Salwaea, Winterton, Shaun L., Hauser, Martin & Badrawy, Haitham B. M., 2012

Winterton, Shaun L., Hauser, Martin & Badrawy, Haitham B. M., 2012, A remarkable new genus of stiletto flies from Egypt, with a key to Palaearctic genera of Phycinae (Diptera, Therevidae), ZooKeys 184, pp. 35-45 : 37

Salwaea gen. n.

Type species.

Salwaea burgensis sp. n. (by present designation)

Diagnosis.

Body length: 6.5 mm (female). Antenna longer than head; enlarged bulbous scape with erect strong macrosetae (absent medially); pedicel medio-dorsally inserted on scape; flagellum two-segmented, large paddle-like first flagellomere longer than combined scape and pedicel length, style apical; parafacial without setae; proboscis barely protruding from oral cavity; prosternal depression and mid coxa without setae; metanepisternum without postspiracular setae; hind coxal knob present; costal vein ending just beyond R4; R1 with single row of setulae; M1 and M2 terminating before wing margin; costal margin with scattered setae, not arranged in two rows; cell m3 closed, petiolate to margin; distal tarsomere with pulvilli and claws relatively small, aligned with axis of leg, dorsal seta[e] on distal tarsomere elongate and projecting; sternite 8 rounded, strongly convex, posteriorly emarginate; tergite 10 as paired sclerites, not fused medially; acanthophorite spines greatly reduced in size.

Etymology.

This genus is named in honour of Prof. Dr. Salwa K. Mohammad. Gender is feminine.

Relationship to other phycine genera.

It is difficult to identify characters likely to support the phylogenetic placement of Salwaea burgensis gen. et sp. n., as it exhibits a series of both autapomorphies, unique to the taxon, and plesiomorphies, which it shares with all genera of Phycinae . Notable characters found only in this new genus are the large paddle-like shape of the flagellum and the termination of the costal vein just beyond where R4 joins the wing margin. In all other genera the flagellum ranges from cylindrical to turbinate, while the costal vein is either circumambient (most Therevinae and Agapophytinae ), terminates at M2 ( Xestomyzinae ) or terminates at various points typically between M1 and CuA2 ( Phycinae ). In rare cases in all subfamilies except Xestomyzinae , individual species have the costal vein terminating in the radial field (typically R5) with medial veins terminating before the wing margin. The reduction of the pulvilli is shared with some species of Pherocera , Orthactia and Phycus . In the latter genus the following species have completely reduced pulvilli: Phycus annulipes , Lyneborg 1978 (Kenya), Phycus flavus Lyneborg, 1978 (South Africa), Phycus lacteipennis Lyneborg, 2002 (Morocco), Phycus marginatus Kröber, 1912 (Egypt, Chad, Congo, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan) and Phycus mirabilis Lyneborg, 1978 (Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe). Some Phycus species have very short and barely discernable pulvilli that may consist only of a pulvillus sclerite remnant: Phycus angustifrons Lyneborg, 2003 (Thailand), Phycus insignis Loew, 1874 (Egypt, Middle East to Central Asia), Phycus kroeberi (Brauns, 1924) (South Africa), and Phycus stylatus Lyneborg, 1978 (Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania). Although there is no resolved species-level phylogeny for the genus Phycus , taxonomic affinities suggest that pulvilli reduction occurred several times independently in this genus as a derived feature.According to Kröber (1927) the pulvilli are absent in Efflatouniella , although specimens examined have pulvilli that are slightly reduced in a few specimens. The enlarged scape is also found in Neotabuda and Salentia , putative sister genera according to Lyneborg (1980) and Hauser (2005). The furca of Salwaea gen. n. has a distinctive quadrangular shape, suggesting a close relationship with Salentia or Phycus or, perhaps, the pleisomorphic condition of the furca in Phycinae (Fig. 5). Actorthia , Acathrito and Efflatouniella display a very different configuration of the furca whereas the furca of two species of Neotabuda examined are unique among phycines. The furca of Salwaea gen. n.is typical for Phycinae , which always has two compartments, in contrast to the undivided furca type of higher Therevidae like Thereva . The presence of an anteroventral seta on the fore and hind femora in Salwaea gen. n. is also found in Salentia and Neotabuda , but not with Phycus .