.n. differs from the female of E. tajikistanica primarily by somewhat pennate mid and hind femora.

ETYMOLOGY. The epithet refers to the type locality of the new species, an area near Fan Darya River ( Tajikistan) .

DISTRIBUTION. Tajikistan.

Figures

Figs 1–5. Empis (Polyblepharis) fandariensis Shamshev, sp.n.: 1 — male, holotype, habitus; 2 — hypopygium; 3 — phallus; 4 — holotype labels; 5 — female, habitus; 1–3, 5 — lateral view. Abbreviations: cerc — cercus; ej apod — ejaculatory apodeme; epand — epandrium; hypd — hypandrium; ph — phallus. Scale bar is 1 mm. Рис. 1–5. Empis (Polyblepharis) fandariensis Shamshev, sp.n.: 1 — самец, голотип, габитус; 2 — гипопигий; 3 — фаллус; 4 — Этикетки голотипа; 5 — самка, габитус; 1–3, 5 — сбоку. СокраЩениЯ: cerc — церк; ej apod — ЭЯкулЯторнаЯ аподема; epand — Эпандрий; hypd — гипандрий; ph — фаллус. Шкала = 1 мм.