Pseudolycoriella jejuna (Edwards, 1927)

Köhler, Arne, 2019, The genus Pseudolycoriella Menzel & Mohrig, 1998 (Diptera, Sciaridae) in New Zealand, Zootaxa 4707 (1), pp. 1-69 : 30-31

Pseudolycoriella jejuna (Edwards, 1927)

( Figs 25–29 )

Literature. Sciara jejuna Edwards, 1927 : Tonnoir & Edwards (1927): 796, Fig. 181.— Miller (1950): 57.— Steffan (1989): 150.— Pseudolycoriella jejuna (Edwards, 1927) : Mohrig & Jaschhof (1999): 37–39, Fig. 19 a–g.— Menzel & Mohrig (2000): 715.— Rudzinski (2000): 183.— Macfarlane et al. (2010): 441.

Material studied. Holotype male. New Zealand: North Island , Manawatu-Wanganui , Ohakune , Oct.-Nov. 1923, leg. T.R. Harris ( BMNH, BMNH (E) 250339). Previously published material: 1♂ North Island , Far North , Waipoua Forest , 45 km northwest of Dargaville , old Kauri- Podocarpus wood, sweep net, 31.12.1992, leg. M. Jaschhof ( PWMP). 2♂♂ North Island , Taupo , Hauhungaroa Range , 5 km southwest of Tihoi , Podocarpus wood with ground ferns, sweep net, 21.12.1992, leg. M. Jaschhof ( PWMP; SDEI [ Slide with the handwritten label: “Neuseeland: Nordins. / Pureora Forest / Kescher , Podocarpus / 21.12.92 / leg. Jaschhof ”. The locality information is obviously incorrect, because the sample locality and the date do not correspond with locality information in Mohrig & Jaschhof (1999).]). 2♂♂ North Island , Wairoa , Urewera National Park , Huiarau Range 30 km southeast of Murupara , altitude 600–1,000 m, Podocarpus - Nothofagus wood, sweep net, 23.12.1992, leg. M. Jaschhof (all PWMP). 1♂ 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: 3♂♂ North Island , Taupo, Pureora Forest , Select Loop Road, 500 m, mixed mature podocarp forest, Malaise trap, 15.07– 23.08.2001, leg. M. & C. Jaschhof ( SDEI, SDEI-Dipt-0000579, SDEI-Dipt-0000583 & SDEI-Dipt-0000588). 1♂ North Island , Taupo, Pureora Forest Park, Waipapa Reserve , altitude 600 m, mixed podocarp/broadleaf forest, sweep net, 24– 25.11.2002, leg. M. Jaschhof ( SDEI). 2♂♂ 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 ( NZAC, SDEI-Dipt-0000773; SDEI, SDEI-Dipt-0000829). 8♂♂ same locality as previous, Malaise trap, 26.11– 28.12.2002, leg. M. & C. Jaschhof & U. Kallweit (3x NZAC SDEI-Dipt-0000744 & SDEI-Dipt-0001195 & SDEI-Dipt-0001347; 5x SDEI, SDEI- Dipt-0000603, SDEI-Dipt-0000617, SDEI-Dipt-0001193 & SDEI-Dipt-0001339). 2♂♂ same locality as previous, sweep net, 26.11.2002, leg. M. Jaschhof ( NZAC; SDEI).

Redescription. Male. Head. Head capsule brown. Eye bridge three facets wide, two facets at margin. Scape and pedicel mostly slightly paler than the flagellomeres; fourth flagellomere 2.7–3.3 times longer than wide; necks of flagellomeres well differentiated; surface of flagellomeres rough with deep pits, sensilla of two different lengths, small ones and longer, curved sensilla; setae on the flagellomere as long as flagellomere width, slightly curved. Maxillary palp long and three-segmented, first palpomere longest, second one shortest; first palpomere with an inconspicuous patch of sensilla and three to five long bristles (exceptionally two), one bristle longer and more robust, located on the outer side. Prefrons and clypeus bulging. Thorax brown, paler than head; some specimens with lateral brightened areas. Posterior pronotum bare. Anterior pronotum with two to six setae. Episternum 1 with four to eight setae. Mesonotum with four to six robust lateral bristles; row of dorsocentral bristles well developed; anteriorly on the mesonotum two to seven (median four) small arcostichal setae ( Figs 28–29 ). Scutellum with four robust bristles (the inner ones longer than the outer two) and several minor setae. Katepisternum as long as high. Wing. Length 2.3–3.1 mm; width/length ratio 0.35–0.40. Membrane transparent, slightly shaded and without macrotrichia, anal area present; all posterior veins distinct, except faint stem of M, apical one-fifth to half of R 5 with macrotrichia on ventral and dorsal side; bM and r-m bare, exceptionally three specimens bearing one setae on r-m (in two cases only on one wing), R 1 0.8–1.2 times as long as R; c/w ratio 0.75–0.82; r-m 0.8–1.4 as long as bM (the holotype has an extraordinarily short r-m on the right wing, resulting in a r-m/bM ratio of 2.1). Haltere long and sooty brown; shaft longer than knob. Legs pale brown, paler than thorax, mid and hind coxae slightly darker than front coxae. Tibial organ surrounded by a circular border and as broad as half of the width of the tibial apex; tibial organ consists of an irregular row of bristles. Front tibia without robust bristles among the vestiture (exceptionally one specimen with one bristle among the vestiture). Mid tibia with one to three robust bristles among the vestiture (one specimen without robust bristles among vestiture). Posteriodorsal row of bristles inconspicuous, consisting of three to six bristles. All tibial spurs equal in length. Claws with robust teeth. Abdomen brown, slightly paler than thorax, with long, dark setae. Hypopygium ( Fig. 25 ). Gonocoxites wider than long, inner side of gonocoxites with medium sized setae, outer side with long setae; ventral, inner side of gonocoxites not fused basally. Gonostylus elongate and curved, 2.4–3.1 times longer than wide, apex differentiated, apex width varies between slender and broad (compare Figs 25 & 26 ), inner side of gonostylus concave and scattered with microtrichia; apex with one long spine and one whiplash hair. Tegmen of the typical ground plan of the Psl. jejuna complex, mostly onion-shaped (in some specimens more elongated), apical contraction broad; dorsal folds present; parameral apodeme basally strongly sclerotized, medially connected, posterior branches of the parameral apodemes nearly parallel. Area of teeth absent. Ejaculatory apodeme dark, broad, and long; base of ejaculatory apodeme very delicate, long, and slender (one specimen shows an exceptionally broad base [ Fig. 27 ]). Posterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme medium sized and brown, medially fused. Anterior portion of gonocoxal apodeme long and dark brown.

Body size: 2.5–3.3 mm.

Female. A female paratype (BMNH(E) 250340, BMNH) was designated by Tonnoir & Edwards (1927) and described by Menzel & Mohrig (2000). This type is not included in the present study.

Genetic distances. The maximum p-distance between all eight available COI sequences is 2.75%. The nearest neighbour is Psl. teo , diverging by a minimum of 7.55%. All ten available 28S sequences are identical. The nearest neighbour is Psl. dagae , diverging by a minimum of 0.75%.

Distribution. New Zealand.

Remarks. Although Menzel & Mohrig (2000) gave an accurate redescription of Psl. jejuna , some details have to be amended. These authors stated that Psl. jejuna possesses an area of teeth twice as high as broad, with long single-pointed teeth ( Menzel & Mohrig, 2000). This could not be verified because an area of teeth could not be observed in the holotype or in any other investigated specimen. Just two paratypes of another species of this com-plex— Psl. whena— show an atavistic area of teeth (see discussion of Psl. jejuna complex). Moreover, Menzel & Mohrig (2000) gave a lower value for the body length of Psl. jejuna than measured in the present study (2.2 mm vs. 2.5–3.3 mm). Maybe this is a result of measuring the shrunken holotype without taking the length of the hypopygium into account. The holotype of Psl. jejuna has an extraordinary ratio of the length of the wing vein r-m and bM. On the right wing the r-m/bM ratio is 2.1 and on the left wing 1.8. The r-m/bM ratio of the newly examined specimens ranges from 0.8 to 1.4.

Figures

FIGURES 25–36. Pseudolycoriella jejuna complex, Pseudolycoriella jejuna (Edwards) and Pseudolycoriella tuakana sp. n. 25. Psl. jejuna (SDEI-Dipt-0000583), hypopygium. 26. Psl. jejuna (SDEI-Dipt-0000603), gonostylus. 27. Psl. jejuna (SDEI- Dipt-0000583), tegmen with aberrant ejaculatory apodeme. 28. Psl. jejuna (SDEI-Dipt-0000603), mesonotum. 29. Psl. jejuna holotype, mesonotum. 30. Psl. tuakana holotype, hypopygium. 31. Psl. tuakana paratype, gonostylus. 32. Psl. tuakana paratype, tegmen. 33. Psl. tuakana holotype, mesonotum (lateral view). 34. Psl. tuakana paratype, mesonotum (lateral view). 35a. Comparison of the length of gonostylar spine of both species; values for holotypes are indicated by black asterisks. 35b. Comparison of the length-width ratio of gonostylus of both species; values for holotypes are indicated by black asterisks. 35c. Comparison of the length of ejaculatory apodeme of both species; values for holotypes are indicated by black asterisks. 36. Histogram of arcostichal bristles of both species. Abbreviations:AC = arcostichal bristles; DC = dorsocentral bristles.

FIGURES 14–19. Pseudolycoriella bispina complex, hypopygia. 14. Pseudolycoriella bispina Mohrig. 15. Pseudolycoriella teo sp. n. 16. Pseudolycoriella puhihi sp. n. 17. Pseudolycoriella orite sp. n. 18. Pseudolycoriella mahanga sp. n. 19. Pseudolycoriella porehu sp. n. Abbreviation: ti = insertion of the tendon of the gonostylus adductor.