Abaristophora kolaensis Disney

Pape, Thomas, Ulefors, Sven-Olof & Disney, R. Henry L., 2013, Palaearctic Abaristophora (Diptera: Phoridae): First female of A. arctophila Schmitz, 1927 and a new species from N. W. Russia, Zootaxa 3681 (3), pp. 249-256 : 255

Abaristophora kolaensis Disney , n. sp.

Figs 14–19

Material examined: HOLOTYPE 3, “ RUSSIA, Kola Peninsula, 2 km S. of Monchegorsk / in yellow pan trap / 16–26.vii.2010 / M. Kozlov” ( MZUC, on slide).

Description. Male. Frons brown and clearly broader than long, with dense but very small microtrichia and numerous strong hairs. The pre-ocellar bristles are further apart than the antials and lower on the frons than the mediolaterals. The anterolaterals are higher on the frons than the antials and close to the eye margins. Postpedicel brown, lacking subcutaneous pit sensilla and shaped as in Fig. 14 . Palp a slightly dusky yellow, 0.24 mm long and about 5 times as long as greatest breadth (viewed from above), with 6 bristles (the longest being 0.13 mm long) and 4 times as many hairs. Labrum straw yellow (but appears brown against the darker basiproboscis) and only about 0.11 mm long and 0.06–0.07 mm wide (compared with maximum width of the base of the postpedicel of 0.13 to 0.14 mm). Labella pale with only a few small spinules in addition to hairs. Thorax brown with 3 bristles on notopleuron, the most anterior being the strongest. Scutellum with an anterior pair of hairs and posterior pair of bristles. Mesopleuron with a dozen hairs close behind the anterior spiracle. Abdomen with brown tergites and venter. The hairs of the tergites sparse but longer posteriorly on T1, laterally and posteriorly on T2 and at the posterior margins of T3 to T6. Hypopygium brown and as shown in Figs 15, 16 , and lateral microsculpture as in Fig. 19 (similar to that of A. arctophila shown in Fig. 10 ). Legs mainly brown except for yellow fore tibiae and all tarsi. Fore tibia with 15 near dorsal small spines, the most basal being the longest, and similar numerous anteroventral spines ( Fig. 17 ). Fore tarsus with a posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1–4 and segment 5 a little longer than 4. Mid tibia with a near dorsal hair palisade extending almost 0.8 time its length, with a near dorsal bristle just before end of first quarter and a posterodorsal bristle just above this, with 5 hair combs on the anterior face of last third that end dorsally with a longer hair with a curved tip. Mid tarsus with a posterodorsal hair palisade on segments 1–4 and segment 5 a little longer than 4. Hind femur with hairs below basal quarter shorter than those of anteroventral last quarter and microsculpture in basal half as Fig. 18 . Hind tibia with a dorsal hair palisade, with a small anterodorsal bristle just beyond end of first quarter, 2 small pre-apical bristles, one anterodorsal and the other anteroventral, and a long and a short spur. Wing 1.8–1.9 mm long. Costal index 0.60. Costal ratios 0.9:1. Costal cilia towards tip 0.10 mm long. Vein 3 with a small hair at base, and with 4 axillary bristles. Costa expands in distal half so it becomes wider than the slightly expanded tip of vein 3. Thick veins yellowish grey. Sc very pale and fading away before encountering vein 3. Veins 4–6 very pale and 7 not evident. Vein 4 has its pale base sharply curved forwards so that it meets vein 3 at about 90o. Vein 5 is almost straight. Vein 6 starts off divergent and straight before curving apically to be about parallel with vein 5 before curving away to meet the wing margin at about 90o. Membrane almost colourless. Haltere with brown stem and dark brown knob.

Remarks. This species closely resembles A. arctophila , but is immediately distinguished by the apical elongation of the postpedicel bearing longer trichiae that are distally recurved basally ( Fig. 14 ) as opposed to being directed apically. The same feature distinguishes it from A. sachalinensis and the Nearctic A. diversipennis . The latter is further distinguished by its dark palps and its costal section 1 being clearly longer than section 2. In addition the hind tibia of A. sachalinensis differs from that of A. kolaensis in having two irregular rows of small, posteroventral spinules (fig. 21 in Michailovskaya 2004). The hypopygia of these species are very similar, differing in only small details; which recalls the situation in the large genus Dohrniphora Dahl , in which many have very similar hypopygia but are readily distinguished by features of the legs, palps, and other external structures.

Distribution. Palaearctic ( Russia [North European Territory]).

Figures

FIGURES 14 – 19. Abaristophora kolaensis n. sp., male. 14. Left postpedicel. 15. Hypopygium, left view. 16. Hypopygium, right view. 17. Anterior face of distal half of fore tibia. 18. Posterior face of base of hind femur. 19. Surface microsculpture laterally on hypopygium (shown stippled in Figs 15, 16). Scale bars: 14 – 16 = 100 μm.

FIGURES 8 – 13. Abaristophora arctophila, male. 8. Hypopygium, left view. 9. Hypopygium, right view. 10. Surface microsculpture laterally on hypopygium. 11. Hypopygium, posterior view. 12. Hypopygium, ventral view. 13. Surface microsculpture ventrally on base of penis complex. Scale bars: 8, 9 = 100 μm; 10 = 1 μm; 11, 12 = 300 μm.