Thinophilus gallagheri, Grichanov, 2023

Grichanov, Igor Ya., 2023, A review of the Afrotropical Thinophilus Wahlberg, 1844 (Diptera: Dolichopodidae), with the descriptions of ten new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 878, pp. 1-52 : 22-24

Thinophilus gallagheri sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F59EED4D-AAFA-4E55-B79A-252B2CCD63A4

Fig. 6

Diagnosis

Thinophilus gallagheri sp. nov. is remarkable in bearing only whitish yellow bristles and setae on body and legs, differing from all other Old World species bearing black major bristles. Body completely grey pollinose; antenna light yellow; arista-like stylus nearly apical, yellow basally, and white distally; mesonotum with 4 dorsocentrals of almost equal length; scutellum with 2 marginals; tibiae with short bristles; fore and mid tarsomeres shortened; distal part of vein M 4 2.4 × as long as dm-m; surstylus bilobed; cerci separated, short, stick-shaped.

Etymology

The specific epithet is dedicated to the collector of the types, Dr M.D. Gallagher ( Oman Natural History Museum, Sultanate of Oman).

Material examined

Holotype OMAN • ♂ (in glycerin in a vial, mounted on pin); “Shinass; 24°43′ N, 56 ° 28′ E; 9 Jun. 1994; leg.; at light in mangrove creek”; NMWC.

Paratypes OMAN • 2 ♀♀ (on one pin); same colection data as for holotype; NMWC .

Description

Male ( Fig. 6A )

MEASUREMENTS. Body length 1.7 mm; antenna length 0.5 mm; wing length 1.7 mm; wing width 0.7 mm.

HEAD ( Fig. 6B ). With all bristles yellowish white; postcranium, frons and face greenish black, densely grey pollinose; face almost parallel-sided, 1.5 × as wide as height of postpedicel; clypeus broad, very low, almost invisible; palp yellow, bearing yellow bristly hairs; proboscis black; 2 diverging ocellars; 1 vertical, 1 postvertical, nearly as long as vertical, stronger and longer than, and not in row with upper postoculars; upper postoculars uniseriate; middle and lower postoculars biseriate, as long as upper postoculars; antenna ( Fig. 6C ) light yellow; scape small, with short inner projection; pedicel simple, convex on inner side; postpedicel rounded, with short pubescence, higher than long (12/9); arista-like stylus nearly apical, yellow and thick basally, white and thin distally, shortly pubescent; length ratio of pedicel to postpedicel to stylus, 0.07/0.09/0.42.

THORAX. Bluish black, densely grey pollinose, with all bristles yellowish white; metepimeron yellow; no acrostichals; 4 dorsocentrals of almost equal length; scutellum with 2 strong marginals; no laterals; few upper and lower propleural bristles of different length.

LEGS. Almost entirely light yellow, with all bristles and setae yellowish white; mid coxa partly brownish; claws black. Fore leg ( Fig. 6D ) with elongated setulae. Coxa with setae and bristles; femur simple, with ventral row of bristles, as long as femur height; tibia and tarsus simple, without strong bristles; segment 5 weakly flattened; length of femur, tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.47/0.44/0.14/0.08/0.09/0.08/ 0.09.

MID LEG. With elongated setulae. Coxa with setae; femur with ventral rows of setae, mainly half as long as femur height, somewhat longer on distal ⅓; tibia bearing rather short dorsals and apicals; tarsal segments 3–5 inconspicuously thickened; length of femur, tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.59/ 0.58/0.21/0.12/0.11/0.09/0.11. Hind leg with elongated setulae. Coxa with 1 exterior bristle; femur with ventral rows of short setae, with several anterior bristles on distal ⅓, ⅔ as long as femur height; tibia bearing short dorsals and apicals; segment 5 inconspicuously thickened; length of femur, tibia and tarsal segments (in mm): 0.73/0.68/0.17/0.13/0.12/0.09/0.09.

WING ( Fig. 6E ). Hyaline, inconspicuously dark at dm-m; veins yellow; distal part of M 1+2 almost straight; R 4+5 nearly parallel with M 1+2; ratio of part of costa between R 2+3 and R 4+5 to that between R 4+5 and M 1+2 (in mm), 0.15/0.16; crossvein dm-m straight; ratio of dm-m to distal part of M 4, 0.15/0.36; anal vein fold-like; halter yellow; lower calypter yellow, with white cilia.

ABDOMEN. Bluish black, densely grey pollinose, with all setae and bristles yellowish white, short; sternites with short setae. Hypopygium ( Fig. 6F ) black, appendages light yellow; epandrial lobe broad, rounded at apex with short apical bristle; hypandrium short, apically concave; phallosoma narrow, not reaching apex of surstyli; phallus long and simple, strongly curved at apex of phallosoma ( Fig. 6G ); surstylus bilobed, with almost straight arms bearing few preapical setulae; dorsal arm narrow, with small apical spine; ventral arm somewhat swollen at apex, with strong dorsal seta at middle; cerci (partly broken during maceration) separated, short, stick-shaped, with long light bristles.

Female

Similar to male except lacking male secondary sexual characters (MSSC). Terga 9+10 divided medially into 2 hemitergites, each bearing 4 short thick brown spines.

Notes

Thinophilus sp. with the same label as types was mentioned by Rossi & Leonardi (2018: 111), as a host for the Laboulbeniales fungus Stigmatomyces ligabuei W. Rossi, 1986 .

Figures

Fig. 6. Thinophilus gallagheri sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (NMWC). A. Habitus.B. Head. C. Antenna.D. Fore leg. E. Wing. F. Hypopygium after maceration, lateral view. G. Distal appendages of hypopygium after maceration, ventral-lateral view.