Phthiria portokali, Farhangi & Nozari & Gharali, 2023

Farhangi, Seyed Vahid, Nozari, Jamasb & Gharali, Babak, 2023, A new bee fly species of the genus Phthiria (Diptera, Bombyliidae, Phthiriinae, Phthiriini) from the west of Iran, Zootaxa 5380 (5), pp. 491-497 : 492-496

Phthiria portokali sp. nov.

Type material. Holotype female (deposited in IRIPP), Highway Razan-Avaj (between Provinces Hamadan and Qazvin, west of Iran), 2115 m a.s.l., N 35° 31’ 54’’, E 49° 11’ 50’’, 20 August 2012, white pan traps, leg. R Abdolahi Mesbah; 7 paratypes (1♀, 6♂) (deposited in BG), same data of the holotype except date, 7 July 2014.

Diagnosis. Phthiria portokali sp. nov. is a unique species among Iranian species of Phthiria by having a large tortoise-shell-shaped orange pattern on the dorsum of mesonotum in females. In the Engel’s (1933) key, females run to couplet 9 where the new species is easily separated from P. quadrinotata Loew, 1873 by the large orange mark on mesonotum and the completely yellow halter. The male specimens go to the couplet 5 and it is easily distinguished by completely yellow halter (with a black spot on the halter knob in P. quadrinotata Loew ).

Description. Holotype female. Body length: 4 mm, wing length: 5 mm.

Head. ( Figs. 1a–d ) Eyes dichoptic. All facets of same size. Occiput yellow with white hairs, length of hairs subequal to combined length of two basal antennal segments; vertex yellow; frons yellow, with blackish triangular mark medially, with clear depression at base ( Figs. 1a, d ); parafacials yellow except two black spots, one at level of scape extended horizontally to eye margin and second at level of lower margin of eyes ( Fig. 1c ); oral margin with short scattered white hairs; ocellar tubercle raised, black, ocelli as equilateral triangle; scape yellow ( Fig. 1b ), slightly longer than wide; pedicel brown, cylindrical, wider than long; first antennal flagellomere, dark brown, cylindrical, with long dorsal process, longer than width of first flagellomere apically; style transparent, about subequal to antennal process; mentum yellow; palpi yellow, with few short white hairs; proboscis long, 1.8 times head length, black. Thorax ( Fig. 2a ). Mesonotum yellow, with short whitish hairs, and with large tortoise-shell-shaped orange pattern on the dorsum; with black coloring as follows: two black spots next to transverse suture, two round blackish spots next to scutellum, two black marks on anterior margin and next to scutellum connecting with trace of black line, lateral margins yellow; postpronotal lobes yellow, with long white hairs; scutellum yellow, black ventrally; anepisternum ( Fig. 1e ) with long white hairs, lower half blackish, upper half yellow; anepimeron yellow, except antero-ventrally with blackish mark; katepisternum upper half yellow, lower half black, upper half yellow; meron posteriorly black, anteriorly yellow; halter stem and knob yellow. Leg. Coxa and femur yellowish, densely covered with white hairs; tibia yellowish; tarsal segments with short bristles laterally, basitarsus yellowish, as long as other segments combined, other segments black. Abdomen ( Fig. 1f ). Tergites yellow, with long white hairs, with row of black spots medially; sternites yellow. Wing. Hyaline, uniformly microtrichose; veins blackish brown; costa reaches vein CuA1+A1; R originates before level of m–m crossvein; crossvein r–m beyond middle of discal cell; anal cell closed before wing margin, stalked; anal lobe broad. ( Fig.2f ). Terminalia ( Figs. 3a,b ). Genital fork consisting of two parallel bars; common spermathecal duct short, membranous; basal ducts membranous; sperm pump as wide as apical ducts, striated, sclerotized, longer than apical ducts; apical ducts slightly sclerotized; spermathecal reservoir membranous, round, apical process well sclerotized, curved, long, more than 3.5 times capsule length.

4+5

Male. Similar to female except for: Head. C ompletely black; frons black, gray dusted, with long white hairs; parafacials completely black, with long white hairs; mentum gray dusted, with sparse long white hairs; ocellar tubercle prominent black, with few white hairs; eyes holoptic for entire length of frons, contact portion of eyes medially depressed, facets of upper half of eyes enlarged.Antennae similar to female; palpi blackish brown, proboscis black. Thorax ( Fig. 2c ). Mesonotum black except lateral margins and two round large spots at prescutellum yellow, scutellum yellow; pleura completely black, halter stem and knob white. Terminalia. Epandrium triangular in dorsal view, with small invagination apically ( Fig.3f ); gonocoxites ovoid, fused medially, apicomesal process smaller than gonostylus, with small bristles ( Fig. 3c ); gonostylus oval, apically curved, pointed, hollowed basally ( Figs.3c, d ); basal aedeagal process narrow in dorsal view, lateral aedeagal apodemes narrow; aedeagus apically curved ( Fig. 3e ).

Distribution. This species is currently known from mountainous rangeland (the location called Soltan bag= king garden) at the border of two provinces, Qazvin and Hamedan provinces.

Etymology. The name of new species, Phthiria portokali sp. nov., is derived from the Greek noun “πορτοκαλί” meaning orange and referring to the large orange mark on the mesonotum of the females.

Taxonomic note. Phthiria portokali sp. nov. is the only species, in Iran and the Palaearctic region, in which females have a large orange mark on the dorsum of mesonotum. Interestingly on the dorsum of mesonotum, in the female holotype, there are fine black striations seen similarly in one of the paratypes of Phthiria socotrae Greathead & Evenhuis, 2001 described from Socotra island (Afrotropical Region) ( Fig. 2d ). As this striation is not seen in the female paratype of the Iranian species and in some paratypes of Ph. Socotrae , we are considering it as a morphological variation. In the female paratype of the Iranian species, the blackness of the mesonotum is extended more than in the holotype ( Fig. 2b ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Phthiria portokali sp. nov,. Holotype female; A) lateral view; B) antennae; C) head, lateral view; D) head, dorsal view; E) pleura; F) abdomen, dorsal view.

FIGURE 2. Phthiria portokali sp. nov, (A–C & F). compared with Phthiria socotrae Greathead & Evenhuis (D & E). A) mesonotum in dorsal view, holotype; B) mesonotum in dorsal view, paratype female; C) mesonotum in dorsal view, paratype male; D) mesonotum in dorsal view, paratype female; E) female paratype lateral view.

FIGURE 3. Genitalia of Phthiria portokali sp. nov, A) female genitalia; B) spermathecal; C) gonocoxae in dorsal view; D) gonostylus; E) phallic complex in dorsal view; F) epandrium in dorsal view.