Munburra bulbicornis, Bickel, 2006

Bickel, Daniel J., 2006, Munburra, A New Fly Genus from Tropical Australia (Empididae: Empidinae), Records of the Australian Museum 58, pp. 129-132 : 130-132

Munburra bulbicornis n.sp.

Figs 1, 2

Type material. HOLOTYPE 3, Queensland, Mt Webb NP, 3 km NE of Mt Webb, 15°03'S 145°09'E, 2.v.1981, at light, D.H. Colless . PARATYPES, 233, 4♀♀, same data as holotype, but variously from 30.iv to 2.v.1981 ( ANIC) .

Additional material. Queensland. ♀, 3 km W of Batavia Downs, 12°40'S 142°39'E, 17.i.1993, sweep, P. Zborowski; 233, 6♀♀, Batavia Downs, 12°39'S 142°42'E, 13–19.i.1993, at light, P. Zborowski, & 233, 2♀♀, 6–10.i.1993, 6–10.iii.1993, at light, I. Cunningham; 533, 8♀♀, Bertie Ck, 1 km SE of Heathlands, 11°49'S 142°30'E, 15–26.i.1992, at light, I.D. Naumann & T. Weir; 533, Cockatoo Ck, 17 km NW of Heathlands, 11°38'S 142°27'E, 15–26.i.1992, open forest, malaise trap, I.D. Naumann & T. Weir; 3, 2♀♀, Davies Ck, 17 km SE of Mareeba, 17°01'S 145°35'E, 2.ii.1988, D. Rentz (all ANIC).

Description. Male. length: 2.3–2.4 mm; wing: 2.8× 1.1 mm. Head spheroidal, with dark brown cuticle; post-occiput,

vertex, frons, face and gena covered with pale grey pruinosity; post-occiput convex; long postorbitals present on dorsal half of head; 2 pairs of vertical setae present, with outer pair stronger; only short postverticals present; ocellar triangle large and distinctly raised as rounded mound above surface of frons; ocelli relatively large, well developed; short setae present on ocellar triangle; pair of long diverging setae arising anteriad of lateral ocelli; frons broad, slightly wider than ocellar triangle, with 2–3 pairs of setae present mediad of lateral margin; eye facets of uniform size; eyes slightly notched laterad of antennae; face slightly wider than frons; female frons and face of similar width; face and clypeus relatively short; buccal cavity wide; palpus elongate, curved, slightly clubbed, with some long subapical dorsal and lateral setae; proboscis dark brown, length about head height, and projecting ventrally; antenna dark brown; scape and pedicel short; pedicel with some short apical setae; postpedicel slightly excavated at base, and basally inflated and tapering subtriangular; style aristate with short basal segment. Thorax almost entirely orange yellow, except for narrow brown stripe extending across mesonotum between ac band and extending onto scutellum, and lateral dark brown area just posteriad of mesonotal suture, and dorsad of wing base; setae dark brown; acrostichal setae (ac) short biseriate, with 10 pairs; dorsocentral setae (dc) present as three setae on posterior slope (two strong setae with shorter seta between), and extending anteriad as 11–12 short setae; 1 postalar seta, 2 postsutural supra-alar seta with some short setae anteriad, 3 short presutural intra-alar setae present; notopleuron with 2 strong posterior setae with 4–5 short hairs anteriad; 1 postpronotal seta present; pronotum with pair of diverging dorsal setae; proepisternum and laterotergite bare; scutellum with pair strong median setae, and pair of short laterals. Legs all coxae and remainder of legs pale yellow, with distal tarsomeres infuscated; major setae brown; coxae with long fine pale hairs; all tarsi with paired black claws and yellow pulvilli; CI with 2–3 distolateral setae I: 3.1; 3.2; 1.5/ 0.4/ 0.3/ 0.3/ 0.4; FI with row of longer pd setae; TI flattened anteroposteriorly, with mostly bare anterior and posterior surfaces, and with row of short dorsal setae (all MSSC); TI with anteroapical comb comprising 7–8 pale setae; It 1 not swollen, but rather thin and slightly curved, with dorsal row of setae, and long curved dorsoapical seta, almost as long as tarsomere (all MSSC); CII with some anterior and lateral setae; II: 3.1; 2.9; 1.2/ 0.4/ 0.3/ 0.3/ 0.4; FII with row long curved av setae; TII setose with some longer dorsal and ventral setae; CIII with 3 lateral setae and long posterior seta; III: 3.7; 3.5; 1.7/ 0.8/ 0.4/ 0.3/ 0.5; FIII also with row of longer av setae, and with row of long dorsal setae; TIII setose, with some longer dorsal and ventral setae, and with pair apical of av and pv spine-like setae; IIIt 1 with some long dorsal setae. Wing hyaline with brownish veins; costa circumambient, although reduced in thickness along posterior wing margin; costa with strong basal ad setae; Sc incomplete but approaching costa in some specimens; R 1 distally swollen before joining costa; R 4+5 forked and R 4 with gentle S-shaped curve; stigma absent; crossvein closing anal cell (cell cup) strongly recurrent; distinct anal vein short but trace fold extending to margin; anal angle well developed; lower calypter yellow with short pale setae; halter yellow. Abdomen tergum1 narrow and mostly yellow; terga 2–7 brown; sterna mostly yellowish; vestiture yellow; terga 2–5 each with 2–3 lateral abdominal plaques; hypopygium ( Fig. 2b) mostly dark brown, but apical hypandrial keel yellow and almost translucent; cercus small and bearing 3 strong apical setae; hypandrium narrow, and covering aedeagus; aedeagus elongate and conforming to the curvature of the hypandrium; epandrium deeply split and setose, with external spine-like projection.

Female: similar to male except lacking MSSC, and as noted: frons width similar, and head ( Fig. 2c) also with raised ocellar triangle; postpedicel not swollen; relative

Notes on morphology and systematics

The following characters are useful in any phylogenetic analysis involving Munburra . Characters are given in the following format: “Character: plesiomorphic (ancestral) state/apomorphic (derived) state”.

1 Ocellar triangle: unmodified/distinctly raised with enlarged ocelli. The ocellar triangle of Munburra is distinctly swollen and raised above the surface of the frons in both sexes, a condition that appears to be unique to the genus.

2 Postpedicel: unmodified/swollen in male. The postpedicel of Munburra is distinctly swollen in the male.

3 Male basitarsus I: unmodified/swollen or otherwise modified. Most male Hilarini (particularly the Hilara- Hilarempis complex of genera) have a swollen basitarsus I, which is known to have silk-producing glands in some taxa. However, in Munburra , the male basitarsus I is not swollen, but is thin and slightly curved and with a long dorsoapical seta, almost as long as the tarsomere. The Munburra male basitarsus I is unique to the genus, but its ancestral state could either be an unmodified tarsomere or the swollen Hilara type of basitarsus.

4 Vein Sc: complete/incomplete. This character is variable throughout the Empididae . The plesiomorphic condition is considered to be Sc complete and fusing with the costa.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. I thank P. Cranston (ANIC); for the loan of specimens. B. Sinclair provided useful comments on a earlier manuscript version. The figures were drawn by Hannah Finlay. This research was supported by Australian Research Council grant A19232651, for study of the systematics of Australian Empidinae .