Elaphropeza xanthocephala Bezzi, 1912

Grootaert, Patrick, 2019, Species turnover between the northern and southern part of the South China Sea in the Elaphropeza Macquart mangrove fly communities of Hong Kong and Singapore (Insecta: Diptera: Hybotidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 554, pp. 1-27 : 21-23

Elaphropeza xanthocephala Bezzi, 1912

Figs 14–15

Elaphropeza xanthocephala Bezzi, 1912: 488 (type locality: Taiwan, Takao (currently Kaohsiung )).

Diagnosis

A yellow species with a yellow occiput and a yellow scutum, but a black scutellum and metanotum. Metapleuron yellow. The tip of the hypopleuron (meron) above hind coxae with a black spot.

Material examined

HONG KONG • 1 ♂; Wong Chuk Wan (34M1); 22.39563° N, 114.28617° E; C. Taylor and U. Chang leg.; 5–19 Dec. 2017; Malaise trap in back mangrove; barcode reference HKC0000951; RBINS .

Description

Male ( Fig. 14 )

HEAD. A pair of long, somewhat dark vertical setae. Antenna long. Scape yellow, pedicel dusky yellow, postpedicel entirely brown, but base yellowish brown, stylus brown. Ratio: 0.03: 0.05: 0.022: 0.325.

Postpedicel is 4.25 × as long as wide. Stylus is 1.4× as long as postpedicel. Palpus yellow, elongate and bearing a few long setae.

THORAX. Yellow, but metanotum black and metapleuron entirely yellow.

LEGS. Yellow including all coxae. Tip of hind femur dusky. All tarsomeres 5 brown. Apex of hind tibia brown. Spur pronounced.

FORE LEG. Femur lacking ventral setae. Tibia with some longer setulae.

MID LEG. Femur ventrally with a double row of spinules, multiserial at extreme base. Apical half of tibia somewhat inflated, ventrally bearing long, flattened setulae.

HIND LEG. Femur swollen in apical half, narrow in basal half; ventrally with as single row of short brown setae. Tibia with a long brown anterodorsal seta near middle. Apex with a rather strong apical rounded spur. Tarsomere 1 with a strong anteroventral seta before middle.

WING. Haltere brown.

ABDOMEN. Tergites 2–3 white above, brownish at sides. Tergite 4 large, with brown squamiform setae. Tergite 5 narrow, brown above, yellowish at side. Tergites 6 and 7 yellow.

TERMINALIA. Pale brown ( Fig. 15 ). Right epandrial lamella bearing two strong, flattened brown setae ( Fig. 15A ).

Female

Unknown.

Remarks

Elaphropeza xanthocephala is the single species with a yellow occiput occurring in Hong Kong mangroves and hence easy to recognize.

In his description, Bezzi (1912) writes that the metapleura is shining black and in the diagnosis that the metanotum is black. In our specimen the metapleura is entirely yellow and the metanotum is black. We suspect this is a lapsus or that Bezzi referred to the hypopleuron, which has an apical black spot.

Bezzi (1912) had only a single specimen from Takao which is located at the coast and it is not unlikely that this specimen was collected in the mangrove of Takao.

Figures

Fig. 14. Elaphropeza xanthocephala Bezzi, 1912, ♂, habitus, RBINS (leg. C. Taylor and U. Chang; photo C. Locatelli).

Fig. 15. Elaphropeza xanthocephala Bezzi, 1912, male terminalia, RBINS (leg. C. Taylor and U. Chang). A. Right epandrial lamella. B. Epandrium, dorsal view. C. Left surstylus. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.