Exechia zuluensis Lindemann, 2021

Lindemann, Jon Peder, Soli, Geir & Kjaerandsen, Jostein, 2021, Revision of the Exechia parva group (Diptera: Mycetophilidae), Biodiversity Data Journal 9, pp. 67134-67134 : 67134

Exechia zuluensis Lindemann sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: TSZD-JKJ-107186 ; recordedBy: M. Mostovski; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; preparations: Pinned, with genitalia in glycerine in separate microvial; Location: country: South Africa; stateProvince: KwaZulu-Natal; municipality: Pietermaritzburg ; locality: Karkloof Nat. Res. ; verbatimElevation: 1325 m; decimalLatitude: -29.3169; decimalLongitude: 30.2514; Event : samplingProtocol: Malaise trap; eventDate: 2005-08-27; habitat: mistbelt forest; Record Level: institutionCode: TMU

Description

Male: Body length 4.1 mm. Wing length 3.4 mm. Colouration (Dry specimen). Head, face and clypeus dark brown; labellum and palpus yellow. Antenna with scape and pedicel yellow; flagellum brown, first segment with yellow base. Thorax with scutum dark brown, lateral margin broadly yellow; lateral sclerites brown; propleura pale brown; halteres whitish-yellow. Legs whitish-yellow. Abdomen dark brown, tergites II-III with lateroventral yellow area. Terminalia pale brown. Head. Frons and vertex covered with pale setae. Clypeus covered with pale brown setae. Antenna long, 2.3 times as long as length from vertex to ventral margin of clypeus; flagellomeres slightly longer than broad, with sixth flagellomere 1.1 times as long as wide. Thorax. Scutum covered with short pale brown setae. Legs. Fore leg with tibia 0.89 times as long as first tarsomere. Mid-tibia with 26 anterior, 4 posterodorsal, 10 posterior and 3 posteroventral bristles. Hind tibia with 12 anterodorsal, 6 posterodorsal and 5 posterior bristles. Wings. Vein r-m 2.8 times longer than stem of M-fork. Abdomen. Tergites covered with pale brown setae. Terminalia (Fig. 41). Each part of divided tergite IX apically with about 7 setae, apical seta stout. Gonocoxites with setae on apicoventral margin elongate, reaching as far as, or slightly shorter than level of GL apex (Fig. 41 a). Each GL apex with row of 4 elongate setae, somewhat splayed out (Fig. 41 a). Aedaegal guides indistinct or reduced. Hypandrium covered with about 12 setae, with apical pair elongate, almost reaching level of GL apex (Fig. 41 a, b). Hypandrial lobe with each branch evenly tapered, apically narrow, apex rounded (Fig. 41 a). Gonostylus (Fig. 41 c) with DB elongate and acuminate, apex spathulate; about 3.3 times longer than broad; evenly covered with setae on dorsal side, except on apical sixth. VB small and round; basally with short seta, otherwise bare. IB apically acute, with 1 seta close to apex and pair of setae about one-third from apex. MB slightly curved interiorly with apex acute; small seta located one-sixth from apex.

Female: Unknown.

Diagnosis

Distinguished from E. arcuata in having the gonocoxal lobe straight (Fig. 41 a, b); from other species in the E. parva group in having the dorsal gonostylus branch 3.3 times longer than broad with apex spathulate (Fig. 41 c), in combination with the internal gonostylus branch with 1 seta close to the apex (Fig. 41 c), the gonocoxal lobes with apico-internal margin straight (Fig. 41 a) and the apical hypandrial setae reaching almost the level of the gonocoxal lobe apex (Fig. 41 a).

Etymology

From KwaZulu-Natal, the Province where the holotype was collected, with Latin suffix - ensis, belonging to.

Distribution

Afrotropical, South Africa (Fig. 4 )

Biology

Collected in mistbelt forest (1325 m a.s.l.).

Figures

Figure 4. Distribution map of species in the E. parva group occurring in the Afrotropical Region, based on localities from studied material, type material and DNA barcoded material. Different species are represented by individual colours. Altitudes are indicated in shades from grey (lowland) to white (mountains).