Nepaletricha furcata, Hippa, Heikki, Chandler, Peter & Papp, László, 2009

Hippa, Heikki, Chandler, Peter & Papp, László, 2009, Review of the genus Nepaletricha Chandler (Diptera, Rangomaramidae), with description of new species from Thailand and Vietnam, Zootaxa 2174, pp. 18-26 : 22-24

Nepaletricha furcata sp. n.

Figs. 1 A, C, D, F, 2 B, C, 3A–E

Male. Head. Similar to Fig. 1 A. Flagellomere 4, Fig. 1 D; flagellomere 14, Fig. 1 F: note the constricted distal part. Palpomere 5 almost double the length of palpomere 4. Colour dark brown, maxillary palpus, antennal scapus and pedicellus paler brownish, antennal flagellum yellowish but becoming darker brownish on the distal half. Thorax. Fig. 1 A. Colour dark brown, scutum indistinctly paler yellowish both antero- and postero-laterally; the setae black. Legs. Apical part of tibia 1 similar to Fig. 1 G. Coxae and trochanters dark brown, concolorous with thorax, femora yellowish, tibiae and tarsi darker than femora, brownish. Wing. Similar to Fig. 1 B. Colour brownish. Wing length 3.0– 3.1 mm. Abdomen. Dark brown, sternites and tergites concolorous or the sternites slightly paler, the setae black. Apical part of abdomen, Fig. 3 E, rotated 90 degrees beyond segment 7. Hypopygium, Figs 3 A–D. Paler than other parts of abdomen. Tergite 9 with a pair of short submedial lobes at posterior margin. Gonocoxite posteriorly with three pairs of lobes: submedial, sublateral and mesial. Gonocoxal apodemes complicated, anteriorly fused. Gonostylus sickle-shaped, with a sigmoid apical seta, a few additional setae on the apical part and a rounded short-setose lobe dorso-mesially. Tegmen (parameres) appearing as rounded lobes. Aedeagus, with aedeagal apodeme, appearing as a furcate sclerotization, the detailed structure of which was not more closely studied.

Female. Similar to male. Wing, Fig. 2 B, length 3.3–3.6 mm. Femora pale brown, concolorous with tibiae. Apical part of abdomen, Fig. 2 C: cerci brown, paler than the other parts of abdomen, incompletely one-segmented so that the division into a longer basal and shorter distal segments is indicated at dorsal and ventral margins. Two sclerotized spermathecae.

Types. Holotype. Male, THAILAND Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon NP, summit marsh, 18°35.361'N 98°29.157'E, 2500m, Malaise trap 9–16.viii.2006, Y. Areeluck leg., T177 (in QSBG)

Paratypes. 6 males, THAILAND Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon NP, summit marsh, 18°35.361'N 98°29.157'E, 2500m, Malaise trap 9–16.viii.2006, Y. Areeluck leg., T177 (in QSBG and NHM). 2 males (one in alcohol) with same data except 22.vii–2.viii., T 118 (in QSBG). 5 males (2 in alcohol) with same data except 2- 9.viii., T. 124 (in QSBG). 4 males with same data except 16–24.viii., T184 (in QSBG and SMNH).

Other material. 3 females, THAILAND Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon NP, summit marsh, 18°35.361'N 98°29.157'E, 2500m, Malaise trap 9–16.viii.2006, Y. Areeluck leg., T177 (in QSBG). 1 female with same data except 2– 9.viii., T124 (in QSBG). 1 female with same data except 2– 9.viii., T125 (in QSBG). 10 females (in QSBG, NHM and SMNH) with same data except 16–24.viii., T184 (in QSBG). 9 males and 1 female, VIETNAM, Lao Chai Prov., Fan-si-pan Mts. 2050 m, 5 km W of Cat Cat, 15.03.1998, at light, No: 17., Peregovits & Vásárhelyi (in HNMB and PJC).

Etymology. The name is from Latin, furcata , forked, and refers to the forked posterior margin of tergite 9.

Discussion. The Vietnamese males differ slightly from the males from Thailand by having the lobes at the posterior margin of tergite 9 more pointed and slightly more apart and by having the submedial lobes at the posterior margin of sternite 9 a little shorter.

N. furcata is similar to N. mystica from which it is distinguished e.g. by the following characters: 1) wing vein R5 is more strongly curved on apical part, in N. mystica it not dissimilar to N. montana , Fig. 2 A, 2) palpomere 5 almost twice as long as palpomere 4, only about 1.3 times as long in N. mystica , 3) the processes/ lobes at the posterior margin of tergite 9 are shorter, only slightly longer than broad, in N. mystica they are long, nearly three times as long as basally broad, 4) in N. furcata the ventrolateral gonocoxal lobes/processes are elongate and tapered apically, in N. mystica they are broad and blunt apically; in N. furcata the lobes/ processes are also closer to each other, separated by less than their length, in N. mystica they are separated by nearly twice their length, 5) in N. mystica the gonostylus is broadest medially and evenly narrowed apically, while it is broadest preapically and then abruptly tapered apically in N. furcata .

Both N. furcata and N. mystica are similar to N. montana . For further discussion, see under the latter.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Male thorax, lateral view (A), male head, frontal view (B), male maxillary palpus, dorsal view (C), male antennal flagellomere 4, ventral view (D, E), male antennal flagellomere 14, ventral view (F) and apical part of male tibia 1, prolateral view (G). A, C, D, F. Nepaletricha furcata sp. n. (paratypes). B, E, G. N. montana sp n. (holotype). Scale for A, B, C and G 0.5 mm, for D, E and F 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 2. Male (A) and female (B) wing, dorsal view and the apical part of female abdomen, lateral view (C). A. Nepaletricha montana sp. n. (holotype). B, C. N. furcata sp. n. (from Thailand). Scale for A and B 1.0 mm, for C 0.1 mm. cr = cercus, st 7 – st 10 = sternites 7 – 10, tg 7 – tg 10 = tergites 7 – 10, sth = spermatheca.

FIGURE 3. Nepaletricha furcata sp. n. (B, C and D holotype, A paratypes). A. Hypopygium, lateral view. B. Tergite 9, dorsal view. C. Gonocoxae with associated structures, ventral view. D. Hypopygium with tergite 9 removed, dorsal view. E. Abdominal segments 7 and 8, “ lateral view ”. Scale 0.1 mm. ae = aedeagus, cr = cercus, gs = gonostylus, gx = gonocoxa, gx a = gonocoxal apodeme, gx l = gonocoxal lobe, st 7 and st 8 = sternites 7 and 8, tg 7 – tg 9 = tergites 7 – 9, tm = tegmen / paramere.