Megaselia gallagheri, Disney, R. Henry L., 2006

Disney, R. Henry L., 2006, Eight new species of Megaselia Rondani (Diptera: Phoridae) from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen, Zootaxa 1371, pp. 1-21 : 6-7

Megaselia gallagheri sp. nov.

( Figs 8 – 11 )

In Beyer’s (1965) keys this species runs to couplet 10 on page 57, where either lead could apply. It differs from M. acutipennis Bridarolli by its more sinuous vein 6 and its generally paler legs. It is immediately distinguished from M. punctata Bridarolli by having three, not two, bristles on the notopleuron and by the details of the hypopygium. Indeed in more closely resembles M. troglodytica Schmitz , which also has three bristles on the notopleuron, and which Beyer keys out at couplet 6 on page 56. However, M. troglodytica has longer costal cillia, entirely brown hind femora and a different hypopygium. Other females with three notopleurals that resemble M. gallagheri include M. agarici (Lintner) , M. albicaudata (Wood) , M. coaetanea Schmitz , M. halterata (Wood) , M. nectama Disney and M. nudihalterata (described below). M. agarici , M. nectama and M. nudihalterata are immediately distinguished by their very pale vein 7. M. coaetanea has brown hind femora as opposed to being straw yellow with a brown tip. M. albicaudata and M. halterata have the costal cilia about as long as the outermost axillary bristle, whereas they are clearly shorter in M. gallagheri .

Etymology

Named after M. D. Gallagher, who collected the first specimen of this species.

Male

Frons brown, clearly broader than long, with 34 – 50 hairs, dense but very fine microsetae, lower SAs shorter and weaker than upper pair, and bristles arranged as in Fig.

8. Cheek with 2 – 3 bristles and jowl with 2 longer ones. Postpedicels subglobose, brown, with 45 – 55 SPS vesicles, the largest being subequal to the diameters of the sockets of lower SAs. Palps straw yellow, with 3 long and 3 short bristles and 3 – 7 hairs. Labrum coloured as palps and about 0.7x as wide as postpedicel. Labella also pale and with at most a dozen short spinules below. Thorax brown. Mesopleuron bare. Three notopleural bristles and no cleft in front of these. Scutellum with an anterior pair of fine hairs (at most as long as hairs in middle of scutum) and a posterior pair of bristles. Abdominal tergites brown with the hairs at rear of T6 longer than rest ( Fig. 9 ). Venter light greyish brown, and with numerous hairs below segments 3 – 6. Hypopygium brown, but anal tube paler to straw yellow, and as Fig. 9 . Right lobe of hypandrium vestigial. With three rectal papillae. Mid and hind femora and tibiae yellowish brown, the front femora paler and the rest of legs straw yellow. Fore tarsus with posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1 – 4, and segment 5 slightly longer than 4. Dorsal hair palisade of mid tibia extends almost 0.5 – 0.6x its length. Hairs below basal half of hind femur clearly longer than those of anteroventral row of outer half. Hind tibia with 12 – 16 differentiated posterodorsal hairs. Spinules of apical combs all simple. Wings 1.1 – 1.5 mm long. Costal index 0.39 – 0.42. Costal ratios 4.0 – 5.3: 1.3 – 1.7: 1. Costal cilia (of section 3) 0.06 – 0.07 mm long. Hair at base of vein 3 minute or absent. With 2 – 3 axillary bristles, which are clearly longer than costal cilia. Sc not reaching R1. Veins with pale yellow costa and the rest yellowish grey but 7 paler than rest. Membrane only lightly tinged grey. Haltere with brown stem and yellowish knob variably tinged brown.

Female

Head similar to male but labrum is about as wide as diameter of postpedicel and the latter with about half as many SPS vesicles. Thorax as male. Abdominal tergites brown. T5 – T7 as Fig. 10 . Venter coloured as male and with similar hairs below segments 3 – 6. Sternite 7 a narow triangle with 3 – 4 hairs at rear margin and as many shorter hairs further forward. Posterolateral lobes at rear of sternum 8 only evident from the position of three long hairs at the rear margin. Cerci pale and about 3x as long as broad. With four rectal papillae. Furca not evident. Dufour’s crop mechanism pale and as Fig. 11 . Legs similar to male but more extensively straw yellow, apart from brown outer quarter to third of hind femur. Wing as male except 1.3 – 1.7 mm long. Costal index 0.39 – 0.43. Costal ratios 4.0 – 5.3: 1.2 – 1.9: 1 Otherwise it and haltere as male.

Material

Specimens examined: Holotype male, United Arab Emirates, Wadi Wurayah, 12 – 14.iv.2005, T. Pape ( CUMZ, 32 – 138). Paratypes: 3 males, 3 females, as holotype. 1 male, Oman, Al Khuwair, 5 – 9.1 .1988, M. D. Gallagher (National Museum of Wales, 5 – 144).

Figures

FIGURES 8 – 9. Megaselia gallagheri male. (8) frons, with bristles represented by their basal sockets only; (9) left face of hypopygium. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 10 – 11. Megaselia gallagheri female. (10) abdominal tergites 5 – 7; (11) Dufour’s crop mechanism. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.