Ammothereva brevis, Liu, Si-Pei, Gaimari, Stephen D. & Yang, Ding, 2012

Liu, Si-Pei, Gaimari, Stephen D. & Yang, Ding, 2012, Species of Ammothereva Lyneborg, 1984 (Diptera: Therevidae: Therevinae: Cyclotelini) from China, Zootaxa 3566, pp. 1-13 : 8-12

Ammothereva brevis sp. nov.

( Figs. 23–35 )

Diagnosis. Eyes separated on frons by a distance about 3 times width of anterior ocellus. Frons yellowish orange in anterior third. Antennal scape strongly elongated and yellowish orange basally. Upper occiput covered with uniform scale-like white pile, without postocular setae. Outer gonocoxal process large, as high as gonocoxite, and bifurcated apically. In aedeagus, lateral ejaculatory process distinct and separated from dorsal and ventral apodemes.

Description. Male. Body length 8.5 mm, wing length 6.2 mm.

Head ( Fig. 23 ) with dense pale pruinescence over black ground color except lower frons with brown ground color; anterior third of frons with yellowish orange pruinescence. Scale-like white pile on ocellar tubercle, frons, gena and occiput; upper occiput without postocular setae; parafacial bare. Eyes separated on frons by a distance about 3 times width of anterior ocellus. Antenna with dense pale pruinescence; scale-like white pile on scape and pedicel; scape strongly elongated, yellowish orange basally and dark brown apically; pedicel barrel-shaped, dark brown; flagellum broken off so no further information available; antennal ratio (as length ratio of scape: pedicel) 4.1: 1.0. Proboscis yellow with large labellum and covered with brown pile; palpus with scale-like yellow pile.

Thorax with dense pale pruinescence; notum with black ground color; pleuron with brown ground color; prosternum yellow; mesonotum with 2 brown vittae separated by narrow grey stripe. Mesonotum with short scalelike white pile; prosternum and pleuron with white pile; macrosetae on thorax pale yellow. Scutal chaetotaxy (pairs): np 5, sa 2, pa 1, dc 2, sc 2. Legs yellowish brown, except tips of tibiae and tarsi dark brown, pale pruinescence on coxae to femora, pulvilli yellow. White pile present on coxae and femora, setae of coxae through basal tibiae pale yellow, setae of apical tibiae to tarsi dark brown. Fore coxa with a 1, av 1; mid coxa with a 2; hind coxa with a 3–4, d 1. Fore femur with av 4; mid femur with av 3. Fore tibia with ad 4, pv 5; mid tibia with ad 4, pd 3, av 5, pv 5, apically with 5 setae. Hind legs broken off so no further information is available. Wing hyaline, tinged brownish yellow; pterosigma very narrow, yellow, at end of R1; veins yellow except apices brown; cell m3 closed with short petiole apically. Halter stalk and knob yellow.

Abdomen yellow with pale pruinescence, except basal parts of tergites dark brown. Dense scale-like pile on tergites recumbent, sparse yellow pile on sternites. Terminalia with dense yellowish brown pile. Male genitalia: Epandrium ( Fig. 27 ) elongated, 1.2 times longer than wide, with posterior edge emarginate, with broadly rounded posterolateral flange. Subepandrial sclerite with semicircular medial invagination; nearly as long as cercus distally. Cercus ovoid. Hypandrium short. Gonocoxite ( Fig. 28 ) with broad, apically bifurcated outer gonocoxal process. Gonostylus much elongated, nearly 9 times longer than wide. Aedeagus ( Fig. 29 ) with dorsal apodeme wide; ventral apodeme short and narrow; lateral ejaculatory process clearly separated from dorsal and ventral apodeme; distiphallus (Fig. 30) short and ventrally curved.

Female. Body length 11.7 mm, wing length 7.0 mm.

Most characters of female similar to male, with following exceptions. Eyes separated on frons by distance about 5 times width of anterior ocellus. Antennal setae shorter than in male; flagellum broken off so further information unavailable; antennal ratio (as length ratio of scape: pedicel) 4.8: 1.0. Proboscis yellow with yellow pile; palpus yellow with long yellow pile. Setae on legs from coxae through femora and on ventral tibiae pale yellow; setae from dorsal tibiae through tarsi dark brown. Fore coxa with a 1, av 1; mid coxa with a 3; hind coxa with a 3, d 1. Fore femur with av 4; mid femur with av 2; hind femur with av 4. Fore tibia with ad 4, pd 3, pv 4–5, apically with 2–3 setae; mid tibia with ad 5, pd 3, av 4, pv 5, apically with 5 setae; hind tibia with ad 3, pd 2, av 4, pv 4, apically with 7 setae. Sternites of abdomen black, with pale pruinescence. Scale-like white pile on tergites shorter and less dense than in male; sparse white pile on sternites. Female terminalia: Sternite 8 ( Fig. 32 ) rather large with apical incision. Acanthophorite A2 setae on tergite 10 sharp apically. Cercus semicircular in lateral view, but slightly elongated in dorsal and ventral views. Subepandrial sclerite rounded basally and distinctly narrow apically. Furca ( Fig. 33 ) 1.3 times longer than wide, with furcal bulla anteriorly. Accessory glands with separated ducts. Spermathecal sac relatively small and spherical; 2 spherical spermathecae present.

Type material. Holotype male, CHINA: Ningxia, Jingheyuan (35°24'N, 106°24'E, 1940 m), 13. VII. 1980, Chi-Kun Yang. Paratype, 1 Ƥ, same data as holotype.

Distribution. Palaearctic: China (Ningxia) ( Fig. 35 ). This is biogeographically part of the North China Region ( Zhang 1999).

Remarks. This new species is similar to A. salentioides Lyneborg in the following features: eyes separated on frons by a distance about 3 times width of the anterior ocellus; scape of antenna strongly elongated; upper occiput covered with uniform pile without postocular setae; epandrium with broadly rounded posterolateral flange; outer gonocoxal process large, bifurcated apically. But the new species can be separated from it by the following features: anterior frons and basal scape yellowish orange; epandrium elongated, 1.2 times longer than wide; aedeagus with dorsal apodeme distinctly shorter than ejaculatory apodeme; lateral ejaculatory process distinct and separated from dorsal and ventral apodemes. In A. salentioides , the anterior frons is dark and the antennal color is entirely blackish; the epandrium is about as long as wide; the dorsal apodeme of the aedeagus ( Lyneborg 1984: 220, fig. 48) is slightly longer than the ejaculatory apodeme; the lateral ejaculatory process ( Lyneborg 1984: 220, fig. 47) is completely subsumed into the dorsal and ventral apodemes.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the short dorsal apodeme of the aedeagus, from the Latin adjective “ brevis ” meaning short.

Figures

FIGURES 23. Head of male Ammothereva brevis sp. nov. Frontal view.

FIGURES 24 – 29. Male genital morphology of Ammothereva brevis sp. nov. Male. 24. terminalia, lateral view; 25. tergite 8; 26. sternite 8; 27. epandrial complex, dorsal view; 28. gonocoxal complex, dorsal view; 29. aedeagus, ventral view; 30. aedeagus, lateral view.

FIGURES 31 – 34. Female genital morphology of Ammothereva brevis sp. nov. Female. 31. terminalia, dorsal view; 32. terminalia, ventral view; 33. internal reproductive organs; 34. terminalia, lateral view. Scale: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 35. Distribution of Ammothereva species in China.