Protypusia separata Gibbs & Theodor, 2023

Gibbs, David, 2023, A world review of the bee fly tribe Usiini (Diptera, Bombyliidae) - Part 3: Parageron Paramonov s. lat., European Journal of Taxonomy 863 (1), pp. 1-162 : 62-65

Protypusia separata Gibbs & Theodor gen. et sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:36315144-1D62-4D8F-8728-1DC6B8A07549

Fig. 42

Usia aurata – Efflatoun 1945: 202, pl. 19 figs 298–299, misident.

Usia sp. No. 1 (near aurata) – Theodor 1983: 54, figs 131–134.

Etymology

From Latin ‘ sēparātus ’ meaning ‘separate’, referring to the male eyes being separated on the frons in contrast to the closely related holoptic species Pro. grata .

Type material

Holotype

ISRAEL • ♂; “ N. Poleg, Israel, 26 January 1979, leg. Kugler / HOLOTYPE, Usia separata, Theodor , det. O. Theodor 1985”; TAU.

Paratypes

ISRAEL • 4 ♂♂; 1 ♀; “N. Poleg, Israel , 26 January 1979, leg. Kugler / PARATYPE, Usia separata, Theodor , det. O. Theodor 1985”]; TAU • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ Bet Qama, Israel , 6 February 1968, leg. Kugler / PARATYPE, Usia separata, Theodor , det. O. Theodor 1985”; TAU • 5 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀; “ Beth Hakerem, Jeruselem, Palastine , 22 March 1948 and 26 March 1949, O. Theodor / PARATYPE, Usia separata, Theodor , det. O. Theodor 1985”; TAU • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ 12 April 1940, Judaean highlands, Palestine/ Usia aurata F.”; TAU • 1 ♂; “ Jerusalem, Palestine, O. Theodor”; TAU • 1 ♂; “ 13 February 1961, Tel-Aviv, coll. Jsikoviz, Israel ”; TAU • 2 ♂♂; “ 15 March 1950 Jerusalem; TAU • 1 ♂; “[in Hebrew ], 14 March 1990, A. Shmida ”; TAU • 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀; “W. Falin , 27 February 1968, leg. Kugler ”; TAU • 2 ♂♂; “ 10 February 1959 ”; TAU • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “M. Tel-Aviv, T-A Univ. , 19 February 1962 ”; TAU • 2 ♂♂; “ Eshtaol , 2 February 1972, coll. M. Kaplan ”; TAU • 4 ♂♂; “ Jerusalem, 6 March 1988, R. Kasher, R3817-20/ Anemone coronaria ”; TAU • 3 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀; “ Jerusalem, 4 April 1962, VS”; TAU • 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀; “ Jerusalem 31 January 1988 R1839-41 R. Kasher”; TAU • 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀; “ Qedumim , 20 February 2006, L. Friedman ”; TAU • 2 ♀♀; “ 25 February 2005 ”; TAU • 1 ♂; “ Bkaot , 15 February 1984, Y. Zvik ”; TAU • 1 ♂; “ Savyon , 30 January 1982, Y. Zvik ”; TAU • 1 ♀; “ Nahal Poleg , 30 January 1970, M. Kaplan ”; TAU • 1 ♂; “ Nahal Shilo , 7 February 1982, I. Nussbaum ”; TAU • 1 ♂; “ Migdal Afeq , 13 January 1982 I. Nussbaum ”; TAU • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ Sha’alavim , 12 February 1983 ”; TAU • 2 ♀♀; “ Bet Guvrin Forest , 28 February 1981 ”; TAU • 1 ♀; “ N. Ezyona, 26 March 1974, D. Furth”; TAU • 1 ♀; “W. Falik , 23 February 1965, leg. Kugler ”; TAU • 1 ♀; “ Rehoboth bei, Jaffa 11 March 1935, J Aharoni coll./ Usia aurata loewi Beck., Lindner det.”; TAU • 1 ♂; “ Nahal Oren , 32°43′N 35°01′E, 22 February 2008, A. Freidberg ”; TAU • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ Palestine , B.M. 1931-391”; NHMUK • 1 ♂; “[indecipherable] 9 February 1939 /Palestine (leg. Dr. A. Shulov)/Pres. By Imp. Inst. Ent. B.M. 1940-74”; NHMUK • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; “ Palestine / Wadi? Sonai , Judaean highlands 15 February 1922 (leg P.A. Buxton), (coll. BMNH)”; NHMUK .

EGYPT • 1 ♀; “Mariout: El Borg, 13-16 February 1925 / Usia aurata F., Det. Efflatoun ”; TAU • 1 ♂; “Burg, 25 February 1932 /Zool. Dep’. Collection, Egyptian University, Collector H.C.E. & M.T”; TAU .

Description

MEASUREMENTS. Body length: 2.9–4.2 mm. Wing length: 3.2–4.4 mm.

Male

HEAD. Gena relatively broad, as wide as width of proboscis at base, broadening out above onto frons, all grey dusted except for a narrow, slightly shinier, mouth margin. Frons convex covered with long, darkbrown hairs, the longest equalling the length of the antennae. Separation of eyes variable, from about the diameter of the front ocellus to a little less than twice the diameter of front ocellus, this narrow part of the frons darker than the rest, obviously grey dusted but rather matt. Ocellar tubercle dark brown to black, subshining, barely dusted, the hind ocelli in contact with hind corners of the eyes; ocelli form an equilateral triangle. Dark brown hairs on ocellar tubercle as long as scape and pedicel combined. Eye facets the same size throughout (rare examples of Pro. grata with slightly separated eyes still have some enlarged ommatidia in upper half). Occiput dark in ground colour, densely coated with brown dust except for a triangular patch behind ocellar tubercle, an irregular bi- to tri-serial row of long, dark post ocellars extending to just below middle of eye, behind and below these, occiput covered with shorter pale hairs. Antennae blackish, the scape slightly more brownish, grey dusted, postpedicel significantly longer than scape and pedicel together, the sensilla in the apical sulcus contrastingly white. Scape and pedicel clothed with brown hairs, the longest on the scape longer than its diameter; hairs on postpedicel confined to dorsum, distal ones the longest, as long as this segment is deep. Palps short, claviform, dark brown, thickly clothed with long yellowish hairs. Proboscis moderately long, about equal to the mesonotum, blackish-brown, laterally with short hairs along its base.

THORAX. Mesonotum with blackish ground-colour obscured by pale-grey dust on postpronotal lobe, notopleuron, above wing bases, dorsocentral line widening abruptly in front to join with the postpronotal lobe, these grey dorsocentral lines usually connected in front of scutellum, sometimes only faintly so. Acrostichal line brown to grey dusted, narrowing behind, sometimes reaching grey dusted area in front of scutellum. The paramedian vittae narrowed in front, running onto anterior slope, broadening behind, in some individuals coalescing, in others stopping square-ended about a quarter length of mesonotum from scutellum.Antehumeral vittae not divided at suture, dark spot between wing base and posterior antehumeral vittae, just behind thoracic suture, may be present. Hairs of mesonotum white to faintly yellowish, as long as antennae, acrostichals and dorsocentrals irregularly triserial, hairs on hind third and laterad of dorsocentrals more general. Scutellum brown dusted, usually concolourous with adjacent mesonotum, yellowish hairs dorsally as long, peripherally longer than those on mesonotum. Pleura concolourous with sides of mesonotum, pale grey dusted, dorsum and posterior two-thirds of the anepisternum with long, very pale yellow hairs. Katepisternum with a scattering of very pale yellow hairs.

WING. Membrane with a faint yellow-brown tinge, the veins yellowish-brown. Crossvein r-m between basal third and middle of the discal cell, clearly beyond m-cu, a little variable. Anal lobe well developed with conspicuously convex margin, a little broader than anal cell.

HALTERE. Whitish, base of stem slightly infuscated.

LEGS. Coxae concolourous with pleura. Femora and tibia uniformly dark brown, not so densely dusted as to obscure ground colour. Legs covered with white hairs, longer on the coxae, fore and mid-femora posteriorly, hind femora antero-ventrally and hind tibia dorsally.

ABDOMEN. Tergites blackish, somewhat dark brown dusted on tergite one laterally. All tergites with narrow, sharply delimited yellow posterior margins, narrowing laterally. All tergites with long pale yellow hairs longer than the length of each tergite, even longer laterally. Sternites densely grey dusted, pale apical margins narrower and obscured by dust, hairs as long as those on tergites.

GENITALIA. Relatively large, larger than in Pro. grata , somewhat ventrally deflected, dark brown in ground colour, covered in brown dust, shiny on apical corners of epandrium, clothed with pale yellow hairs, longest on gonocoxite.

Female

Differs from the male in its broadly separated eyes, the frons densely grey dusted except on subshining ocellar tubercle. At its narrowest part frons is noticeably wider than length of postpedicel. Hairs on frons rather shorter, extending back to level of front ocellus. Dark post ocellar hairs shorter and fewer in number, confined to upper part of occiput, often pale. Hairs on tergites a little shorter, especially dorsally. First tergite basally and centrally grey dusted.

Remarks

Oskar Theodor had already recognised this as a probable undescribed species and had published illustrations of the male and female genitalia as Usia sp. no. 1 (near aurata ) ( Theodor 1983: figs 131– 234). Before he died in 1987, Theodor had already started a manuscript that included this species, including characters to define it, which are used here. He chose the name used here and designated a holotype and 12 paratypes that have been examined for this study. In recognition of Theodor’s work on Israeli Bombyliidae I have included him as co-author of this species.

Distribution

Egypt, Israel.

Figures

Fig. 42. Protypusia separata Gibbs &Theodor gen. et sp. nov.a. Epiphallic complex ventral.b. Epiphallic complex lateral. c. Gonocoxite ventral. d. Gonocoxite lateral. e. Epandrium dorsal. f. Female genitalia ventral. g. Female genitalia lateral.