Cheilosia ( Cheilosia ) pogonias, Bot & Mengual & Meutter & Skevington, 2025

Bot, Sander, Mengual, Ximo, Meutter, Frank Van de & Skevington, Jeffrey H., 2025, Review of the genus Cheilosia Meigen, 1822 (Diptera: Syrphidae) from the Caucasus, with the description of 14 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 1023, pp. 1-181 : 107-111

Cheilosia ( Cheilosia) pogonias sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

Figs 54–55

Differential diagnosis

Cheilosia pogonias sp. nov. is a member of a group of morphologically closely related species, called the proxima group ( Vujić et al. 2013), in which the diagnostic characters are pilose eyes, posterior margin of scutellum with setae, usually partly yellow legs, continuously pilose katepisternum, pruinose sterna and the shape of postgonite. For a full diagnosis of the Cheilosia proxima group see Vujić et al. (2013). Within the proxima group, C. pogonias resembles C. barbafacies Vujić & Radenković, 2013 (described from the Balkan Peninsula) as they share a pilose face and yellow pile on terga, but the face of C. pogonias has a more pronounced facial tubercle ( Fig. 55A–B), the male frons is pruinose, tibiae less extensively yellow, ventral surface of tarsi black (instead of yellow in C. barbafacies ), and tergum IV extensively pruinose (tergum IV shiny in C. barbafacies ). Female of C. pogonias is like the female of C. barbafacies but with the scutum with some long black pile intermixed with the yellow pile ( Fig. 54C) and tarsi black dorsally (basal tarsomeres yellow in C. barbafacies ). Cheilosia pogonias is similar to C. melanopa and C. redi , but its male is easily distinguished by the shiny scutum (pruinose in C. melanopa and C. redi ) and very different shape of postgonite ( Fig. 55C). The female of C. pogonias , however, is remarkably similar to the female of C. redi and they are difficult to distinguish: pile on arista very short in C. pogonias , shorter than half the width of arista at base (in C. redi the pile on arista is about half as long as width of arista at base), occiput completely pruinose (in C. redi it is shiny or only slightly pruinose behind dorsal eye corners), occiput with short yellow and sparse long black pile behind dorsal margin of eye ( Fig. 55B) (in C. redi both short and long pile are yellow), metafemur anteriorly and basoventrally with long pile, at least as long as the width of metafemur (in C. redi these piles are shorter, shorter than the width of metafemur).

Etymology

The species name is derived from the Greek ‘ pogonias ’ meaning ‘bearded’ and it refers to the pilose face of this new species. Species epithet to be treated as a noun in apposition.

Material examined

Holotype

GEORGIA • ♂; Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Ushguli ; 42.914° N, 43.090° E; 2562 m a.s.l.; 20 Jun. 2019; S. Bot leg.; ZFMK, CNC databasing S. Bot 932.

Paratypes

ARMENIA – Kotayk Province • 1 ♂; Tsaghkadzor, Y.S.U. Rest House ; 40.53362° N, 44.70302° E; 1915 m a.s.l.; 23 May 2022; X. Mengual leg.; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093663 = ZFMK-TIS-8014602 • 1 ♂; Tsaghkadzor area, towards Grand Palace Hotel ; 40.53310° N, 44.69966° E; 1975 m a.s.l.; 24 May 2022; X. Mengual leg.; ZFMK, ZFMK-DIP-00093687 = ZFMK-TIS-8014600 .

GEORGIA – Mtskheta-Mtianeti • 4 ♂♂; Lutkhubi; 42.3797° N, 44.7969° E; 1463 m a.s.l.; 6 May 2023; S. Bot leg.; SBA, SB.003231 = ZFMK-TIS-8027990, SB.003232 to SB.003234 • 1 ♂; same data as for preceding; ZFMK, ZFMK-TIS-8027975 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; SBA, SB.003235 • 1 ♂; Lutkhubi ; 42.3930° N, 44.7929° E; 1734 m a.s.l.; 8 May 2023; W. Opdekamp leg.; WOR, C015 . – Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti • 1 ♂; 42.888° N, 43.233° E; 1900 m a.s.l.; 30 Jun. 2018; SBA, S. Bot leg.; SBA, SB.003225 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; SBA, SB.003226 . – Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti • 1 ♂; 42.948° N, 43.021° E; 2800 m a.s.l.; 25 Jun. 2018; S. Bot leg.; SBA, SB.003220 • 4 ♂♂; 42.963° N, 42.990° E; 2300 m a.s.l.; 26 Jun. 2018; S. Bot leg.; SBA, SB.003221 = CNC databasing S. Bot 931, SB.003222 to SB.003224 • 1 ♀; Ushguli ; 42.948° N, 43.070° E; 2258 m a.s.l.; 15 Jun. 2019; S. Bot leg.; SBA, SB.003227 • 1 ♀; Ushguli , 42.9498° N, 43.0718° E; 2270 m a.s.l.; 15 Jun. 2019; X. Mengual leg.; ZFMK, ZFMK-TIS-8008816 = ZFMK-DIP-00066551 • 1 ♀; Ushguli ; 42.94° N, 43.05° E; 2220 m a.s.l.; 15–17 Jun. 2019; J. van Steenis leg; Malaise trap; JSB, 2019-00.870 • 1 ♂; Ushguli ; 42.914° N, 43.090° E; 2562 m a.s.l.; 18 Jun. 2019; L. Hofstee leg.; LHH • 3 ♂♂; Ushguli ; 42.914° N, 43.090° E; 2562 m a.s.l.; 20 Jun. 2019; S. Bot leg.; SBA, SB.003228 to SB.003230 • 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; Ushguli, pass from Ushguli to Tsana ; 42.9142° E, 43.0911° N; 2575 m a.s.l.; 20 Jun. 2019; F. Van de Meutter leg.; FMT .

Description

Male

LENGTH. Body 9.5–10.5 mm, wing 7.5–9 mm.

HEAD. Face with pile, with facial tubercle, black, slightly pruinose, more densely pruinose below lunule, facial tubercle shiny. Mala shiny. Parafacia black, wide, almost as wide as postpedicel, pruinose, white pilose. Frontal triangle black, pruinose, with long black pile. Length of eye contiguity about as long as or 1.2 the length of frons. Angle of approximation of eyes 90–100°. Ocellar triangle and occiput pruinose, with long mainly black and some yellow pile. Lunule dark yellow anteriorly, becoming black in posterior part, with distinct medial arm, separating acetabula. Scape black, inner side with yellow setae, outer side with black setae; pedicel black, with black setae; postpedicel squarish, about as high as wide, black; arista black, very short pilose. Eye completely covered in yellow pile.

THORAX. Scutum black, with dark-olive shine except narrowly anteriorly and notopleuron slightly pruinose, finely punctured, with long erect mixed yellow and black pile, proportion variable, but usually yellow pile dominating, especially in anterior and central part. Scutellum black, shiny, with mixed yellow and black pile, posterior margin with long black setae. Pleura black, pruinose, with yellow pile; posterior anepisternum and anepimeron with mixed yellow and black pile; katepisternum continuously pilose. Haltere pedicellum yellow, capitulum dark brown to black.

WING. Wing including alula entirely microtrichose, veins black, stigma dark yellow, vein M 1 meeting vein R 4+5 at a straight angle.

LEGS. Coxae, trochanters, femora, tibiae and tarsi black except yellow apex of femora, basal 1/3–1/4 and apical 1/5–1/6 of tibiae; pile on legs predominately yellow mixed with some black pile; metafemur anteriorly and ventrally with long yellow pile, pile longer than width of metafemur.

ABDOMEN. Terga I–IV laterally with long erect yellow pile, in center pile shorter and semi-adpressed, sometimes posterior margin of tergum IV with a few black pile; tergum I pruinose; terga II–III laterally shiny, medially pruinose, very posterior edge of tergum III pruinose; over half or tergum IV pruinose, especially in anterior and central part. Sterna I–IV thickly and completely pruinose, with erect yellow pile, adpressed medially on sterna III–IV. Hypopygium pruinose, with yellow pile, rarely a few black pile intermixed. Genitalia with surstylus 1.5 times as long as wide ( Fig. 55D) and dorsal lobe of postgonite pointed with wide base ( Fig. 55C).

Female

LENGTH. Body 8–10 mm, wing 7–8 mm.

Similar to the male, except for normal sexual dimorphism and the following characters. Frons with yellow pile except a few black pile around ocellar triangle and above antennae. Postpedicel rarely orange-brown basally. Pile on scutum and pleura yellow except for a few black pile on posterior anepisternum, postalar calli and near wing base. Pro- and mesolegs with ventral parts of basitarsomeres yellow. Metafemur anteriorly and ventrally with pile as long as width of metafemur.

Genetics

All DNA sequences of C. pogonias sp. nov. cluster together with high support (BS = 100%).

Biology

Collected between 1900 and 2800 m a.s.l. on extensive grasslands.

Distribution

So far only known from the Greater and Lesser Caucasus in Armenia and Georgia.