Ngirhaphium murphyi Evenhuis & Grootaert, 2002

Grootaert, Patrick & Puniamoorthy, Jayanthi, 2014, Revision of Ngirhaphium (Insecta: Diptera: Dolichopodidae), with the description of two new species from Singapore’s mangroves, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 62, pp. 146-160 : 147-150

Ngirhaphium murphyi Evenhuis & Grootaert, 2002

( Figs. 1–3 , 4, 5 , 18 )

N. murphyi Evenhuis & Grootaert, 2002 , Raffles Bulletin of Zoology , 50: 310: Type locality: Singapore: Kranji mangrove.

Material examined. Holotype male, 7 males, 4 females paratypes from Singapore: Kranji mangrove, 16 October 1984, on vegetation, D.H. Murphy (in ZRC, 1 male, 1 female in RBINS); 1 female, Mandai mangrove, 17 October 1978, D.H. Murphy ( ZRC); 3 females, Lim Chu Kang mangrove, mud flats at low tide, perching on shoots and roots of mangrove trees, 13 October 2000, N.L. Evenhuis ( BPBM).

New records MIP. Pulau Ubin: 1 female, PU2 , 23 June 2012, (reg. 29307, Ma1681). Semakau : 1 male, SMN2 , 13 December 2012, (reg. 29626, Ma2292). Sungei Buloh: 2 males, SB1, 14 November 2012, (reg. 29569, Ma2250); 2 males, SB1, 18 November 2012, (reg. 29595, Ma2262); 1 male, SB1, 27 March 2013, (reg. 29820, Ma3807); 3 males, SB2, 14 November 2012, (reg. 29570, Ma2254) .

Other records. Sungei Buloh: 1 male, 1 female, 22 April 2005, (reg. 25078, Si758, coll. P.G.); 1 female, 11 May.2005, (reg. 25159, Si805; coll. P.G.); 1 male, 16 September 2005, (reg. 25355, Si1168; coll. P.G.); 1 male, 28 September 2005, (reg. 25431, Si1167; coll. P.G.); 1 female, 28 October 2005, (reg. 25407, Si1169; coll. P.G.).

Diagnosis. A medium-sized species, generally with clear wing. Mesonotum and tergites shining metallic green. Apical aristal segment nearly half as long as basal aristal segment. Male with cerci longer than surstyli and thus the tip is visible outside the surstyli.

Re-description. Male: Body length: 5.7–6.7 mm.; wing length: 5.3– 6 mm.

Head: Frons shining metallic green, sunken between the eyes, wide in front becoming even wider behind; ocellar callus small, globular and raised above the frons. Face wide, as wide as front of frons, parallel-sided, silvery grey dusted with a very narrow clypeus (hardly a tenth of the length of the face). Eyes pass beyond the border of the face; eyes densely set with silvery hairs. Palpus strap-shaped, brownish at base, yellowish at tip and bearing long, black hairs. Rostrum in male very small in comparison to the huge female rostrum; brown with long black hairs. Postcranium dark metallic green, with a fine greyish dusting. Two long diverging ocellars; 2 slightly shorter, converging verticals; A pair of strong postverticals well separated from the postoculars. Upper postoculars strong, uniseriate, black; lower postoculars white, becoming longer below and multiseriate.

Antenna: Antenna very long, completely black ( Fig. 1 ). First segment (scape) long, bare; second segment (pedicel) narrow, apically densely set with bristles. Third segment (postpedicel) very long strap-shaped, laterally flattened, but with a narrow dorsal flat area (so somewhat triangular in cross-section). Arista apical with a long basal segment, apical segment about half as long as basal. Ratio of first, second, third segment, and basal and apical aristal segments: 0.37: 0.07: 1.1: 0.3: 0.15 (mm).

Thorax: Thorax and scutellum with a shining dark metallic green ground-colour, covered with a fine grey dusting. A shining stripe on each acr-row. Pleura grey dusted. All hairs and bristles black. Acr biseriate, the rows more widely separated in front, while closer together behind. Presutural dc multiseriate; 6 post-sutural dc: 4 short and 2 long prescutellars. A pair of strong scutellars. A long humeral with a shorter bristle in front; a very strong posthumeral, 2 strong notopleurals, 1 postsutural, 1 supraalar, 1 postalar. 4 short upper and 2 very long black lower propleural bristles.

Legs ( Fig. 1 ): yellow, all bristles black. All coxae greenish black in ground-colour, covered with a fine greyish dusting. Tip of mid and hind tibiae annulated black at tip. Tip of all tarsal segments a little browned and terminal segments completely black.

Fore leg: Shorter than mid and hind leg. Fore femur a little swollen in basal half; a row of fine pv in apical half; a row of short ventral bristles, distinct only in apical half. Fore tibia with 4 strong ad and 4 strong pd. All tarsal segments densely set with long hairs. Fourth tarsal segment with a dorsal, asymmetrical forked protrusion, extending over the terminal segment (outer branch of the fork pointed; 1/3 length of inner fork). Terminal segment with a pair of long normal claws and a thicker third claw-like structure beneath the posterior claw. 2 well developed pulvilli and an empodium. Segments 1–4 ventrally at tip with a pair of long hairs. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (mm): 1.85: 1.03: 0.37: 0.29: 0.22: 0.15.

Mid leg: Coxa with short bristles anteriorly; no exterior bristle. Mid femur a little stronger than fore femur; ventrally with inconspicuous bristles; a strong anterior preapical. Tibia with a 5 pd, 4 d and 5 longer pd and a crown of long apicals. Segments 1–4 ventrally at tip with a pair of short spinules as well as a comb of black bristles. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 2.9: 1.6: 0.74: 0.60: 0.4: 0.3.

Hind leg: Coxa bare. Hind femur stronger than mid femur, as wide as fore femur; ventrally with inconspicuous bristles; a strong anterior preapical. Tibia with 5 long av, 4 ad, 5 pd and crown of long apicals. Segments 1–4 ventrally at tip with a pair short spinules as well as a comb of black bristles. Length of tibia and tarsal segments (mm): 4.01: 1.6: 0.9: 0.7: 0.4: 0.37.

Wings: hyaline ( Fig. 3 ), anteriorly between costa and R 2+3 with a yellowish tinge. Veins dark brown. M 1+2 sharply bent upwards and ending in costa closely near tip of R 4+5. Tp straight, about as long as apical part of M 3+4. Anal vein well developed. Halter pale yellow. Squama yellowish, with yellow cilia.

Abdomen: 5 externally visible segments; shining dark metallic reddish-green; tips and sides of terga with a silvery dusting. Tergites densely set with quite long, black bristles; hind-marginal bristles hardly longer than the other bristles. Hypopygium ( Figs. 2 , 4, 5 ) sessile with long strap-shaped cerci. Apex of cerci hidden underneath sternite 4. Cercus yellowish brown with long yellowish bristles. Cercus longer than dorsal surstylus. Apex of cercus slender with a pair of long bristles ( Fig. 4 ). Dorsal surstylus rectangular, not fused with ventral surstylus. Apex of dorsal surstylus densely set with long yellowish hairs. Apex of ventral surstylus on inside with short hairs. Hypandrium dorsally with a large black protuberance.

Female: Body length: 7–7.3 mm; wing length: 6.9–7.1 mm.

Antennae: Slightly shorter than in male. Ratio of first, second, third segment, and basal and apical aristal segments (mm): 0.29: 0.07: 0.7: 0.3: 0.22. Clypeus very large, protruding over rostrum; tip pointed. Rostrum huge ( Fig. 18 ): in side view nearly as long as an eye. Palpus long, strap-shaped, completely brownish black.

Legs: Shape and bristling of legs similar to that of male except otherwise mentioned.

Fore leg: Fore tibia with a crown of very long apical bristles. Fourth segment as usual, without protuberance as in male. Terminal tarsal segment with a dorsal protuberance and with the usual claws and pulvilli. Ratio of tibia and tarsal segments (mm): 1.85: 1.2: 0.37: 0.3: 0.26: 0.26.

Mid leg: ratio of tibia and tarsal segments (mm): 2.9: 1.6: 0.7: 0.52: 0.37: 0.29.

Hind leg: ratio of tibia and tarsal segments (mm): 4.2: 1.7: 0.7: 0.67: 0.37: 0.37.

Figures

Figs. 1–3. Male Ngirhaphium murphyi, Evenhuis & Grootaert (Sungei Buloh, Singapore): 1, Habitus; 2, Genital capsule removed; 3, Wing.

Figs. 4–5. Ngirhaphium murphyi, Evenhuis & Grootaert: 4, Dorsal view of genital capsule; 5, Lateral view of genital capsule with left ventral surstylus removed, hypandrium at the front, right ventral surstylus at the back.

Figs. 17–19. Ventral view of male genital capsule: 17, Ngirhaphium sivasothii, new species; 18, N. murphyi; 19, N. caeruleum, new species.