Pseudolycoriella macrotegmenta Mohrig, 1999

Köhler, Arne, 2019, The genus Pseudolycoriella Menzel & Mohrig, 1998 (Diptera, Sciaridae) in New Zealand, Zootaxa 4707 (1), pp. 1-69 : 48-49

Pseudolycoriella macrotegmenta Mohrig, 1999

( Fig. 48 )

Literature. Pseudolycoriella macrotegmenta Mohrig, 1999 : Mohrig & Jaschhof (1999): 41–43, Fig. 22 a–f.— Macfarlane et al. (2010): 441.

Material studied. Holotype male. New Zealand: North Island , Stratford , Mount Egmont National Park , East Egmont , altitude 650 m, Podocarpus wood with rotten wood and a dense layer of herbs, sweep net, 09.01.1993, leg. M. Jaschhof ( PWMP). New records. 1♂ North Island, Ruapehu, Tongariro NP, Mangawhero River Valley 3 km NE Ohakune, altitude 690 m, mixed podocarp/broadleaf forest, sweep net, 03– 04.02.2002, leg. M. Jaschhof ( SDEI, SDEI-Dipt-0000859). 2♂♂ same locality as previous, Malaise trap, 26.11– 28.12.2002, leg. M. & C. Jaschhof & U. Kallweit ( NZAC; SDEI, SDEI-Dipt-0000757).

Redescription. Male. Head brown; eye bridge three facets wide; lateral border of eye bridge two facets wide. Scape and pedicel brown, concolourous with flagellomeres; fourth flagellomere 2.9–3.6 times as long as wide; necks of flagellomeres differentiated; surface of flagellomeres rough with deep pits; sensilla of two different lengths present; setae fine and curved, approximately as long as flagellomere width. Prefrons and clypeus bulging. Maxillary palp three-segmented; first palpomere longest, second palpomere shortest; first palpomere with four bristles and a patch of sensilla. Thorax brown, laterally a brighter yellowish-brown. Posterior pronotum bare. Anterior pronotum with five to six bristles. Episternum 1 with seven to eleven bristles. Mesonotum with five to six robust lateral bristles and several longer bristles among the dorsocentrals. Frontal part of mesonotum with a few arcostichal bristles. Scutellum with four robust and some shorter bristles. Katepisternum as long as high. Wing. Length 2.4–2.5 mm; width/length ratio 0.36–0.38. Membrane transparent and without macrotrichia, anal area present; all posterior veins distinct and without macrotrichia; apical quarter to two-thirds of R 5 with additional macrotrichia ventrally; bM and r-m bare, exceptionally one specimen with one seta on r-m on one wing; R 1 short, 0.50–0.67 times as long as R; M-fork longer than stem of M; c/w ratio 0.70–0.74; r-m/bM ratio 0.8–1.1. Haltere pale brown. Legs pale brown; trochanter darker. Fore tibia with none or one to two bristles among the vestiture. Tibial organ comprising more than half of tibial apex, consisting of a patch of bristles surrounded by a robust circular border. Mid tibia with two to four anterioventral and two to three posterioventral robust bristles among the vestiture. Hind tibia with several very robust bristles on anterioventral, posterior and posterioventral sides and a longitudinal row of robust bristles, which comprises two thirds to three quarters of the tibia length. Basal tarsomere of all legs with conspicuous robust bristles. All tibial spurs equal in length. Claws with one robust and three minor teeth. Abdomen brown like the thorax or slightly paler, with dark bristles. Hypopygium ( Fig. 48 ) brown. Gonocoxites wider than long; basally not fused, without a basal lobe of bristles. Gonostylus slender, slightly curved inwards, 2.7–3.0 times longer than wide; thickest part in the middle, apically with dense setae and a group of approximately six small spines, spines more or less longitudinally directed; subapically with one short whip-lash hair, which is two times as long as the apical spines. Tegmen wider than long and sclerotized, base very strongly sclerotized with short and robust parameral apodeme; lateral margin of tegmen with a sclerotized edge, which bears several small teeth on middle third; apex straight, sclerotisation widely interrupted; dorsal structures absent. Area of teeth consists of more than 20 conspicuous teeth. Ejaculatory apodeme short, broad, and very dark, with a long, broad base. Posterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme broad and brown. Anterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme small, roundish, darker than posterior portion.

Body size: 1.8–2.4 mm.

Female. Unknown.

Genetic distances. Both available COI sequences are identical and do not show any distance. The nearest neighbour is Psl. wernermohrigi , diverging by a minimum of 1.84%. The one available 28S sequence is identical to those of Psl. frederickedwardsi, Psl. huttoni, Psl. jaschhofi, Psl. plicitegmenta, Psl. robustotegmenta, Psl. subtilitegmenta, Psl. tonnoiri , and Psl. wernermohrigi .

Distribution. New Zealand.

Discussion. Pseudolycoriella macrotegmenta belongs to those species of the Psl. macrotegmenta complex which bear lateral teeth on the tegmen. Among these species Psl. macrotegmenta is the only species that lacks the dorsal structures on the tegmen and has a gonostylus with a subapical lobe on the inner side.

The author of Psl. macrotegmenta had a wide concept of this species.Accordingly, the paratype series contained two other species: three specimens of Psl. wernermohrigi and one specimen of Psl. frederickedwardsi . The fifth paratype which is deposited in the NZAC (NZAC02016074) was not studied and remains unrevised. This broad concept of Psl. macrotegmenta led to an inaccuracy in the original description. Mohrig & Jaschhof (1999) gave a length to width ratio of the fourth flagellomere of 2.4, which is much shorter than the value of 2.9–3.6 revealed by the present study.

Figures

FIGURES 48–53. Pseudolycoriella macrotegmenta complex, hypopygia. 48. Pseudolycoriella macrotegmenta Mohrig 49. Pseudolycoriella plicitegmenta sp. n. 50. Pseudolycoriella wernermohrigi sp. n. 51. Pseudolycoriella huttoni sp. n. 52. Pseudolycoriella gonotegmenta sp. n. 53. Pseudolycoriella subtilitegmenta sp. n. Abbreviations: ba = basal angle; ds = dorsal structure on the tegmen; lt = teeth on lateral side of the tegmen.

FIGURES 20–24. Pseudolycoriella jejuna complex, Pseudolycoriella tewaipounamu sp. n., details of hypopygium. 20. Hypopygium, ventral. 21. Hypopygium, dorsal, tergite IX removed. 22. Hypopygium, ventral. 23. Tegmen, ventral. 24. Tegmen, dorsal. Abbreviations: ac = apical cavity; at = apex of tegmen; be = base of ejaculatory apodeme; be* = base of ejaculatory apodeme covered by the membranous area; dc = dorsal carina; df = dorsal fold; ea = ejaculatory apodeme; gc = gonocoxite; gs = gonostylus; ll = lateral lobe; ma = membranous area; mf = median fold; pa = parameral apodeme; pa* = parameral apodeme covered by integument; sp = gonostylar spine; wh = whip-lash hair.