Aristobatina morogoro, Marshall, 2014

Marshall, Stephen A., 2014, A review of the Afrotropical genus Aristobatina Verbeke (Diptera: Micropezidae: Taeniapterinae), with descriptions of four new species from the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania, African Invertebrates 55 (1), pp. 143-143 : 148-150

Aristobatina morogoro sp. n.

Figs 7–11 , 24–26

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the region in which all type material was collected.

Description:

Length (head to wing tip): 13 mm.

Colour: Head orange anteriorly, reddish brown posteriorly, swollen part of frontal vitta dark reddish brown; body black; fore femur orange basally and brown distally; mid and hind femora black in basal ⅔, orange in distal ⅓; basal 2 tarsomeres of fore leg white, other tarsomeres black; abdominal pleurae mostly white, darkened with dark microsetulae on segments 1–2, with an elongate, oval, convex and differentiated area just below tergite 1–2 in male.

Head: Scape bare, except for marginal row of short setae; pedicel short­setose, with 3–5 longer, distal, ventral setae; face membranous and narrow; lower ½ of frons orange, swollen part of frontal vitta teardrop­shaped, dark reddish brown, surrounding ocelli, separated from anterior margin of frons by more than its length; 2 pairs of fronto-orbitals, 1 very large posterior pair at level of ocelli and a very small anterior pair at midpoint of vitta; postocellar, outer and inner vertical setae well­developed.

Thorax: Cervical sclerite of females flat and dull, with lateral indentation and small anterolateral vertical carina; males have a slightly convex cervical sclerite, without indentation; proepisternum with a few long, marginal ventral setae in posterior ½; katepisternum with double row of thin black setae, anterior row of 8 setae lower than posterior row; scutellum with 1 pair of marginal setae and 4 small dorsal setae; with small but distinct seta between postalar and dorsocentral setae.

Wing: CuA 2 virtually at right angle to and in line with bm­cu; wing membrane dark, with broad discal fascia extending from R 4+5 to Cu, and an apical infuscation; tegula and basicosta dark brown, similar to adjacent wing base, which has 3 long costagial setae, inner one very long and inclinate.

Female abdomen: Spermathecae oblong, 2.1× as long as wide, with transverse striations, spermathecal duct densely covered with knob­like processes beyond the division of the common duct into two straight branches. Single spermatheca uniformly studded. ( Fig. 15 ).

Male abdomen: Pleuron with large, dome­like, differentiated area on segment 4; hypandrium with elongate anterior plate and strong posterodorsal arms connecting to phallic plate, dorsolateral margin of posterodorsal arm having a prominent spur ( Fig. 7 ). Basiphallus elongate, extending well beyond base of distiphallus; postgonites equal and unmodified ( Fig. 9 ); distiphallus with tubular basal part bifurcating before transition into strongly recurved membranous distal part, apex with a finely spinulose glans ( Fig. 8 ); ejaculatory apodeme about ⅓ as large as epandrium ( Fig. 7 ); genital fork (sternite 5) with gap T­shaped at base ( Fig. 11 ), inner surfaces of arms densely spinose.

Holotype ♂: TANZANIA: Morogoro Region, Udzungwa Mts Nat. Park , 07°50'35''S 36°49'49''E, 11–13. xi.2009, 1000 m, T. Pape & S. A. Marshall ( ZMUC).

Paratypes: 2♂ 2♀ same data as holotype ( ZMUC, DEBU) .

Comments: Although this species is externally very distinct from previously described Aristobatina , the remarkable male and female internal terminalia and the unusual membranous dome on male pleuron 4 indicate that it belongs in a monophyletic Aristobatina .

Figures

Figs 7–11. Aristobatina morogoro sp. n., male: (7) terminalia, lateral view; (8) apical part of distiphallus; (9) basiphallus­distiphallus junction and left postgonite; (10) terminalia, dorsolateral view; (11) sternite 5. Not to scale.

Figs 18–26. Aristobatina spp.: (18–20) A. rufithorax: (18) female; (19) female head; (20) male; (21–23) A. melasma sp.n., holotype male: (21, 23) ovipositing; (22) head; (24–26) A. morogoro sp. n.: (24) female; (25) female head; (26) male.

Figs 12–17. Aristobatina spp.: (12–14) A. rufithorax male: (12) sternite 5; (13) terminalia; (14) apical part of distiphallus; (15–17) spermathecae and associated ducts: (15) A. morogoro sp. n., single small spermatheca and one of the paired large spermathecae; (16) A. melasma sp. n., spermatheca, one of pair; (17) A. rufithorax, bursa copulatrix, spermathecae and spermathecal ducts. Not to scale.