Sciophila curvata Salmela

Salmela, Jukka & Kolcsar, Levente-Peter, 2017, New and poorly known Palaearctic fungus gnats (Diptera, Sciaroidea), Biodiversity Data Journal 5, pp. 11760-11760 : 11760

Sciophila curvata Salmela sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: DIPT-JS-2015-0252 ; recordedBy: J. Salmela; individualCount: 1; sex: male; Location: country: Finland; stateProvince: Ostrobothnia borealis pars borealis; verbatimLocality: Kemijärvi, Pyhä-Luosto National Park, Karhunotko; verbatimLatitude: 67.001; verbatimLongitude: 27.133; verbatimCoordinateSystem: decimal degrees; verbatimSRS: WGS84; Identification: identifiedBy: J. Salmela; Event: samplingProtocol: Malaise trap; eventDate: 2014-6-10 /7-11; habitat: old-growth boreal forest with an intermittent brook; Record Level: institutionCode: ZMUT Type status: Other material. Occurrence: recordedBy: A. Polevoi; individualCount: 1; sex: male; Location: country: Russia; stateProvince: Karelia; verbatimLocality: Kivach Nature Reserve; verbatimLatitude: 62.272; verbatimLongitude: 33.986; verbatimCoordinateSystem: decimal degrees; verbatimSRS: WGS84; Identification: identifiedBy: J. Salmela; Event: samplingProtocol: Malaise trap; eventDate: 1990-8-13 /9-11; habitat: Myrtillus pine forest; Record Level: institutionCode: FRIP

Description

Male. Head dark, almost black. Ocelli arranged in a shallow triangle, approximately on the median part of vertex; ratio of distance of lateral ocellus from median ocellus: distance of lateral ocelli from eye = 0.59. Vertex covered by dark setae, face covered by small setae and clypeus by longer setae. Eyes pubescent. Palpi pale, covered by pale setae. Length ratio of palpal segments 3-5: 3:4=0.81, 4:5=0.52. Penultimate segment 4.3 times as long as wide, last segment 11.0 times as long as wide. Antennae 16-segmented (scape, pedicel and 14 flagellomeres), brown, first flagellomere light brown. Scape:pedicel length ratio 1.38. Scape with a slightly depressed sensory field in its base, having 5-6 minute setae. Flagellomeres cylindrical, length:width ratio of 1st flagellomere 1.54, 4th flagellomere 1.3 and apical flagellomere 2.90. Flagellomeres covered by dense light setosity, setae slightly curved, their length shorter than width of respective flagellomere. Polygonal (reticulate) pattern not present in basal and median flagellomeres, and either unclearly present or absent on the apical flagellomeres; apical flagellomeres of the holotype are slightly wrinkled.

Thorax dark brown. Scutum covered by pale setae. Anepimeron bare, other sclerites setose. Scutellum with eight setae in a curved row. Halteres light brown with pale setae.

Wings hyaline, both macro and microtrichia present on lamina. Base of Rs and R4 bare, other veins setose, veins brown to dark brown. C exceeding tip of R5 22 % of the distance between R5 and M1. Sc2 situated above R4. Furcation point of median fork slightly before the level of R4. Length ratio of M1+2:r-m = 0.71. Wing length 2.6 mm

Coxae yellow, with pale setae, trochanters infuscated. Legs yellow, femora ventrobasally darkened, setae on femora pale, tibial and tarsal setae darker. Length ratio of femur to tibia for fore, mid and hind legs: 0.98, 0.92, 0.83. Length ratio of tibia to basitarsus for fore, mid and hind legs: 1.81, 1.64, 2.20. Anteroapical depressed area of the fore tibia with ca. 16 pale setae in a row. Ratio of apical width of tibia:length of longest tibial spur for fore, mid and hind legs: 0.65, 0.27, 0.26.

Abdominal tergites and sternites dark brown, covered by pale setae. 9th tergite triangular, apex pointed (Fig. 6a). Gonocoxal apodeme not prominent. Dorsal lobe of gonostylus narrow, finger-like, with a strong apical spine (Fig. 6b, c, e); large median appendage of gonostylus with 18 comb-like megasetae arranged in a two-serial row (Fig. 6d). Small median appendage of gonostylus with three long setae (Fig. 6d). Ventral lobe of gonostylus prominent, hump-backed in shape; two long basal setae not well separated from other setae of the lobe (Fig. 6c, d, e). Aedeagus bifid, about as long as parameres; parameres strongly curved (Fig. 6b, f).

Diagnosis

The new species is characterised by the presence of three setae on the small median lobe of the gonostylus, very narrow dorsal lobe of the gonostylus and strongly curved parameres. The new species is closest to S. californiensis Zaitzev; the 9th tergite of the latter species is medially constricted, in the former the outline of the 9th tergite is triangular.

Etymology

The name of the new species ( curvata Latin, curved, an adjective) refers to the curved parameres of the male hypopygium.

Distribution

The type locality of the new species is from the Pyhä-Luosto National Park in central Finnish Lapland.

Ecology

The trapping site was a herb-rich bed of an intermittent brook, surrounded by an old-growth boreal forest.

Taxon discussion

The new species is most likely close to S. californiensis , because they share the following characters: the small median lobe of the gonostylus has three prominent setae and a narrow dorsal lobe. The new species, however, differs from S. californiensis by having a triangular 9th tergite (with a median constriction in S. californiensis ) and having 18 comb-like megasetae (48 in S. californiensis ). Although not mentioned in the description and improperly figured ( Zaitzev 1982), parameres of S. californiensis seem to be rather long, while parameres of S. curvata sp.n. are strongly curved, not exceeding the apex of aedeagus.