Limonia enormis, Starý, 2017

Starý, Jaroslav, 2017, Four new species of Limonia from the Mediterranean (Diptera: Limoniidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae) 57 (2), pp. 713-721 : 720-721

Limonia enormis sp. nov.

( Figs 7–8 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♂ ( RMNH), GREECE: CRETE: RETHYMNO REGION: Ida Mt. , Ida cave , 1500 m, 35°12.6′N 24°49.8′E, 6.v.2002 (J. J. Wieringa leg.), labelled ‘GREECE, CRETE, Rethymno / Mt. IDA, Ida Cave, 1500 m / 35°12.6′N 24°49.8′E / 6.V.2002, J.J. Wieringa’ [printed, white label] // ‘HOLOTYPE / Limonia / enormis sp. n. ♂ / J. Starý 2017’ [printed, red label]. The specimen is pinned, with right antenna and both mid legs missing; apex of abdomen cut off, terminalia dissected and placed in a sealed plastic tube with glycerine, pinned with the specimen.

Diagnosis. Very large species. Body colouration in general yellowish brown, restrictedly darker on dorsum of thorax and obscure yellow to yellowish brown on pleuron. Wing membrane smoky greyish. Wing pattern with unusual darker streak along distal anterior margin approximately from R 2 to tip of R 3. Male terminalia with aedeagus unusually broad and paramere widely and shallowly emarginated at posterior margin, with its inner process subacute at tip. Body length 13.2 mm, wing length 16.9 mm.

Description. Male. Head dark brown on frons and vertex, somewhat paler, brown, and more shiny on rostrum. Palpus dark brown. Antenna 14-segmented, moderately long, reaching to about base of wing. Scape brown, pedicel dark brown, flagellomeres brown, elongate, subcylindrical. Longest verticils about 1.5 times as long as their respective flagellomeres.

Thorax generally yellowish brown. Pronotum brown, narrowly yellowed laterally and posteriorly. Prescutum and scutum with broad, brown, median area demarcated with prescutal setae, sides of prescutum yellow. Other dorsal part of thorax generally yellowish brown. Pleuron paler than dorsum of thorax, obscure yellow to yellowish brown, slightly darker on anterior part. Wing moderately broad, with width-length ratio about 1: 3.5. Wing membrane smoky greyish. Wing pattern consisting of three darker, diffuse spots at anterior margin, at origin of Rs, at tip of Sc 1, and over R 2; latter spot extended distally, forming diffuse streak along anterior margin of wing in cells C and R 1, reaching approximately from R 2 to tip of R 3. Space between latter two markings slightly yellowed. Variously distinct darker, diffuse seams, especially along Cu and so-called outer cord. Venation usual for Limonia , with discal cell short, squarish; M 3+4 shorter than M 4. Halter with pale stem, slightly darker on knob. Legs generally yellow, with fore coxa slightly darker, obscure yellow; tips of femora darkened, distal tarsomeres dark brown; tarsomeres 1 about twice as long as rest of tarsi.

Abdomen yellowish brown, with anterior and posterior margins of tergites yellow; ventral side paler. Male terminalia ( Figs 7–8 ) yellowish brown, broad and robust. Tergite 9 essentially lentil-shaped in outline, transverse. Posterior margin broadly rounded, formed by chitinized bar with shallow U-shaped median notch. Gonocoxite very stout and short. Gonostylus conical, rather short, evenly arched and tapered to narrowly rounded tip, considerably swollen in proximal half. Aedeagus remarkable in being unusually broad, still more so in proximal half. Paramere widely and shallowly emarginated at posterior margin, with its inner process broad at base, tapered to subacute tip.

Female unknown.

Differential diagnosis. With its wing length of 16.9 mm, the new species represents the largest Palaearctic Limonia . Two other Palaearctic species of the genus approach the size, viz. Limonia lindbergi Nielsen, 1962 (wing length 14–16 mm), of Afghanistan, and L. synempora Alexander, 1933 (wing length 15 mm), of China. These are considerably different in general appearance both from each other and from L. enormis sp. nov. Whereas the other species described in this paper all have the typical appearance of Limonia within the species groups adopted by SAVCHENKO (1985), L. enormis sp. nov. looks rather strange with its smoky greyish wing and diffuse wing pattern, with an unusual streak along the distal anterior margin. Although L. lindbergi has only a single spot on the wing (over R 2), (having been compared with L. macrostigma (Schummel, 1829) in the original description) its male terminalia, as far as they were adequately illustrated (cf. NIELSEN 1962: Fig. 2 ), show some similarities with L. enormis sp. nov., such as a lentil-shaped tergite 9 and a powerful aedeagus.

Etymology. The new species is named enormis after its enormous body size. An adjective in nominative singular.

Figures

Figs 5–8. 5–6 – Limonia oosterbroeki sp. nov., male terminalia (holotype): 5 – general view, dorsally; 6 – aedeagal complex, dorsal view. 7–8 – Limonia enormis sp. nov., male terminalia (holotype): 7 – general view, dorsally; 8 – aedeagal complex, dorsal view. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Figs 1–4. 1–2 – Limonia hartveldae sp. nov., male terminalia (holotype): 1 – general view, dorsally; 2 – aedeagal complex, dorsal view. 3–4 – Limonia opacipennis sp. nov., male terminalia (holotype): 3 – general view, dorsally; 4 – aedeagal complex, dorsal view. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.