Tomosvaryella osteodes Motamedinia & Skevington

Motamedinia, Behnam, Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Kelso, Scott, 2021, Revision of Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera: Pipunculidae) in the Middle East, with description of 19 new species, Zootaxa 5002 (1), pp. 1-103 : 54-55

Tomosvaryella osteodes Motamedinia & Skevington sp. nov.

Figs 29A‒E , 58 , 68E –F

Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by the asymmetrical shape of surstyli in dorsal view, both long, left surstylus bone-shaped and longer than right one ( Fig. 29A ); unequal gonopods, right one with a projection towards phallic guide ( Fig. 29B ); strong and straight phallus, three short ejaculatory ducts, one bearing some teeth; membranous sheaths bearing saw-like teeth ( Fig. 29B, D‒E ).

Description: MALE: Body length: 2.1mm. Head. Frons silver-gray pollinose. Eyes meeting for a distance of five facets. Pedicel with 1‒2 small dorsal setae; flagellum tapering, distinctly paler than pedicel (LF:WF = 2.3). Postpronotal lobe pale, gray pollinose. Prescutum and scutum brown, silver-gray pollinose, with some patches of small supra-alar setae behind postpronotal lobes. Scutellum brown, silver-gray pollinose. Subscutellum darker than pleura. Wing. Wing length: 2.6 mm. LW:MWW = 2.4. Wing almost entirely covered with microtrichia except at wing base. Cross-vein r-m reaching cell dm at the middle. Halter length 0.4 mm., yellow, narrowly brown at base. Legs. Light brown. Trochanters black, smooth. Femora with posteroventral and anteroventral row of 3‒8 black spines on apical half. Tibiae with two rows of short brown setae on anterior and three rows on posterior side. Distitarsi darker that tarsi; pulvilli shorter than distitarsi. Claws white with black tips. Abdomen. Ground color brown, gray pollinose; tergite 1 with four brown lateral setae, tergites normally covered with short but scattered brown hairs. Syntergosternite 8 brown. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium and surstyli dark brown, epandrium wider than long (MLE:MWE = 0.8). Surstyli long and asymmetrical. Left surstylus slightly larger than right surstylus, bone-shaped. Right surstylus broadened at base and narrowed at apex, curved toward left surstylus in apical third ( Fig. 29A ). Genital capsule in ventral view: subepandrial sclerite wide, gonopods unequal; right with a projection curved towards phallic guide, lobes of hypandrium sclerotized, giving it the shape of an inverted triangle ( Fig. 29B ). Phallus strong and straight, with three short ejaculatory ducts, one bearing some saw-like teeth along its side ( Fig. 29B ). Genital capsule in lateral view: membranous sheath bearing saw-like teeth ( Fig. 29D‒E ). Phallic guide thickened at base. Ejaculatory apodeme tube-like with a bulb in its middle ( Fig. 29C ). FEMALE: unknown.

Etymology: The specific epithet derived from the Greek “osteodes” (=bone like), referring to the shape of left surstylus.

Specimen examined: HOLOTYPE: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Wadi Wurayah , 25°24’N, 56°17’E, 25.ii.2007, sweep net, F. Menzel & A. Stark, CNCD175298 (1♂, CNC).

Distribution: United Arab Emirates ( Fig. 58 ).

Note: Based on DNA barcodes, this species is most similar to T. sylvatica , differing by 8.5% (pairwise divergence) (Supplementary Table 1).

Figures

FIGURE 29. Male genitalia of Tomosvaryella osteodes sp. nov., holotype (CNCD175298, CNC) A) dorsal view, B) ventral view, C) ejaculatory apodeme, D, E) lateral view.

FIGURE 58. Distribution of Tomosvaryella minima, T. mutata, T. osteodes sp. nov. in the Middle East.

FIGURE 68. Male habitus of Tomosvaryella species A–B) T. nimroozensis sp. nov., holotype (JSS51819, CNC) A) in dorsal view B) in lateral view, C–D) T. oshidae sp. nov., holotype (JSS51818, CNC) C) in dorsal view D) in lateral view, E–F) T. osteodes sp. nov., holotype (CNCD175298, CNC) E) in dorsal view F) in lateral view.