Chalarus saxonicus Kehlmaier

Kehlmaier, Christian & Assmann, Thorsten, 2008, The European species of Chalarus Walker, 1834 revisited (Diptera: Pipunculidae), Zootaxa 1936, pp. 1-39 : 12-16

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.184950
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5622192
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/367D87D6-FFC9-8D7B-FF78-FC32FE76E6AF
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Chalarus saxonicus Kehlmaier
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Chalarus saxonicus Kehlmaier View in CoL spec. nov.

( Figs 20 View FIGURES 12 – 23 , 27, 33 View FIGURES 24 – 33 , 54–55 View FIGURES 49 – 62 , 78 View FIGURES 76 – 78 )

Type material: Germany: Saxony, Dresden, Dresdner Heide, Prießnitztal, 13°46'E 51°05'N, 160m, handnet: 1ɗ (holotype), 21. VI.2005, DNA CK 335, Kehlmaier ( MTD); 1Ψ (allotype), 26.VI.2006, DNA CK 251, Kehlmaier ( MTD); 1ɗ, 21. VI.2005, DNA CK 57, Kehlmaier ( MTD); 1Ψ, 23. VI.2005, DNA CK 30, Kehlmaier ( MTD); Spain: Navarra, Finca de Artikutza, 1°44’W 43°15’N, 600m, Fagus sylvatica forest: 2Ψ, 11.– 24.VII.1995, Malaise trap H3, Martínez de Murguia ( PCCK).

Etymology: The epithet refers to the locus typicus being situated in the German Federal State of Saxony.

Differential diagnosis: Because of the limited number of specimens known, the distinction of male Chalarus saxonicus from other taxa with similar genital features based on morphological evidence alone has to be regarded as provisional. It differs from C. griseus in the shape of the inner gonopod (compare Figs 27–28 View FIGURES 24 – 33 ) and the light brown apical hairs of aasr. It differs from males of C. exiguus , C. holosericeus and C. zyginae in that it has white pvsr and light brown apical hairs of aasr, whereas in others these are dark brown. Compared to C. zyginae , it also has slightly shorter phallic processes (compare Figs 9–10 View FIGURES 7 – 11 ) and a generally larger body size. Female C. saxonicus has a narrow frons ( Fig. 78 View FIGURES 76 – 78 ), greatly enlarged ommatidial facets at the front, short pulvilli, and a long and thin ovipositor ( Figs 54–55 View FIGURES 49 – 62 ) with tergite 9 gently but distinctly curved. It also differs from some species, e.g. C. proprius , in that it has almost entirely whitish hairs on psr, pvsr and aasr. See Table 1 for coxI and ITS2 barcode sequence accession numbers.

Male: Body length. 2.8mm. Head. Face black, silver-grey pollinose. Labellum and palps light brown, the latter with 2 distal hairs on each. Eyes separated, ommatidial facets slightly enlarged towards the front. Frons black, silver-grey pollinose in lower quarter. At its narrowest point, width of 2 accompanying ommatidial facets. Antenna dark brown. Pedicel with 4 short upper and 3 lower bristles, two of the latter longer than flagellum which is of an ovoid-kidney shape and is slightly longer than wide. Vertex black. Ocellar triangle with 1 pair of long and 2 pairs of short ocellar bristles. Occiput black, hardly visible in lateral view. Thorax. Entirely dark brown to black. Dorsal surface of prescutum and scutum covered with rather widely spaced black hairs, as in other species of the genus, the longest ones towards the lateral and posterior margins (notopleural, supraalar and postalar bristles). Scutellum with 2 pairs of long black marginal bristles, dorsally with 2 pairs of short hairs. Pleura bare except anepimeron with 4 hairs. Wing and halter. Length: 2.9mm. LW:MWW=2.9. Wing surface with a weak brownish tinge and covered with microtrichia except near base. Pterostigma brown and incomplete (LS:LTC=0.8). LSC:LTC:LFC=7.6:6.2:1.0. Wing venation incomplete, as in other members of Chalarus . Halter dark brown with stem narrowly white. Leg. Entirely dark brown except tibia midventrally and tarsal segments slightly paler (mid brown). psr ~14 hairs, mid brown; pvsr ~19 whitish hairs, apical one greatly extending beyond apex; aasr ~9 hairs, 6 distal ones long and light brown others short and dark brown, apical ones extending as far as apex; pdsr ~7 dark brown hairs, apical ones extending as far as apex and ppsr ~3 dark brown hairs. Pulvilli shorter than distitarsus. Abdomen. Gently ovate in dorsal view, LT35:WT2=1.0.

Entirely dark brown. Hairs mid to dark brown. Dorsally and ventrally sparse and short, long and dense along lateral margins. Genitalia. Surstyli symmetrical, with pronounced medial protuberances, best seen in dorsal view ( Fig. 33 View FIGURES 24 – 33 ). Gonopods symmetrical, broadened in distal half ( Fig. 27 View FIGURES 24 – 33 ). Phallus as in Fig. 10 View FIGURES 7 – 11 , with straight shaft. Tip of distiphallus short and broad. Lmtdp:Ltdp slightly more than 3.0. Phallic processes symmetrical, slightly shorter than membranous tip of distiphallus and parallel to the latter. All three ejaculatory ducts placed distally on membranous tip of distiphallus. Ejaculatory apodeme parasol-shaped ( Fig. 20 View FIGURES 12 – 23 ).

Female differs from male in the following — Body length app. 2.2mm. Wing length: 2.5mm. LSC:LTC:LFC=6.8:5.8:1.0. LS:LTC=0.7. Bristles of pedicel shorter; none longer than flagellum. Frontal facets greatly enlarged (0.04mm). Frons at narrowest point slightly less than 2 times largest facet ( Fig. 78 View FIGURES 76 – 78 ). Frons with pairs of fronto-orbital setae. psr also whitish. Tergites 2–5 laterally with shorter hairs. Ovipositor rather long. In lateral view ( Fig. 55 View FIGURES 49 – 62 ), piercer twice length of base, with tergite 9 thin and gently but distinctly curved. In dorsal view ( Fig. 54 View FIGURES 49 – 62 ), base (tergite 7) ovate, weakly greyish pollinose.

Annotations: Of CK30 and CK57 only the terminalia remain. The holotype was punctured on one pleural side for DNA extraction but otherwise stayed intact. It is currently preserved in ethanol. In Kehlmaier (2003), 2 females belonging to this new taxon were erroneously recorded as C. proprius and are in the first author’s collection. A third female from Artikutza identified as C. proprius was deposited at KBIN but could not be obtained for this study.