Griphophanes gravicaudatus (Grootaert & Meuffels)

Grootaert, Patrick & Meuffels, Henk, 2012, New Griphophanes Grootaert & Meuffels (Diptera, Dolichopodidae, Peloropeodinae) from Southeast Asia, Zootaxa 3478, pp. 570-580 : 574-575

Griphophanes gravicaudatus (Grootaert & Meuffels)

( Figs. 5–7 , 11 )

Griphomyia gravicaudata Grootaert & Meuffels, 1997: 108 , figs. 1–15.

Griphophanes gravicaudatus ( Grootaert & Meuffels): Grootaert & Meuffels, 1998 : 111.

Material examined. MALAYSIA: 2 3, Endau-Rompin N.P. (2°32'N, 103°24'E; alt. 34 m) river banks, tributary Endau river, 11.VII.2001 (reg. 21062; leg. P. Grootaert); 1 Ƥ, Endau-Rompin, banks Endau river, 12.VII.2001 (reg. 21065); 1 3, Endau-Rompin, secondary rain forest along Endau river, 12.VII.2001 (reg. 21066); 4 3, Malaysia, Endau-Rompin, Sungei 1, tributary Endau river, 13.VII.2001 (reg. 21070); 15 3, Endau-Rompin, banks Sungei 2, tributary Endau river, 13.VII.2001 (reg. 21072). 4 3, 2 Ƥ, Langkawi (6°22'20''N, 99°40'99''E; alt. 54 m), 3.IX.2005, rain forest (reg. 25326, Tio170, leg. P. Grootaert & I. Van de Velde).

Diagnosis: Medium-sized species with yellow legs. Acr uniseriate. No bristling on fore and hind femora. Cerci not-bifurcate but bent in a right angle.

Redescription. Male. Body length 1.7 mm; wing length 1.3 mm. Head. Frons and face with blackish ground colour. Eyes nearly touching each other below middle of face. Palpus brown, with small, black apical bristle. Rostrum dark brown. Occiput black. Postoculars all black. Antenna ( Fig. 5 ) dark brown. Third segment about as long as deep, triangular, with rather blunt apex. Arista dorsal, more than 3X as long as antenna, bare; basal aristal segment half as long as third antennal segment. Thorax. Mesoscutum and scutellum greenish black, feebly shining. Pleurae brownish black to dark brown, partly with green metallic gloss. Acr uniseriate. Legs. Fore coxa yellow, mid and hind coxae brown. Legs, including trochanters, yellow. Tarsi indistinctly darkened towards tips. Fore leg. Coxa anteriorly with few, very short, dark hairs; at apex a few short and weak bristles. Trochanter bare. Femur and tibia without bristles; tibia about as long as femur. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.35: 0.21: 0.08: 0.07: 0.04: 0.05. Mid leg. Coxa anteriorly with a few, very short hairs; exteriorly with short, weak bristle. Trochanter with very small bristle. Femur without bristles, with only 1 or 2 tiny preapical pv. Tibia slightly longer than femur; 1 ad and 1 pd at basal fourth; a few short and thin apicals. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.55: 0.24: 0.15: 0.11: 0.08: 0.07. Hind leg. Coxa with thin and weak exterior bristle. Trochanter bare. Femur without bristles. Tibia slightly longer than femur; tiny ad at basal fourth; 1 dorsal bristle near apex ( Fig. 6 ), preceded by some lengthened hairs. Tip of hind tibia with scale-like appendage ventrally. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.53: 0.16: 0.2: 0.15: 0.1: 0.07. Wing. Brownish tinged with brown veins. Tp about half as long as apical part of Cu. Halter darkened. Squama brown, with black border, and 5 long, black cilia. Abdomen above blackish brown, feebly shining; sterna brownish. Hairs on terga small, black; hind marginal bristles long on first tergum, short on following terga. Hypopygium ( Fig. 7 ) brownish black; cerci small, yellowish-brown, with tip bent less than right angle. Ventral surstylus digitiform with strong apical bristle. Dorsal surstylus twice as broad as ventral surstylus also bearing apical spine-like bristle. Epandrial lobe very large without epandrial bristles. Detailed description of complex aedeagus and asymmetrical hypandrium found in Grootaert & Meuffels (1997). Female. Body length 1.55 mm; wing length 1.3 mm. Resembles male except as follows: Face at narrowest point about as wide as distance between ocellar bristles. Palpus and rostrum slightly larger than in male and more yellowish brown. Oviscapt yellow, with row of 6 small acanthae (2 black acanthae on each side, and 2 yellowish acanthae in middle).

Distribution: Thailand (South), Malaysia.

Figures

FIGURES 5 – 7. Griphophanes gravicaudatus (Grootaert & Meuffels, 1997) male: 5. antenna; 6. tip of hind tibia anteriorly; 7. postabdomen. Scale 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 11 – 14. Griphophanes males: 11. gravicaudatus (Grootaert & Meuffels) habitus (scale 0.5 mm); 12. obscurus sp. nov. abdomen (scale 0.1 mm); 13. furcatulus sp. nov. habitus (scale 0.5 mm); 14. furcatus sp. nov. postabdomen (scale 0.1 mm).