Usia paracrispa Gibbs, 2011

Gibbs, David, 2011, 2960, Zootaxa 2960, pp. 1-77 : 58-60

Usia paracrispa Gibbs sp. nov.

(Plate XVI)

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: Morocco, Medio Atlante, Ifrane Mischliffen 2200m, 22 June 2002, P. Rosa legit [♂ hind legs missing in NMWC]. PARATYPES: Morocco, Medio Atlante, Ifrane Mischliffen 2200m, 22 June 2002, P. Rosa legit [♀ in NMWC, ♀ in CNBFVR, ♀ in MSNM, ♀ in BMNH]. Algeria, Oran, O. Schmiedeknecht, leg. Vemd. 16 November [18]95, v. Röder determ./ U. hyalipennis Mg / Usia , sp., S. Paramonov det./ Zool. Mus., Berlin [♀ in ZMHB].

Etymology. Name derives from the Latin “ para = next to and crispa = curly, wavy”, referring to the close similarity of this species with U. crispa Gibbs sp. nov.

Diagnosis. A small shining black species confined to the Maghreb, very similar to U. crispa and U. cryptocrispa and like them with short adpressed ventral hairs on hind femur and marginal scutellar hairs as long as scutellum medially. Male from all but U. crispa , U. cryptocrispa and potentially U. falcata by wavy-tipped hairs on tip of epandrium. From U. falcata by longer marginal hairs on scutellum and less globular epandrium. From U. crispa by dusted centre of anepisternum and base of tergites dulled by dust and U. cryptocrispa by shining (not matt) tergites. Females more shining than U. crispa (mesonotum not matt) and longer-haired then U. cryptocrispa . Both sexes only reliably identified by examining details of genitalia (Plate XVI).

PLATE XVI. Usia paracrispa Gibbs sp. nov.; a epiphallic complex ventral, b epiphallic complex lateral, c gonocoxite ventral, d gonocoxite lateral, e epandrium dorsal, f epandrium lateral, g female genitalia ventral, h female furca lateral, i female sternite 8 ventral.

Description. Measurements. Body length. 1.9–3.5mm Wing length. 2.0– 3.4mm.

Male. Only a single male specimen available and many characters are likely to be more variable than is currently known. Head. Frons relatively broad, almost a quarter head width, slightly diverging in hind three fifths, then widening a little more before continuing to diverge slightly to front. Cuticle shagreened, shining around ocelli, distinctly chevron-grooved medially, anterolateral dust spots narrow but distinct. Mouth margin exceedingly narrow, linear, practically absent, shining black. Ocellar triangle obtuse, lateral ocelli separated from the eye by distinctly more than its diameter. Longest hairs on ocellar tubercle mid-length, about equal to the width across vertex. Occiput covered with grey dust, almost obscuring black cuticle, area behind vertex is noticeably more shining;

a covering of short black hairs, becoming longer below. Antennae black, short, third segment obovate, less than twice as long as scape and pedicel combined, straight dorsally, convex ventrally at base, blunt ended, a few short setae just before apical sulcus, sensilla whitish. Proboscis black, naked, about as long as mesonotum. Palps small, black with a few apical setae as long as palps. Thorax. Entirely black, mesonotum smooth and shining, slightly transversely wrinkled, a patch of shagreened surface sculpture in front of scutellum, as in U. crispa , well demarcated. Lightly grey-dusted on pronotum, postpronotal lobe and above wing but notopleuron almost dust-free. Hairs of mesonotum rather sparse, longer than on vertex, acrostichals biserial and separated from dorsocentrals by bare paramedian lines, laterally hairs scattered [the holotype is a very small individual and this may explain the sparseness of mesonotal hairs]. Scutellum subshining with rough surface sculpture similar to that on hind part of mesonotum, disc bare, longer marginal hairs almost as long as median length of scutellum, in an irregular, uniserial row. Pleurae black, almost entirely grey-dusted, more or less shining around margin of anepisternum, median patch on anepimeron, katepisternum ventrally and meron posteriorly, scattered hairs on posterodorsal part of anepisternum. Wing. Clear to vaguely tinged brownish, veins pale brown. Anal lobe convex, narrower than anal cell and a little narrower than in crispa . R-m just before middle of discal cell. Haltere. Yellowish knob, stem infuscated. Legs. Black, shining, some thin dusting on coxae, femora with a wrinkled surface sculpture, with very short, adpressed black hairs, more dense on tibia [holotype lacks hind legs]. Abdomen. Black, shining, with transverse, wrinkled surface sculpture, hair insertions very obscure, tergites 2–7 with narrow, dusted basal bands, broadest medially. Evenly covered with relatively short black hairs, becoming slightly longer laterally. Sternites grey dusted, sparsely short-haired along the apical margins. Genitalia. Fairly large (probably usually folded under the abdomen and pressed against the sternites, potentially difficult to see, but single specimen in spirit before dissected). Epandrium oblong with broad lateral lobes, larger than in U. crispa but narrower than U. cryptocrispa , distinctly removed from the apex, covered with short hairs, those on the apical part denser and with wavy tips. Gonocoxite often enclosed in epandrium, base bilobed, shining black and relatively long haired, apicolaterally with peculiar oval lobes, no medial “horn”. Epiphallus in ventral view pointed apically (bifid in U. crispa ), broadly rounded in lateral view.

Female. Very similar to the male differing only in its wider frons, about one quarter head width, ocellar triangle obtuse, lateral ocelli their own diameter from the eye margin. Mouth margin distinctly wider but still narrow and linear. Abdomen tapering to a rounded point, tergites lacking basal dusted bands. Apical sternite broader than in U. crispa , with a strongly convex boss basally, transversely striate, shining, short-haired laterally. Apicomedial ridge short with limited brownish dusting. When macerated a square apical notch is visible, broader than in U. crispa and U. cryptocrispa . Furca proximally pointed, strongly curved dorsally then recurved at tip.

Discussion. Part of a complex of four species with the very similar U. crispa and U. cryptocrispa and the slightly more divergent U. falcata . On current knowledge, U. crispa , U. cryptocrispa and U. paracrispa are allopatric but the latter and U. falcata come very close in the Moyen Atlas.

Distribution. Algeria, Morocco. So far only known by six specimens from just two localities in northern Morocco and northwestern Algeria. Seems to be rare and very local.