Iteaphila chvalai Shamshev, 2012

Sinclair, Bradley J. & Shamshev, Igor V., 2012, 3561, Zootaxa 3561, pp. 1-61 : 12-13

Iteaphila chvalai Shamshev sp. nov.

( Figs. 2F, 4C, 12A)

Type material. HOLOTYPE, ♂ labelled: “[printed in Cyrillic] [KAZAKHSTAN] dol. r. B. Almaatinka [valley of Bol'shaya Almaatinka River ]/ okr. Alma-Ata [env. Alma-Ata], 2500 m / Gorodkov 26.vii.969”; “redkiy el'nik iz Picea / schrenkiana/ Almaatinskoe oz. [sparse fir-grove of Picea schrenkiana, Almaatinskoe Lake]”; “ HOLOTYPE / Iteaphila / chvalai/ Shamshev [red label]” ( ZIN) . PARATYPES: KAZAKHSTAN, Tien-shan , Alma-Arasan r., Zailijskij Alatau 2500 m, 30.v.1980, M. Chvála (6 ♀, CHVC) .

Recognition. This species is distinguished by the pale halteres in females and uniserial dorsocentral setae, absence of the hypoproct process and subrectangular male cercus.

Description. Wing length 4.4 mm. Head black, with black setation, occiput finely greyish pollinose. Holoptic, with upper ommatidia enlarged. Frons represented by small triangular space just above antennae, greyish pollinose. Ocellar triangle very prominent, with 2 pairs fine proclinate setae, posterior pair somewhat longer. Postvertical and postocular setae moderately long, thin; occiput covered with numerous similar setae longer on lower half. Antenna brown; scape elongate, pedicel globular, both with several short setae; postpedicel long, nearly 4.0 times longer than wide (4.6 times in holotype), rather narrow at base, smoothly tapered; stylus very short, bristle-tipped. Proboscis long, projected obliquely ( Fig. 2F); labium nearly 2.0 times as long as head height; palpus projected parallel to labrum, somewhat shorter than labrum, with numerous long bristly hairs.

Thorax black in ground-colour, mostly with black setation (except proepisternum). Scutum viewed dorsally dark brown, rather subshining, viewed anteriorly appearing denser brown pollinose, without prominent vittae; mesopleuron uniformly finely greyish pollinose. Proepisternum with few short brownish bristly hairs. Postpronotal lobe with 1 moderately long and several shorter setae. Mesonotum with thin setae; acr setae short, arranged in 2 close rows, lacking on prescutellar depression; dc uniserial, mostly nearly as long as acr, 2–3 prescutellar pairs longer; several setae of different lengths present on presut and psut spal faces, 3–4 npl (with several additional shorter setae), 1 long pal, 8 pairs of sctl.

Legs, including coxae, brownish. Coxae and trochanters with ordinary bristly hairs. Fore and mid femora with numerous hair-like anteroventral, longer posteroventral, posterior and posterodorsal setae; additionally, mid femur with similar short setae anteriorly. Hind femur with long (longer than femur is deep) anteroventral, anterodorsal and dorsal bristly hairs and with similar but shorter posteroventral setae. Tibiae lacking prominent setae; mid tibia with circlet of subapical spinules. Tarsomere 5 on all legs flattened; pulvilli broad, shorter than tarsal claw.

Wing finely brownish infuscate, with brownish veins; no bristle at wing base; stigma distinct brownish, elliptical, overlapping apex of vein R 1; anal lobe very prominent, acute. R 2+3 slightly deflected below stigma; radial fork V-shaped, rather long, with base proximal to apex of R 2+3; R 5 and M 1 somewhat divergent before wing-apex; cell d broad, longer than basal cells, not produced apically (truncate); m-m crossvein long, M branches widely separated; dm-cu crossvein straight; vein M 4 somewhat longer than dm-cu crossvein. Apex of cell cua slightly rounded, CuP+CuA long, ending short of wing margin. Halter brown.

Abdomen with tergites brownish, subshining, finely greyish pollinose, covered with numerous black hair-like setae longer on tergites laterally. Terminalia small, brown, except phallus yellow, with black setation. Hypandrium robustly rounded, upcurved apically with broadly rounded apex and subapical expansion; clothed in long setae; gonocoxal apodeme long and slender ( Fig. 4C). Postgonite posterior to phallus, extended posteriorly beyond epandrium, parallel with phallus and strongly bent nearly at right angles subapically; bent apical section straight, long and slender with microtrichia apically. Epandrium not greatly inflated laterally; dorsal bridge narrow; anterior portion subquadrate and very broad, posterior third greatly narrowed compared to anterior portion; inner face of apex of surstylus unmodified. Phallus long and robust, arched beyond epandrium posteriorly, strongly bent subapically; apical section slender and straight; apex rounded; ejaculatory apodeme plate-like, rounded, shorter than gonocoxal apodeme. Base of phallus produced posteriorly into long and parallel-sided lobe with rounded apex. Cercus subrectangular, elongate, more than one-third length of epandrium; thumb-like with apex truncate, mostly straight; hypoproct not produced into paired lobes.

Female. Wing length 4.0– 4.1 mm. Dichoptic, with equally small ommatidia. Frons very broad, slightly widened toward ocellar tubercle, uniformly greyish pollinose, with marginal setulae. Ocellar triangle with 2 pairs of equally short setae. Occiput with rather short setae in upper part and numerous short hair-like setae in lower part. Thorax with scutum viewed dorsally rather subshining, entirely finely greyish pollinose, with 3 indistinct brownish vittae down acr and dc setae. Mesonotum with shorter setae on presut and psut spal faces, 6–7 pairs of sctl. Legs, including coxae, largely yellow to tawny yellow; all femora dorsally, tibiae at apex and tarsi brownish. Fore and mid femora clothed with similar short setae. Hind femur with moderately long (somewhat shorter than femur is deep) anteroventral and anterodorsal and with longer, mainly erect, dorsal bristly hairs. Halter yellow. Abdomen covered with scattered, short, brown bristly hairs; tergite 8 brown. Sternites brownish yellow, finely greyish pollinose, covered with scattered setulae; sternite 8 brown. Cercus elongate, slender, brown, covered with dark setulae.

Etymology. The species is named after the collector of the female paratypes and in recognition of Dr. Chvála’s dedication to Empidoid research.

Remarks. Like I. nepalensis sp. nov., this species is sexually dimorphic in halter colour.

Distribution. This species is currently relatively rare, known only from two localities in Kazakhstan ( Fig. 12A).