Unicornella estonensis Jaschhof & Sikora, 2020

Sikora, Tomáš, Jaschhof, Mathias & Kurina, Olavi, 2020, Additions to the Estonian fauna of mycophagous Cecidomyiidae (Diptera), with a description of Unicornella estonensis gen. et sp. nov., Zootaxa 4851 (2), pp. 349-363 : 361

Unicornella estonensis Jaschhof & Sikora sp. nov.

Fig. 3

Diagnosis. In Europe, where U. estonensis is the only member of the genus Unicornella , the species can be recognized by the characters mentioned in the generic diagnosis.

Other male characters. Body size 1.1–1.2 mm. Head. Neck of fourth flagellomere 1.1 times as long as node ( Fig. 3C ). Legs. Fore tibia 1.2 times as long as T 2.

Etymology. The name is a Latin adjective derived from Estonia, the provenance of the type specimens.

Type material. Holotype. Male, Estonia, Saaremaa, Muhu, Igaküla , 58°36’3’’N / 23°07’42’’E, 26 Jun.–11 Jul. 2010, MT, H. Jäe & EMTP (in IZBE) . Paratype. 1 male, Estonia, Hiiumaa, Kerema , 58°53’26’’N / 22°56’52’’E, 5–19 Jul. 2009, MT, R. Miller & EMTP (in IZBE) .

Remarks. We are aware of an unnamed species of Unicornella from Japan which was collected on Iriomote, a tropical island of the Ryukyu Arc east of Taiwan. However, the only specimen known is not in condition sufficient for formal taxonomic description, so is left unnamed. The differences between these two species are so small, concerning only the length of gonostyli and its basomedial process, and structure of aedeagal apodeme.Apart from that, the two species appear to be indistinguishable from each other.

Material studied of an unnamed Unicornella from Japan. 1 male, Japan, Ryukyu Islands, prefecture of Okinawa, Iriomote Island , village of Komi , Maera River , primary tropical evergreen broadleaf forest, 9 Mar. 1999, sweepnet and aspirator, M. Jaschhof (in Senckenberg German Entomological Institute, Müncheberg, Germany) .

Figures

FIGURE 3: Morphology of Unicornella estonensis, male, holotype. A: Genitalia, ventral. B: Wing, dorsal, setae omitted. C: Fourth flagellomere, lateral. D: Basitarsus of foreleg, lateral. Scales for A, C, D, 0.05 mm; for B, 0.5 mm.