Themarictera rinhai, Korneyev & Hancock & Hauser & Korneyev & Gaimari, 2021

Korneyev, Severyn V., Hancock, David L., Hauser, Martin, Korneyev, Valery A. & Gaimari, Stephen D., 2021, A new species of the genus Themarictera Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae: Phytalmiinae: Acanthonevrini) from Madagascar, Zootaxa 4996 (2), pp. 383-391 : 386-390

Themarictera rinhai new species

( Fig. 2 a–d )

Material examined. Type: Holotype ♂: Madagascar: Diego-Suarez Prov. , Sakalava Beach, Malaise trap across sandy trail in dwarf littoral forest, 10 m, 12º15’46”S, 49º23’51”E, 13–16.V.2001 (R. Harin’ Hala) (CASLOT 044932) (CASTYPE 20240) (Specimen voucher 21M120) ( CASC).

Paratype ♂: Madagascar: Fianarantsoa Prov., Anja Reserve , 1000m, 21º51’14”S, 46º50’37”E, (14-03), 17– 21.I.2014, yeast trap (M. Hauser & S. D. Gaimari) (DNA voucher 15T605) ( CSCA) .

Diagnosis. The new species differs from all other Madagascan tephritids by the wide head in males, 2.5–3.2 ×wider than long. It can easily be recognized also from the almost entirely yellow body with yellow mediotergite and mesonotal scutum with two small black spots mesal to the postpronotal lobes; scutellum with 3 pairs of scutellar setae: basal and apical pairs well developed and middle pair half as long as apicals; wing with very large pterostigma and sinuate vein R 2+3, and the peculiar yellow-brown wing pattern with a bluish shining black area posterior of pterostigma. It can be differentiated from the continental Themarictera flaveolata as noted above in the key.

Description of male. Head ( Fig. 2d ) yellow, with black ocellar spot, otherwise unspotted, with face paler than frons. Length: height: width ratio = 1: 1.1: 3.5. Frons 2.4 times wider than long, black setulose. Antenna yellow, shorter than face, arista yellow on basal 1/3, distally black, plumose, with regular rows of dorsal and ventral hairs. Face pale, unspotted, slightly protrude anteriorly on ventral part; frons yellow; occiput yellow. Setae black: 2 frontals; 2 orbitals (anterior conspicuously anterior to middle of frons length; genal seta present; ocellar seta vestigial; postoculars thin and black. Palp and proboscis moderately developed, yellow, brownish setose and setulose.

Thorax: ( Fig. 2a, c ) Entirely yellow. Scutum densely pale brown setulose, with small dark brown round spot located near postpronotal lobe and small black spot on postalar wall behind wing base. Pleura entirely yellow in paratype, and with wide brown spot over anteroventral portion of anepisternum and anterodorsal portion of katepisternum in holotype.

All setae black: 1 postpronotal, 2 notopleural, 1 supra-alar, 1 postalar, 1 intra-alar, 1 dorsocentral placed well behind level of supra-alar, 1 prescutellar acrostichal; proepisternum with weak brownish setulae; 1 strong and 1 weak postsutural anepisternal setae, anepimeral seta lacking, 1 weak katepisternal seta; scutellum flattened, covered with white microtrichia and with fine and sparse marginal setulae, and with 3 pairs of scutellar setae: basal and apical pairs well developed and middle pair half as long as apicals.

Legs yellow. Fore femur with two posterodorsal rows of short setae and posteroventral row of 5–6 stronger black setae; of them, 2 subapical setae twice as long as others. Mid femur short setulose, without erect setae; mid tibia with row of semierect dorsal setae and apicoventral seta (tibial spur) slightly longer than tibia width; secondary apicoventral seta half as long as tibial spur. Hind femur with 4–5 semierect anterodorsal setae subapically.

Wing ( Fig. 2b ) 2.3–2.4 times as long as wide. Costal vein short setulose, without long seta at subcostal break; veins R 1, RS and R 4+5 from fork almost to apex setulose dorsally. Pterostigma very large, with its base distal to level of radial fork and its apex slightly distal to level of anterior end of dm-m. Vein R 2+3 strongly doubly sinuate. Veins R 4+5 and M 1 subparallel at apex with second section of M 1 (proximal to r-m) twice as long as third section (between r-m and dm-m). Other veins unmodified and non-setulose.

Wing pattern with yellow base, costal cell, most of pterostigma, apical portion of cell r 1 and antero-apical part of cell r 2+3; hyaline spots in cell r 1 posterior to costal cell and cell r 2+3 anterior to crossvein r-m, on margin of cell m 1 and as a large posterior incision from cell m 4 into medial part of cell dm. Base of pterostigma, cells r 1 and r 2+3 between radial fork and r-m dark brown to black with bluish sheen. Brown subcostal crossband between radial fork and apex of cell cua widely joined through cell br with wide brown area covering posteroapical portion of wing. Base of cell cua and area posterobasal to it and anal lobe hyaline. Alula hyaline, its fringe with thickened black cilia.

Abdomen. Entirely yellow, densely pale brown setulose.

Male genitalia not dissected.

Measurements: Male. Body length 8.3–8.5 mm (n=2); wing length 8.7–9.0 mm (n=2). Female. Unknown.

Host plants. Unknown.

Distribution. Madagascar ( Fig. 3 ).

DNA voucher. 3’end COI sequence uploaded to BOLD database as CSCAFFPSpecimen_15T605.

Etymology. Named after the collector of the holotype, Harin’Hala (Rin’ha) Rasolondalao.

Remarks: The bluish-black area of the wing is dependent on light and angle of view. As such, with the lighting for photographs, these areas appear dark brown in our figures.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Themarictera rinhai new species: (a) holotype, habitus, dorsal view; (b) paratype, wing; (c) paratype, habitus, leftside lateral view; (d) paratype, habitus, frontal view.

FIGURE 3. Map of distribution.