Antocha (Antocha) staryi Keresztes & Mabrouki, 2023

Mabrouki, Youness, Terec, Andrei Bogdan, Taybi, Fouzi A., Denes, Anna & Keresztes, Lujza, 2023, Taxonomic notes and key to the West Palearctic Antocha (Antocha) Osten Sacken, 1860 (Diptera, Limoniidae) with description of a new species from Morocco, Biodiversity Data Journal 11, pp. 103849-103849 : 103849

Antocha (Antocha) staryi Keresztes & Mabrouki sp. nov.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence : sex: 1 male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: CB927E68-C824-5E85-8FAE-964FC5DE2F27; Taxon : scientificNameID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8F608A95-F4AA-443C-8634-4FA00F05FAAF ; class: Insecta ; order: Diptera ; family: Limoniidae ; genus: Antocha ; subgenus: Antocha ; Location : continent: Africa ; waterBody: Cascade near Bakrit ; country: Morocco; locality: Middle Atlas Range, Bakrit ; verbatimElevation: 1640; verbatimSRS: WGS84; decimalLatitude: 33.049438; decimalLongitude: -5.272774; Identification: identifiedBy: Keresztes, L.; Event: eventDate: 16-05-2021; eventRemarks: leg. Mabrouki, Y. & Taybi F.A. Type status: Paratype. Occurrence : sex: 2 males, 4 females; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: D03EBE02-2C09-573C-8C87-2E409459F84C; Taxon : scientificNameID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8F608A95-F4AA-443C-8634-4FA00F05FAAF ; class: Insecta ; order: Diptera ; family: Limoniidae ; genus: Antocha ; subgenus: Antocha ; Location : continent: Africa ; waterBody: Cascade near Bakrit ; country: Morocco; locality: Middle Atlas Range, Bakrit ; verbatimElevation: 1640; verbatimSRS: WGS84; decimalLatitude: 33.049438; decimalLongitude: -5.272774; Identification: identifiedBy: Keresztes, L.; Event: eventDate: 16-05-2021; eventRemarks: leg. Mabrouki, Y. & Taybi F.A.

Description

Male. Colour dark brown. Body length 5.3-5.5 mm, wing length 6.2-6.5 mm. General appearance as in Fig. 2 a.

Head. Dark brown, with light brown rostrum. Palpus greyish-brown. Antennae brownish, with 16 segments (Fig. 2 b). Scape long and cylindrical. Pedicel is large and short. Antennal flagellomeres short-oval and covered with long dense pubescence, except the last four segments which gradually become smaller and cylindrical, the last segment ending pointed. Short bristles present on every antennal segment, rings of verticils at bases of flagellomeres, mostly on its dorsal surface. Larger bristles are also present on the ventral surface of segments 13, 15 and 16.

Thorax. Prescutum with anterolateral region yellowish. Prescutum and presutural scutum with a broad brown median and two broad lateral bands (Fig. 2 c). The lateral bands extending to scutellum. Basal third of presutural scutum with conspicuous dark brown triangle. Scutellum greyish-brown. The rest of the thorax lighter brownish. Legs long and slender, pubescent (Fig. 2 d). Coxae lighter to yellowish, rest of the legs brownish. Wing nearly translucent to whitish, generally white and large, with nearly right-angled cell a2 (Fig. 2 e). Veins brownish-yellowish, with stronger bristles on C and R1 (Fig. 2 e, f and g). Stigma indistinct, nearly invisible (Fig. 2 f and g). Halter with a yellowish stem and a whitish-greyish knob.

Abdomen. Dark brown, first segment lighter, with whitish-clouded tint dorsally, the last segments darker.

Male terminalia. Tergite 9 in the shape of transverse plate with posterior margin straight (Fig. 2 i). Posterolateral angle extended, nearly triangular with darkened margin. Gonocoxite cylindrical, with long setae (Fig. 2 h). Outer gonostylus strongly sclerotised, short and curved. Distal end shorter and thicker and less pointed with a hardly visible hump on the dorsal surface. Inner gonostylus fleshy, pubescent, distal end abruptly curved downwards. Aedeagal complex with interbase exteriorly-diverged (Fig. 2 k). Inner branch of parameres straight and parallel, slightly bent near the apex (Fig. 2 j). Parameres with basal parts stout and divergent, apical parts forming two parameral lobes on either side of aedeagus. Lateral edges of the lobes straight, tips pointed directed straight back (Fig. 2 h, j and k).

Female. Colour similar to males. Body length 5.8 mm, wing length 6.7 mm. General habitus similar to males, except the dark brown triangle on metathorax reduced.

Ovipositor. Cerci and hypogynal valve long and slender (Fig. 2 l).

Diagnosis

Antocha (A.) staryi sp. nov. can be recognised by dark brown body colouration, thoracic dark brown triangle, strongly sclerotised and curved outer gonostylus and tergite 9 having straight posterior margin and darkened, nearly triangular posterolateral lobes. Aedeagal complex with inner branch of parameres long, parameres apically forming slightly curved lobes.

The closest regional ally is A. (A.) phoenicia . Both species are similar in general features with A. (A.) vitripennis and are characterised by the long inner branch of the paramere, similar shape of parameral lobe and tergite 9 possessing extended posterolateral lobe. Still A. (A.) staryi sp. nov. can be separated from A. (A.) phoenicia by the unique apical part of the paramere (the parameral lobe) which is sharply narrowed to the distal end, longer and curved ventrally and also by details of tergite 9, with the posterior margin having a prominent and angular middle region in A. (A.) phoenicia , but less prominent, more or less straight in A. (A.) staryi sp. nov., but with posterolateral angle well developed, nearly triangular.

Antocha (A.) staryi sp. nov. is highly divergent from the European widespread A. (A.) vitripennis , as well as, in a series of morphological details in male genital structures, like the more or less straight posterior margin of tergite 9, but more sinuous in A. (A.) vitripennis , with a middle depression and two lateral humps. The exteriorly curved interbase lobe is well developed in A. (A.) staryi sp. nov., but less in A. (A.) vitripennis . Inner branch of the parameres parallel with aedeagus in A. (A.) staryi sp. nov., but highly divergent and sinuous in A. (A.) vitripennis . The apical part of the paramere with narrow and distally pointed parameral lobe in A. (A.) staryi sp. nov., but with a generally rounded lobe in A. (A.) vitripennis .

Etymology

Named after the outstanding cranefly taxonomist Jaroslav Starý, honouring his 80th birth anniversary. A noun in genitive singular.

Distribution

The type locality of the new species, Bakrit, belongs to the Middle Atlas Range, which is located in the southwest to northeast of the Mediterranean part of Morocco. The scientific and socio-economic interests of the included aquatic ecosystems are no longer demonstrated as an area with rich and varied natural resources, which generally support the presence of an interesting aquatic biodiversity with high rates of endemism ( Taybi et al. 2020, Ibrahimi et al. 2021, Mabrouki et al. 2021). The newly-discovered species from here complete the diversity of aquatic fauna from this location and support conservation efforts for these unique aquatic ecosystems.

Ecology

The species was discovered in a single site in Morocco; therefore, we consider a range-restricted micro-endemic species of the Middle Atlas Range. Specimens were captured in Bakrit, a location in the Middle Atlas Range, a mountain range stretching over some 350 km, from southwest to northeast of the Mediterranean part of Morocco, located between the Rif Mountains and the High Atlas Mountains and covering a total area of 2.3 million hectares, i.e. 18% of Morocco’s high altitude mountain domain (Fig. 3 a). This chain belongs to the Atlas Mountains and more precisely, to one of the three elements of the Moroccan Atlas, the other two being the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas (or Lesser Atlas). The heavy rainfall gives the Middle Atlas Mountains the form of a "water tower" (also via snowmelt hydrology) from both hydrogeological and hydrographic perspectives and is the main water supply for median and low reaches.

Bakrit Region is well-known for its rich superficial water resources, i.e. streams, waterfalls and springs and the new species was captured from the banks of a fast-flowing stream, with the type locality belonging to the Oum Errabiâ River Basin (Fig. 3 b and c).

Accompanying species

Different aquatic invertebrate species can be found in the habitat of A. (A.) staryi sp. nov. including the recently-described caddisfly Tinodes atlasensis Ibrahimi, Mabrouki & Taybi, 2021 and freshwater gastropod Pseudamnicola bouhaddiouii Taybi, Glöer & Mabrouki, 2022, in addition to other invertebrate species, such as Hydropsyche sp. ( Trichoptera ); Ecdyonurus rothschildi ( Navàs, 1929), Rhithrogena sp., Baetis sp., Caenis sp. ( Ephemeroptera ); Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis (Vander Linden, 1825), Anax sp., Onychogomphus sp., Sympetrum sp., Orthetrum sp. ( Odonata ); Hydrometra stagnorum (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Heteroptera ); Atyaephyra desmarestii (Millet, 1831) ( Decapoda ); Physella acuta (Draparnaud, 1805), Ancylus fluviatilis O.F. Müller, 1774; Theodoxus sp., Melanopsis sp. ( Mollusca); Simulium sp., Prosimulium sp. ( Diptera ) ( Ibrahimi et al. 2021, Taybi et al. 2022).

Antocha (Antocha) vitripennis (Meigen, 1830)

Limnobia vitripennis (Meigen, 1830) (type locality not given,? near Stolberg, Germany Meigen (1830), Savchenko et al. (1992). Syn. Antocha opalizans auct. nec Antocha opalizans Osten Sacken, 1859: 220 ( Geiger 1985).

Synonyms: Antocha obscura Strobl, 1906 (as variety of A. opalizans , type-locality Ronda, Spain), Antocha fulvescens Lackschewitz, 1940 (type locality Vernet-les-Bains, France, Savchenko et al. (1992)), synonymised with A. vitripennis by Geiger (1985).

Morphological variability of male terminalia of A. (A.) vitripennis (Meigen, 1830) in the West Palearctic Region

A number of 198 male individuals of A. vitripennis were investigated from the whole West Palearctic Region, representing 20 different populations from Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Montenegro, Romania and Spain (Table 1 ). A comparative analysis of the outer gonostylus, inner branch of parameres and parameral lobes of individual specimens shows high variability in the species within its whole distribution area, which allowed us to group individuals in at least four different morphological types (Fig. 4 ).

Figures

Figure 2. Antocha (Antocha) staryi sp. nov. a male habitus, lateral view; b antenna; c thorax, dorsal view; d femur and part of tibiae, third left leg; e right wing; f tip of the right wing; g stigma on the right wing; h male hypopygium, dorsal view; i tergite 9, dorsal view; j aedeagal complex, dorsal view; k aedeagal complex, lateral view; l female terminalia, lateral view.

Figure 3. Different landscape elements of the Bakrit region, Middle Atlas, Morocco, showing the habitat of the Antocha (Antocha) staryi sp. nov. a general view of the area; b detail on the Oum Errabia River; c waterfall on the Oum Errabia River.

Figure 4. Variability of the distal end of the outer gonostylus of the male genital structures of Antocha (Antocha) vitripennis from the West Palearctic area: a male terminalia, dorsal (Regensburg, Germany); b gonocoxite with outer gonostylus of type 1 (Germany); c type 1, aedeagus with parallel inner branch of parameres (Germany); d type 1, aedeagus with divergent inner branch of parameres (Austria); e gonocoxite with outer gonostylus of type 2 (Germany, Kassel); f gonocoxite with outer gonostylus of type 3 (Greece, Olympus); g gonocoxite with outer gonostylus of type 4 (Montenegro, Prokletje Mountains); h gonocoxite with outer gonostylus, special case of type 2 (Albania, Korce).