Atherigona (sensu stricto) clavata, Deeming, 2019

Deeming, John C., 2019, Atherigonini (Diptera: Muscidae) from Madagascar, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 66 (4), pp. 87-98 : 93-94

Atherigona (sensu stricto) clavata sp. nov.

Figures 3–4.

MATERIAL. — Holotype Male (dry-mounted with abdomen in a van Doesburg tube of glycer-

ine pinned under specimen; dorsum of thorax rubbed and denuded; hind legs missing), labelled MADAGASCAR: Fianarantsoa Prov., Ranomafana, JIRAMA waterworks, 21̊14.31′S 47̊ 27.13′E, alt. 690m, 15-21.xii.2001, Malaise trap near river, R. Harin’Hala, Code MA-02-09D-07, CASLOT 020373, Deposited in the California Academy of Sciences .

DESCRIPTION. — Colouration: All setae and setulae black; dusting on dark parts grey; head and antenna black, yellow on face, parafacialia, gena, lower occiput and palpus; thorax black, yellow on postpronotal lobe, proepisternum and extreme fore margin of anepisternum, hind margin of meron, greater ampulla, tegula, basicosta and haltere; wing veins brown, becoming paler towards base; legs yellow but fore leg infuscate on apical three fifths of fore femur except for extreme apex,

on apical three fifths of fore tibia and on entire fore tarsus; abdomen yellow in ground colour with a pair of large oval black markings occupying 0.8 times length of tergite 3 and a smaller more rounded pair occupying one third of length of tergite 4; surstylus infuscate on the narrowed apical part and lobes of trifoliate process black, the stem brownish yellow.

Head: Ocellar triangle, fronto-orbits and occiput lightly dusted throughout; ocellar setae long, longer than orbitals and postocellars.

Thorax: Bases of the three katepisternal setae forming an isosceles triangle; two strong proepisternal setae, the more posteriorly-situated the longer; one weaker proepimeral.

Legs: Fore tarsus lacking specialized structure or chaetotaxy.

Wing: Hyaline throughout.

Abdomen: Hypopygial prominence absent; trifoliate process (Fig. 3) clavate in lateral aspect, with base of median lobe very broad, the stem one quarter of the length of the abdomen when macerated; surstylus (Fig. 4) much deeper than is usual.

Length: c. 2.4mm, of wing 2.5mm.

Female: unknown.

AFFINITIES. — This species shares with the afrotropical species Atherigona tetrastigma Pater-

son, A. alticola Deeming , A. haplopyga van Emden , A. maliensis Dike and A. mambillaensis Deeming the lack of a hypopygial prominence, but differs from all of them in the peculiar structure of the trifoliate process, which is similar in structure to that of A. latibasilaris Muller, 2015 from South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal), but that species has a bifurcate hypopygial prominence and yellow interfrontalia.

ETYMOLOGY. — The Latin specific name describes the trifoliate process, which in profile resembles a club.