Protypusia flavipalpis, Gibbs, 2023

Gibbs, David, 2023, A world review of the bee fly tribe Usiini (Diptera, Bombyliidae) - Part 3: Parageron Paramonov s. lat., European Journal of Taxonomy 863 (1), pp. 1-162 : 77-80

Protypusia flavipalpis gen. et sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F4CF1894-9C0D-4599-AE5F-1427C185F252

Figs 12 , 46

Etymology

From Latin ‘ flavus ’ = ‘yellow’ and ‘ palpare ’ = ‘to feel’, referring to the relatively large, club-shaped yellow palps.

Type material

Holotype

MOROCCO • ♂; “ 17 March 2009, Agadir, Temsia 60 m, N 30°21′13.6″ E 09°23′47.9″, leg. J. Dils & J. Faes ”; NHMUK.

Paratypes

MOROCCO • 1 ♂; “ 8 April 2009, Essaouira , Ouassane 70 m, N31º23′6.6″ W09º46′34.6″, leg. J. Dils & J. Faes ”; PCJD • 1 ♀; “ 17 March 2009, Agadir , Temsia 60 m, N30°21′13.6″ W09°23′47.9″, leg. J. Dils & J. Faes ”; NHMUK • 6 ♀♀; “same data”; PCJD • 1 ♂; “ 9April 2009, Agadir , Imsouane 270 m N30°53′09″ W9°46′49.4″ leg. Dils J. Faes J. ”; PCJD • 1 ♀; “ 18 March 2011, Tiznit , Aglou 30 m N29.76253 W9.87466 leg. Dils J. Faes J. ”; PCJD .

Description

MEASUREMENTS. Body length: 2.3–3.0 mm. Wing length: 2.3–2.9 mm.

Male

HEAD. Gena viewed ventrally a little broader than the apical diameter of the scape, in lateral view almost invisible, the shining brownish mouth margin narrower than gena but visible in lateral view. Frons relatively narrow, at antennal insertions narrower than the depth of the postpedicel, covered with silky grey dust, narrowing down eye margin to merge with darker grey dusted occiput. Frons also with a tuft of relatively long white hairs close to eyes opposite antennal insertions. Eyes meeting for a length approximately equal to the length of the frons medially and significantly more than the length of the vertex (difficult to be certain because heads of the three males are partially collapsed). Ocellar tubercle dark in ground colour, grey-brown dusted, all ocelli contiguous with the eye margins. Pale brown hairs on ocellar tubercle almost twice as long as width of vertex at its broadest. Eye facets large in upper half, small in lower half, the division between them fairly well marked. Occiput dark in ground colour, densely coated with dark grey dust laterally blackish over middle two thirds. Occipital callosities well developed, relatively strongly convex. Occiput covered with relatively long whitish hairs, upper ones not much shorter than those on ventral side of head which are as long as the median depth of the fore femora. Antennae black with a grey cast, postpedicel significantly longer than scape and pedicel together, straight dorsally, convex below tapering to blunt tip. Scape and pedicel with relatively long silvery hairs dorsally, longer than length of respective segment; postpedicel with shorter pale hairs middorsally and immediately before subapical sulcus. Palps conspicuously larger than in related species, easily seen due to their contrastingly yellow colour, swollen apically, club-shaped, clearly produced beyond the basoventral membrane of the proboscis, with several relatively long white hairs apically. Proboscis not exceptional, about as long as the head and thorax (without scutellum), hairless dorsally, black, the basoventral membrane yellow.

THORAX. Dark ground colour obscured by dense blackish brown dust, anterior slope of mesonotum, post pronotal lobe, notopleuron, supra alar and post alar areas conspicuously grey-brown dusted. This grey-brown dusted area extends rearwards along the dorsocentral lines to the scutellum, narrowest at the thoracic suture, so forming three dark mesonotal vittae, middle vittae (equals coalesced paramedian and acrostichal areas) reaching scutellum. Sometimes a short acrostichal line present anteriorly. Hairs of mesonotum pale yellow, as long as the mid-length of the scutellum, acrostichals few and irregular, dorsocentrals irregularly biserial, anterior hairs reclinate, those on hind third proclinate, laterally hairs more generally distributed, relatively dense on notopleuron and post pronotal lobe. Scutellum variably dark blackish-brown on disc (darkened area very small in some), dusted lighter brown elsewhere, long pale yellow hairs scattered across disc and arranged in irregular row around margin. Pleura uniformly grey dusted, greyer than notopleuron, pronotum and posterior two-thirds of the anepisternum with long pale yellow to white hairs.

WING. Membrane hyaline, no more than the slightest yellowish tinge, the veins brown, yellower basally, subcosta yellow. Crossvein r-m near base of the discal cell, almost opposite m-cu. Anal lobe well developed with convex margin, almost triangular, conspicuously broader than anal cell.

HALTERE. Pale yellow, base of stem clearly infuscated, knob with a clear blackish-brown dorsal spot.

LEGS. Black, coxae grey dusted like pleura. Femora and tibia rather less densely grey dusted, very tip of femora inconspicuously reddish-brown, difficult to see in anything but very good light. Legs sparsely clothed with white hairs, rather long on the coxae, fore and mid-femora posteriorly, hind femora antero-ventrally. Tibia and tarsi with short adpressed white hairs, tarsi rather long, 1.5 times tibia length, basitarsi spinose ventrally.

ABDOMEN. Dark olive-grey dusted, decidedly browner on disc, greyer laterally, tergite two blackish basally. No visible paler apical margins to any tergites. All tergites with long white erect hairs longer then the length of respective tergite laterally, on disc hairs much shorter, confined to apical third of each tergite and decidedly reclinate. Sternites grey dusted with narrow paler yellow apical margins and evenly distributed long white hairs.

GENITALIA. Rather small and retracted into tip of abdomen, densely grey dusted, gonocoxite and epandrium with a covering of short white silky hairs. Cerci yellowish.

Female

Differs from the male in its more uniformly golden-brown dusted head mesonotum and abdomen. Eyes rather broadly separated, frons about a third head width golden-grey with relatively long pale yellow hairs laterally and anteriorly. Hairing elsewhere generally shorter but still longer haired than similar species, particularly on dorsum of antennae where very like male. Palp as male but even more swollen apically, baso-ventral membrane dirty yellow. Occiput golden-grey dusted, greyer on occipital callosities. Proboscis often more robust than in male. Mesonotum and scutellum very uniformly goldenbrown dusted, lacking the dark vittae of male, no more than slight hint of darker paramedian vittae. Pleura a little greyer than mesonotum. Tergites uniformly golden-brown dusted with obscure paler apical margins on tergites two to seven. Sternites a little greyer with paler apical margins more noticeable. Knob of haltere lacks the dark dorsal spot, or is slightly infuscated dorsally. Reddish colour of knees a little more extensive but still obscure.

Remarks

This small delicate species is currently known from just three males and eight females. In external appearance it is very similar to other species in the punctipennis -species group of Protypusia gen. nov. However, its male and female genitalia are somewhat divergent, suggesting that it is not very closely related to other members of this group.

Distribution

Morocco.

Figures

Fig. 12. Protypusia flavipalpis gen. et sp. nov., ♂.

Fig. 46. Protypusia flavipalpis gen. et sp. nov. a. Epiphallic complex ventral. b. Epiphallic complex lateral.c. Gonocoxite ventral. d. Gonocoxite lateral. e. Epandrium dorsal. f. Female genitalia ventral. g. Female genitalia lateral. h. Female sternite 8 ventral.