Hydropeza curvata, Sinclair, 2016

Sinclair, Bradley J., 2016, Revision of the Australian species of Hydropeza Sinclair (Diptera: Empididae: Ragadinae subfam. nov.), Records of the Australian Museum 68 (1), pp. 1-22 : 13

Hydropeza curvata sp. nov.

Figs 8, 12

Type material. Holotype ♂, labelled: “AUST: N.QLD:/ 14.7km / up Mt. Lewis Rd. , 860m / 22.iv.1994, cascading/ creek, B. J. Sinclair / 16°30'S 145°17'E ”; “ HOLOTYPE / Hydropeza / curvata/ Sinclair [red label]” (AMS) . Paratypes: Queensland: 6♀♀, same data as holotype, 16, 22.iv.1994 (AMS, CNC) ; 1♀, 14.7 km up Mt. Lewis Rd. , 860 m, 15–16.iv.1994, ypans, stream, 16°30'S 145°17'E, B. J. Sinclair (CNC) ; 1♂, 1♀, 31.6 km up Mt. Lewis Rd. , 1000 m, 21.iv.1994, cascading ck, 16°30'S 145°17'E, B. J. Sinclair (CNC) .

Diagnosis. This species is distinguished from other Queensland species by acrostichal setae extending to prescutellar depression; male scutellum with at most a pair of elongate discal setae; male mid femur with short row of basal posteroventral setae and mid tibia with short row of spine-like setae on apical third; male hind trochanter without spine-like anteroventral setae; and male cercus deeply forked, V-shaped. Females are distinguished from all other species by numerous marginal setae on the scutellum and acrostichal setae extending to the prescutellar depression.

Description. Head and abdomen dark brown, thorax brown with paler patches; coxae brownish yellow, legs progressively darker towards tips. Wing length 3.2–3.6 mm.

Male. Head. Ocellar setae very long, erect, divergent, inserted posterior to anterior ocellus; ocellar tubercle with some long setulae; postocellar seta stout and dark; upper postocular setae stout and dark, lower setae fine and slender; postgenal setae similar to lower postoculars. Face without setulae. Scape and pedicel slightly paler than postpedicel; scape short and slender, slightly shorter than length of globular pedicel; postpedicel not greatly prolonged, 2× longer than pedicel, basal portion elongate-oval, longer than slender, straight apical portion; arista-like stylus slightly longer than postpedicel, concolorous with postpedicel. Proboscis stout and robust, extended slightly beyond midlength of fore coxa, directed posteriorly; palpus about half length of proboscis, clothed in long dark setae; apex of palpus rounded; apical third of palpus flattened with dense pubescence.

Thorax. Clothed in fine pruinescence; mesonotum brown, with postpronotal lobe, lateral margin and postalar ridge pale brown; pleura paler than notum, pale along sutures. Setae generally long and stout; acrostichal setulae extending to prescutellar depression, less than 0.5× length of dc; pprn with 1 seta and several short setulae; 1 long presut spal; 5 uniserial dc, about subequal in length, with 2–3 intermixed nearly subequal setae; 3 npl; 1 long psut spal and 1–2 finer setae; 1 pal seta; 1 pair of sctl, with 2 pairs of finer outer marginal setae; disc of scutellum with 1 pair of long setae. Antepronotum with pair of pale setulae.

Legs. Coxae and femora ventrally yellowish-brown; remaining segments increasingly darker apically. Inner anterior margin of fore coxa with some 15 dark, variously lengthened and thickened spine-like setae, mostly concentrated apically; basal most seta longer than width of coxa. Anterior surface of mid and hind coxae with long brown setae. Legs clothed in very long setae as typical for genus, especially ventral faces. Fore femur straight, inflated (narrower than hind femur), with row of 2 stout anterior setae at apical fifth; 5–6 posterodorsal setae, stouter towards apex. Fore tibia with 2 anteroventral setae on apical third; 2 anterodorsal and 2 posterodorsal setae; 1 anterodorsal preapical seta. Fore tarsomere 1 with 1 basal anteroventral and 1 preapical anterovental seta, more than 2× width of segment; 1 long basal ventral and 1 shorter ventral seta on basal third. Mid femur with 2–3 anterodorsal setae, 1 anterior seta and 1 posterodorsal seta on apical third; basal half with row of 3–4 stout posteroventral setae; apex with 1 anterior, 1 dorsal and 1 posterior preapical seta. Mid tibia with width reduced on ventral apical third, with row of 7–8 short spine-like setae; apex with short, spur-like ventral seta; 1 anterodorsal and 1 posterodorsal seta near mid-length; 1 basal posterodorsal seta; apex with 1 dorsal and 1 posterior seta. Mid tarsomere 1 with 1 long anteroventral basal seta. Hind femur inflated, nearly 2× broader than fore femur, without erect dorsal setae; with anteroventral row of stout setae along entire length; apical fourth with 2 anterodorsal, 1 anterior and 1 posterior seta. Hind trochanter without spine-like anteroventral setae. Hind tibia with 2 anterodorsal and 4–6 posterodorsal setae; 1 preapical anterodorsal and 1 apical anteroventral seta; apical fourth with dense posterior setae. Hind tarsomere 1 without erect setae. All tarsomeres longer than tibia; ventral apical margin of tarsomere 4 of fore and midlegs somewhat pale, flattened and expanded; tarsomere 4 of hindleg not laterally compressed ventrally; tarsomere 5 of each leg lacking dorsoapical extension.

Wing. Infuscate with 1 long basal costal seta, longer than sctl; all veins lacking setulae; R 4 and R 5 distinctly divergent apically; bm-m complete; cell dm produced apically, subequal in length to cell bm; CuA + CuP reduced to faint streak. Halter pale brown.

Abdomen. Tergites and sternites clothed in setae; setae of posterior margin overlapping more than half length of following tergite. T8 broad, one-third length of T7; posterior marginal setae slender, less than twice length of tergite.

Terminalia ( Fig. 12 ). Cercus elongate and lying along dorsal edge of epandrium, deeply forked, V-shaped; upper branch slightly twisted, arched medially with narrow apex; lower branch longer than length of upper with broadly rounded apex. Epandrium round, tapered apically. Surstylus thumb-shaped, apex rounded; apical margin with numerous long setae. Hypandrium keel-like, not extended beyond surstylus; apical margin truncate without medial notch; gonocoxal apodeme short, rounded; postgonite digitiform, divergent with sharply attenuated apex. Phallus broad, apically flattened and spoon-shaped; ejaculatory apodeme L-shaped, longer than gonocoxal apodeme.

Female. Similar to male except as follows: scutellum with numerous marginal setae; mid femur lacking row of stout posteroventral basal setae; mid tibia not narrowed apically, lacking row of spine-like setae; hind femur not broader than mid femur, lacking anteroventral row of stout setae. Terminalia (not dissected): cercus slightly longer than epiproct, broad with rounded apex.

Distribution. This species is recorded from above 800 m on Mt. Lewis, Queensland (Fig. 8).

Etymology. The specific name is from the Latin curvatus (bend, bow, crook), in reference to slightly twisted upper branch of the male cercus.

Figures

Figures 9–12. Male terminalia of Hydropeza, lateral view. (9) H. angulata (inset showing inner apex of cercus). (10) H. aptera. (11) H. cornuta. (12) H. curvata. Abbreviations: cerc, cercus; ej apod, ejaculatory apodeme; goncx apod, gonocoxal apodeme; pgt, postgonite; ph, phallus; sur, surstylus. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.