Ptecticus elegans, Rozkošný, Rudolf & Hauser, Martin, 2009

Rozkošný, Rudolf & Hauser, Martin, 2009, Species groups of Oriental Ptecticus Loew including descriptions of ten new species with a revised identification key to the Oriental species (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), Zootaxa 2034, pp. 1-30 : 6-7

Ptecticus elegans sp. nov.

( Figs 25–27 )

Type material. Holotype, female, NEPAL, Katmandu, Godavari, 6000 ft, 23.vii.1967, Canadian Nepal Expedition, in CNC.

Etymology. The specific name refers to to the gracile general appearance and the bright colour combination consisting of yellow and black with a bluish metallic shade on the thorax.

Diagnosis. The frons and vertex are black, the thorax is metallic blue with a yellow pattern. Vein M3 is sinuate, the legs are yellow, the mid tibia partly and the hind tibia completely black. The abdomen is transversely banded.

Description. Female. Head semiglobular, deeply concave posteriorly. Frons slightly tapered towards frontal callus, somewaht broader than ocellar triangle at the narrowest part, frontal index 2.7 Frontal callus prominent, rounded apically and nearly flat dorsally, about as high as scape is long in lateral view. Frons, vertex and median occipital sclerite shining black, frontal callus yellow but blackish on ventral surface with a yellow medial stripe being as broad as anterior ocellus. Antenna completely dark brown, scape subshining, pedicel very narrow on outer surface and with usual triangular projection on inner side. Face, proboscis and palpus yellow, proboscis more brownish on dorsal surface. Head pile generally pale yellow, brownish on lower surface of frontal callus and black on basal segments of antenna, predominanty erect, about as long as scape on vertex.

Thorax metallic blue with following yellow pattern: postpronotal callus, broad subnotopleural stripe, postalar callus, posterior margin of scutellum, suboval spot at upper posterior corner of katepisternum and broad lower, anterior and upper margin of katatergite. In addition yellow colour of postpronotal callus triangularly extended on anterior corners of scutum, transverse suture and lateral area in front of postalar callus brown. Thoracic pile pale yellow dorsally and whitish on lower pleura, predominantly short and appressed, longer and erect mainly beyond postpronotal callus, on propleuron, katatergite and mediotergite. Postpronotal callus markedly projecting laterally in a cone-like process.

Wing membrane almost hyaline, with indistinct brown tinge. Vein R2+3 starting at crossvein R-M, about as long as Rs. Radial triangle (r2+3) low and elongated, crossvein M-Cu virtually missing. M3 sinuate, its missing apical part shorter than crossvein R-M, postcubitus (CuP) well pigmented. Halteres brownish, only basal half of stem yellow. Hairs on posttegula black.

Legs predominantly yellow, only mid and hind coxa partly black, and tarsomeres of fore and mid legs beginning at distal third of basitarsus darkened due to black hairs. Mid tibia with brown stripe along posterior surface in basal half. Hind trochanter brown, hind femur more reddish yellow and hind tibia deep black. All of hind tarsus bright yellow and golden yellow haired.

Abdomen yellow with black broad transverse bands dorsally. Abdominal segment 1 and apical segments beginning from segment 6 black on both sides, tergites 2–5 with black transverse band each, becoming broader caudad, tergite 5 thus only narrowly yellow at anterior margin. Transverse bands nearly reaching lateral margin of abdomen, sternites 2–5 yellow. Abdominal pile mostly inconspicuous, whitish to pale yellow and appressed, longer and partly semi- appressed mainly at posterior corners of tergites and apical tergites beyond tergite 5. Long and erect hairs visible only on tergite 1 in addition to very short and dense black hairs on dark pattern of tergites 2–5. Sternites 2–5 with sparse, yellow and appressed hairs.

Female terminalia ( Figs 25–27 ) with relatively long cerci, basal segment of them being about twice as long as apical one. Proctiger conspicuously emarginated on ventral surface. Tergite 9 replaced by a lateral, relatively broad remnant on each side. Genital furca with frame not too broad, middle aperture opened, posterolateral appendages pointed.

Length: body 16.0 mm, wing 12.3 mm.

Male. Unknown.

Remarks. P. elegans sp. nov. shows a remarkable combination of specific characters indicating different species groups. The ventral darkening of frontal callus resembles P. vulpianus ( Enderlein, 1914) from the australis group but the wing venation signals a relation to a different species group. Although the male of this new species is not known, the pigmented postcubitus (CuP) and the sinutae vein M3 confirm some relation to the species of the cingulatus group.

Figures

FIGURES 25 – 27. Ptecticus elegans sp. nov., female terminalia in dorsal view (25), ventral view (26) and genital furca (27). Scale: 0.5 mm. For abbreviations see material and methods.