Zalea major (D. McAlpine)

McAlpine, D. K., 2007, The Surge Flies (Diptera: Canacidae: Zaleinae) of Australasia and Notes on Tethinid-Canacid Morphology and Relationships, Records of the Australian Museum 59 (1), pp. 27-64 : 58-59

Zalea major (D. McAlpine)

Figs 22, 43, 78–84

Zale major D. McAlpine, 1982: 112 , figs 1–3.

Zalea major (D. McAlpine) .–D. McAlpine, 1985: 82.

Material examined. HOLOTYPE!, New South Wales: Bundeena, Port Hacking , 10.xii.1966, D.K.M. ( AM). The statement (D. McAlpine, 1982) that the holotype is a male is a typographical error.

Other material (localities only). New South Wales: Wategos Beach, Cape Byron ( AM) ; Broken Head, near Byron Bay ( AM, ANIC) ; Smoky Cape, near South West Rocks ( AM) ; The Ruins, Booti Booti National Park, Forster district ( AM, BPB, MCV, USNM) ; Seal Rocks (headland) ( AM, ANIC) ; Forrester’s Beach, near Terrigal ( AM) ; Grotto Point, Sydney Harbour ( AM) ; Kurnell, Botany Bay. Tasmania: Binalong Bay , near Saint Helen’s ( AM, TDA) ; Ironhouse Point, near Falmouth ( AM) . See also paratype list of D. McAlpine (1982, material from Gosford and Sydney districts) .

Supplementary description

Antenna. Segment 3 and palpus plain yellow in male, usually slightly suffused with brown in female.

Legs. Mid femur of male with strong distal posteroventral comb of short, thick, blunt bristles, with fewer longer posteroventral bristles near and before middle; mid femur of female with no differentiated posteroventral bristles; tibiae without differentiated long bristles.

Abdomen. Male: epandrial structures resembling those of Z. minor including extensively pubescent anterior surstylus and non-pruinescent posterior surstylus; anterior surstylus expanded at base, gradually narrowed distally; posterior surstylus relatively thick on basal half, tapering beyond, subtruncate at apex, with group of long dense setulae anteriorly near mid-length; ventral plate of epandrium with two well separated setulae on each side; hypandrium on each side with group of three large bristles, of which sockets are contiguous, and three small stumpy setulae laterad of these; each anterior papilla of aedeagus with numerous parallel ridges, pustulose distally, apically with pustules becoming slender and thorn-like; median posterior papilla very small; distiphallus on posterior surface pustulose from near mid-length almost to apex, pustules becoming crowded distally, mostly rounded, some lateral ones obtusely pointed, forming extensive file-like surface. Female: sternite 1 not deeply divided; sternites 3 to 5 narrow, longer than broad; sternite 6 medially notched on both anterior and posterior margins; tergite 6 desclerotized on posterior margin medially, broader than tergite 5, with posteroventral part more strongly produced; tergite 7 ( Fig. 78) divided in two, each sclerite broader than long, grey pruinescent, black only where it joins lateral arm of anterior apodeme; paired sclerites of sternite 7 not very narrow, separated from each other by less than 3× width of each, each with c. three posterior setulae; cercus slightly shorter than in Z. minor and Z. dayi .

Dimensions. In the original description, for “width of hypandrium”, read “width of epandrium”.

Distribution. Coastal New South Wales, from Byron Bay district to Port Hacking (Bundeena). Tasmania: east coast, north from Falmouth district.

Notes

Most specimens of Z. major can be distinguished from the sympatric Z. minor and Z. dayi by their larger size. Males can further be distinguished by the much broader epandrium and differently shaped surstyli, and females can be distinguished by the differently shaped tergites 6 and 7.