Usia anatoliensis Gibbs

Gibbs, David, 2014, A world revision of the bee fly tribe Usiini (Diptera, Bombyliidae) Part 2: Usia sensu stricto, Zootaxa 3799 (1), pp. 1-85 : 21-24

Usia anatoliensis Gibbs sp. nov.

( Figure 10 , Plate I )

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: Turkey, Karaman, Yellibeli Geçidi , 1925m, N36°49′49.5″ E32°56′34.3″, 20 June 2004 [♂ in NMWC]. PARATYPES: Karaman, Yellibeli Geçidi, 1940m, N36°49′46.7″ E32°56′00.6″, 19 June 2004 [1♂ 2♀ in PCJD] ; Kahraman Maras [= Kahramanmaraş], Göksun, 1600m, N38°10′58.7″ E36°27′24.1″, 2 July 2004 [2♀ in PCJD] ; 1540m, N37°56′19.8″ E36°29′44.7″, 2 July 2004 [1♀ in NMWC] all leg. J. Dils & J. Faes.

Etymology. after Anatolia, the region of Turkey where the type series was collected and the Latin “- ensis ” meaning “pertaining to” or “originating in”.

Diagnosis. A medium sized species known only from two male and five female specimens from two locations in southern Turkey. All dark, aeneous black with a greenish shine and short, rather neat looking whitish vestiture. Occiput shining close to eyes, thinly dusted close to neck, eyes separated by a little more than distance across lateral ocelli, mesonotal vestiture orientated inwardly or forward, the hairs in the acrostichal lines nearly all proclinate. Wings yellowish with anal lobe as broad as anal cell. Genitalia typical of the group differing only subtly from close congeners.

Description. Measurements. Body length. 5–6mm. Wing length. 4.4–4.9mm.

Male. Head. Oral margin very narrow, almost linear, disappearing below, yellowish with central area blackish. Frons black, shining, narrowly grey-dusted anterolaterally, often distinctly longitudinally striated anteriorly, depressed in front of anterior ocellus. Eyes separated at their narrowest by about one fifth to one sixth head width, wider than width across lateral ocelli inclusive. Lateral ocellus separated from eye margin by about diameter of that ocellus. Ocellar tubercle shining, undusted, eye margins in front of anterior ocellus diverging relatively evenly to rear of oral opening. Translucent white hairs on ocellar tubercle averaging width of frons, a few longer ones mixed in, rear of frons in front of anterior ocellus with short, pale, proclinate hairs laterally, anterior part of frons with denser hairing across most of width. Occiput shining black with any grey dusting confined to occipital callosities and area between them above neck (likely to be variable), and outstanding translucent white hairs, shorter and more even above, upper hairs distinctly curved forward. Ommatidia uniform in size across eyes. Antennae black, third segment, a little less than twice length of scape and pedicel together, narrow and parallel sided or slightly concave ventrally, sensilla inconspicuous, whitish. All antennal segments with very short whitish hairs above, longest just before apical sulcus. Palps small, black, apically about as broad as oral margin at widest, pale apical setae about two-thirds as long as length of palps. Proboscis shorter than head-thorax length, black, dorsally hairless. Thorax. Mesonotum shining black, sometimes with coppery and bluish reflections, grey dusting on dorsum of post pronotal lobe and above wing root. Disc densely punctured, shining cuticle separating punctures often no wider than a puncture, except on anterior slope of thorax and anterior part of paramedian vittae, latter sparsely punctured but transversely wrinkled. Paramedian vittae extending from anterior slope of thorax to about half way to wing insertions. Mesonotum fairly densely clothed with translucent whitish vestiture, on disc and posteriorly these are short, neat and proclinate. Laterally hairs longer and inclined inwards ( Figure 10 ). Acrostichal hairs between bare paramedian vittae multiserial, usually entirely proclinate but can have a few erect or reclinate hairs mixed in at very front, dorsocentrals not distinguishable from general vestiture. Scutellum shining as adjacent parts of mesonotum, densely short-haired on disc, most hairs erect, anterior ones leaning forward. Pleurae uniformly grey dusted except ventral half of katepisternum undusted and subshining. Fairly long white hairs on pronotum and posterior half of anepisternum. Wing. Membrane clear with a yellow tinge basally and along leading edge, squama very pale yellow, veins yellow basally, browner in apical half. Crossvein r-m at or a little beyond middle of discal cell, conspicuously beyond dm-cu. Anal lobe broad, with evenly curved trailing edge, about as wide as anal cell. Haltere. Pale yellow to white, base of stem slightly brownish. Legs. Coxae black with a coating of grey dust like that on pleurae. Remainder of legs black, undusted, shining below setulae. Coxae externally and femora ventrally covered with moderately long, white hairs, on femora a little more than greatest depth of tibia. Femora dorsally and tibia rather densely covered with short, recumbent, white hairs. On fore and mid tibia dorsal hairs rather longer, especially in basal third. Abdomen. All tergites shining aeneous black undusted, each densely puncto-rugose with narrow, smooth, shining apical margin. Disc uniformly and densely covered with pale, recumbent hairs, longer and more erect laterally. Sternites grey dusted basally, more shining apically, faintly punctate, with fairly long, erect white to very pale yellow hairs. Genitalia. Relatively small and simple, globular. Epandrium flask-shaped with apicolateral blunt extensions and median ‘V’-notch, mostly shining black, the cuticle punctate evenly coated with pale yellow curved hairs. Gonocoxite about twice as broad as long, shining black, haired as epandrium, gonostyli simple, curved with basal ‘thumb’.

Female. As male except as follows: frons wider, about one-quarter head width and diverging a little more anteriorly, lateral ocelli separated from eye margin by twice their diameter or a little more. Dusting of frons more conspicuous and extensive, setulae on anterior part of frons very short and scattered. Oral margin a little wider and more extensively yellowish. Occipital dusting above neck more extensive in some individuals. Mesonotal vestiture noticeably less neat and more erect but hairs still orientated as male but with some tendency for a few of foremost acrostichals to be upright or slightly reclinate. Apical tergites more sparsely punctured so more shining. Genitalia. Tip of abdomen coming to a rounded point; apical sternite rather rectangular, a little wider than long with an apical notch not usually visible in undissected specimens. Furca typical of the group, with pointed tip and with long arms, conspicuous dark-pigmented vaginal plate.

Discussion. So far only known from the type series of two males and five females from two areas in along the southern fringe of Anatolia in Turkey. The male and female genitalia clearly place this species close to U. bicolor Macquart and U. lata Loew but the mesonotal vestiture, shining occiput and notched epandrium clearly separate this species. The possibility that these specimens are no more than hybrids between these species was considered but, while the species might be of hybrid origin, the very distinctive pattern of vestiture on the mesonotum is sufficient to be confident that this is a distinct taxon.

Distribution. Southern Turkey in the Taurus Mountains from 1540 to 1940 m.

Figures

FIGURE 10. ♂ U. anatoliensis head and mesonotum dorsal.

PLATE I. Usia anatoliensis Gibbs sp. nov.; a epiphallic complex ventral, b epiphallic complex lateral, c gonocoxite & gonostyli ventral, d gonocoxite & gonostyli lateral, e epandrium dorsal, f epandrium lateral, g female genitalia ventral, h female sternite 8 ventral.