Nepaletricha montana, 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 : 24-25

Nepaletricha montana sp. n.

Figs. 1 B, E, G, 2 A, 4 A–D

Male. Head. Fig. 1 B. Flagellomere 4, Fig. 1 E; flagellomere 14 broken off from both sides in the single specimen. Palpomere 5 as long as palpomere 4. Colour dark brown, maxillary palpus and antenna paler brown. Thorax. Similar to Fig. 1 A. Almost all the setae lost in the single specimen. Colour dark brown, scutum indistinctly paler yellowish both antero- and postero-laterally, the few remaining setae black. Legs. Apical part of tibia 1, Fig. 1 G. Coxae dark brown, concolorous with thorax, tibiae paler brownish. Wing. Fig. 2 A: note the absence of setae from A1. Colour brownish. Wing length 2.9 mm. Abdomen. Dark brown, sternites and tergites concolorous. Apical part of abdomen similar to Fig. 3 E, rotated 90 degrees beyond segment 7. Hypopygium, Figs 4 A–D. Slightly paler than other parts of abdomen. Tergite 9 postero-medially extended as a broad subtriangular lobe, bearing at the lateral margin a conspicuous lobe-like aggregation of setae. Gonocoxa posteriorly with four pairs of lobes: lateral, sub-lateral and two pairs of mesial ones, the lateral one again lobed at the ventral margin. Gonostylus long, narrow and slightly sigmoid in shape, with a thick sigmoid apical seta (the seta was broken before Figs 4 C and D were made), with a couple of additional setae on the apical part and a dorso-mesial aggregation of long setae. Tegmen (parameres) with a broad basal part and a funnel-like distal part. Aedeagus together with the aedeagal apodeme appearing as an arrow-shaped sclerotization, the detailed structure of which was not more closely studied.

Female. Unknown.

Types. Holotype. Male, Thailand, Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon NP, summit marsh 18°35.361'N 98°29.157'E 2500m, Malaise trap 16–24.viii.2006, Y. Areeluck leg. T184 (in QSBG).

Etymology. The name is from Latin, montana , of mountains, referring to the habitat in high altitude.

Discussion. N. montana is similar to N. furcata and N. mystica . It can be distinguished from both of these e.g. by the following characters. 1) palpomere 5 is as long as palpomere 4, not longer, 2) wing membrane posterior to CuA and vein A1 are non-setose, not-setose, 3) male abdominal tergite 9 has a broad posteromedial lobe/process, in N. furcata and N. mystica there is a pair of narrow lobes/processes, 4) the lateral lobe of the gonocoxa has a tooth-like projection at the ventral margin. N. montana differs from N. furcata and is similar to N. mystica by having the apical part of vein R5 less strongly curved ( Figs 2 A and B) and is closer to it in the proportions of the palpomeres.

Acknowledgements.

Our special thanks are due to Dr Brian Brown, Los Angeles, California, and Prof. Michael Sharkey, Lexington, Kentucky, for the privilege of studying the material collected in Thailand by the “ Thailand Inventory Group for Entomological Research (TIGER) project”. The project is funded by U. S. National Science Foundation grant DEB-0542864 to M. Sharkey and B. Brown. The project is supported by the National Research Council of Thailand and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand, who gave permission for research and the collection of specimens. Mr Jarmo Pelli, Stockholm, made the illustrations of the antennal flagellomeres.

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.

FIGURE 4. Nepaletricha montana sp. n. (holotype): A. Hypopygium, lateral view. B. Tergite 9, dorsal view. C. Hypopygium with tergite 9 removed, dorsal view. D. Gonocoxae with associated structures, ventral view. Scale 0.1 mm. ae = aedeagus, cr = cercus, gs = gonostylus, gx = gonocoxa, gx a = gonocoxal apodeme, gx l = gonocoxal lobe, tg 9 = tergite 9, tm = tegmen / paramere.