Empidideicus (Anomaloptilus) irwini Evenhuis & Gharali, n. sp.

(Figs 9, 18, 21, 30, 31, 43, 55, 56, 69, 70)

Types. Holotype ♂ and 2♂, 2♀ paratypes from MADAGASCAR: Toliara Province: Ifaty, 22 km N Toliara, 23°11.5′S, 43°37′E, 18 Apr 1998, hand netted, spiny forest, M.E. Irwin, E.I. Schlinger (CAS) . Holotype in CAS . Paratypes in CAS and BPBM .

Diagnosis. Most similar to E. (A.) contrasticus n. sp. by the short mouthparts, the proboscis not exceeding the oral margin, but can be easily separated from it by yellow scutellum (black in E. (A.) contrasticus n. sp.) and the eyes holoptic or nearly so below the antennae (clearly dichoptic in E. (A.) contrasticus n. sp.).

Description:

Male (Fig. 9). Lengths: 0.98–1.20 mm. Wing: 1.00– 1.10 mm. Head (Fig. 21): globular, wider than long; eyes dichoptic above antennae separated at vertex by 1.5× distance between lateral ocelli, but holoptic or nearly so below level of antennae, separated by width of one ommatidium; occiput and postgena black; frons slightly depressed medially, with small black spot medially; face white, tip of oral margin white; antennae with scape yellow, short, subtrapezoidal; pedicel yellow, subconical, wider than long; first flagellomere black, lanceolate, length 2.5× width; second flagellomere black, three-fourths length of first flagellomere, with minute transparent apical style; mentum white; clypeus white, minute; proboscis dark slightly exerted beyond oral margin; labrum sclerotized, stiff, pointed apically, length subequal to proboscis; palpus not evident.

Thorax (Fig. 30). Mesonotum matte black with white markings in following areas: dorsolaterally from humeral callus to postalar callus, interrupted above wing base, interhumeral mark not coalesced with mark on humeral callus; scutellum yellow; mesonotal disc and dorsum of scutellum with short fine brown hairs; pleura bare; pleura black with white on following: posterodorsal corner of anepisternum and anepimeron, upper half of meron and metepisternum; halter stem grayish brown, knob white.

Legs. Coxae and femora yellow, mid femur with some brown on basodorsal half; rest of legs white except tarsal segments 3–5 brown.

Wing (Fig. 43). Elongate, length 2.5× width; subhyaline; veins brown; costa ends slightly beyond end of R 4+5; vein Sc incomplete; Rs faded at connection with R 1; R 4+5 slightly curved, ending in wing margin beyond level of end of M 2; vein M 1 curved to wing margin; M 2 straight; cell dm closed by apical crossvein, width one-half that of crossvein r-m; A 1 very thin, straight to wing margin; anal cell broadly open at wing margin; fringe of hair on posterior margin of wing well shortest at wing tip becoming longer and more sparse toward base.

Abdomen (Fig. 55). Dorsum black, with thin white band posteriorly; tergites with sparsely scattered minute black hairs; sternites brown medially, white laterally.

Genitalia (Fig. 69). Hypopygium shiny brown. In ventral view with gonocoxites rounded, rectangular, small cleft medially bearing paired trident-shaped process, paired pegs medially on basal portion of gonocoxite lobes, with thin dark sclerotization basally and large seta medially on each lobe (Fig. 69A); gonostylus subtriangular with long medial process; lateral arms of parameral sheath apodemes extending well below gonocoxa, foliate apically; aedeagal bulb large, rounded; aedeagal apodeme extending slightly beyond lateral arms of parameral sheath, with broad lanceolate lateral rami; upper portion of parameral sheath with bulbous apex in ventral view (Fig. 69C); epandrium subrectangular with large rounded, sclerotized apicoventral processes; cerci large, not exerted (Fig. 69B).

Female: As in male except eyes more dichoptic (Fig. 18); thorax subshiny (Fig. 31); tergal pattern of abdomen (Fig. 56) similar to that in E. (A.) hauseri n. sp. (Fig. 54) but dark areas more pronounced. Genitalia (Fig. 70): genital fork U-shaped, with two inwardly-directed process on lateral arms, median portion of “U” membranous, evanescent laterally, spermatheca spheroid-ellipsoid, sclerotized brown, longer than wide, small invagination apically with numerous glandular trichomes, with striations on basal three fourths; apical spermathecal duct subequal to length of spermatheca, thin, transparent; sperm pump minute, slightly sclerotized, without evident apical or basal valves; basal duct 1.5× length of apical duct, corrugated, slightly wider than apical duct; common duct absent.

Etymology. The specific epithet honors the collector, Michael E. Irwin and for his continued support of taxonomic research on Malagasy Diptera .