Tipula (Vestiplex) butvilai Starkevich, Saldaitis & Men

Starkevich, Pavel, Saldaitis, Aidas & Men, Qiu-Lei, 2019, Tipula (Vestiplex) butvilai sp. nov., a new crane fly (Diptera, Tipulidae) from Yunnan, China, ZooKeys 869, pp. 91-101 : 91

Tipula (Vestiplex) butvilai Starkevich, Saldaitis & Men sp. nov. Figs 1 , 2-8 , 9-13

Holotype.

male, China, NW. Yunnan, Nu Jiang Valley, S. from Gongshan, elevation 2100 m, 27°43.42'N, 98°45.15'E, 15-16.v.2018, leg. Butvila & Saldaitis (NRC).

Paratypes.

1 male and 3 females topotypic, male genitalia slide No. PS0419m, female genitalia slide No. PS0420f (NRC), same data as holotype.

Diagnosis.

Among other members of T. (V.) bicornigera group T. (V.) butvilai sp. nov. can be recognized by yellow body, elongate antennae which if bent backward reach the base of the abdomen, brown flagellum and femur with a preapical yellow ring. Dorsal portion of tergite 9 posteriorly with a pair of oval lobes. Appendage of sternite 9 with dorsal lobe blackened, long and narrow. Sternite 8 provided with long setae.

Description.

Adult male ( Fig. 1 ) (N = 2). General body coloration yellow. Body length 11.9-12.4 mm, wing length 14.1-14.9 mm.

Head. Yellowish, vertex and occiput with dark brown median line ( Fig. 1 ). Rostrum yellow, short, nasus inconspicuous. Antenna 13-segmented, elongate, if bent backward reaching base of abdomen; scape, pedicel yellow, first flagellomere basally yellow, the rest of flagellum brown. Flagellar segments except first one with basal enlargements. Verticils slightly longer than corresponding segments. Palpus yellowish.

Thorax. Pronotum yellow. Mesonotal prescutum, yellowish, with 4 olive-yellow longitudinal stripes, narrowly bordered by yellow and median pair separated by brownish interspace. Scutum yellow, scutal lobes each with two olive-yellow spots bordered by yellow. Scutellum and mediotergite yellow with dark median line. Pleura yellow. Leg with coxa and trochanter yellow; femur brown with broad preapical yellow ring, tip dark brown; tibia and tarsal segments dark brown; tarsal claw with tooth. Wing ( Fig. 1 ) yellowish-brown, cells c and sc slightly darker than ground color; stigma brown; Rs suffused with dark brown at origin point and the level of its branch; discal cell transparent with the exception of outer end which suffused with brown; apical half of cells r3, r4 and r5, and entire cells m also suffused with brown, some large hyaline areas at cells cup and a1. Venation: R1+2 entire, discal cell narrow, elongated, petiole of cell m1 distinctly shorter than discal cell. Halter pale yellow with brown knob.

Abdomen. Abdominal segments 1-5 yellow, with dorsal and lateral lines, remaining segments brownish black. Tergites 6-7 laterally pale, sternites 6-7 with posterior margin pale.

Hypopygium. Brownish black. Tergite 9 completely divided at midline by pale membrane ( Figs 2 , 6 ). Posterior margin with V-shaped notch; posterolateral margin of tergite 9 triangular; dorsal portion with posterior margin of tergite 9 covered with setae, with a pair of lobes oval in dorsal view directed caudad ( Figs 2 , 3 ). Ventral portion of tergite 9 hypertrophied, occupying ~half of entire tergite area. Small blackened glabrous process on either side of midline, a depressed oval area on each half of ventral portion of tergite 9. Gonocoxite entirely separate from sternite 9, dorsally produced into curved spine with acute tip ( Figs 3 , 6 ). Outer gonostylus club-shaped ( Fig. 7 ). Inner gonostylus blackened, lower beak missing, distal surface covered with setae; upper beak straight triangular, dorsal crest nearly rectangular in ventral view; dorso-median margin proximally from upper beak produced into blackened tooth; dorsolateral margin bent outwardly forming blackened obtuse outgrowth ( Fig. 8 ). Appendage of sternite 9 provided with setae, with dorsal lobe blackened, long and narrow, ventral lobe nearly triangular ( Fig. 4 ). Adminiculum triangular in ventral view, median sclerite) anteriorly with elevated margin ( Fig. 4 ). Strenite 8 provided with long setae.

Female.

Body length 18.1-19.2 mm, wing length 16.6-18.1 mm (N = 3). Generally similar to male. Antenna short, if bent backward reaching pronotum. Scape and pedicel yellow, flagellum brown, flagellar segments cylindrical. Abdomen yellow, dorsal abdominal stripe broad, black.

Ovipositor ( Figs 9-13 ). Tergite 10 light brown. Cercus yellow, nearly straight, with tip acute and outer margin with rough indistinct serration ( Fig. 9 ). Sternite 8 brown, pale area before hypovalvae ( Fig. 10 ). Hypovalva strongly sclerotised, black, shaped posteriorly as an obliquely truncated plate with acute tip, anteriorly nearly rectangular, with additional submedian denticle on inner side in ventral view. Lateral angle of sternite 8 strongly sclerotised, nearly triangular and acute, covered with setae. Median incision between hypovalvae with serrated medial area. Sternite 9 with lateral sclerites nearly straight, obtuse anteriorly, the surface is covered by short setae ( Fig. 11 ). Furca long and narrow ( Fig. 12 ). Three spherical spermathecae ( Fig. 13 ).

Comparative material examined.

Tipula (Vestiplex) bicornigera Alexander, 1938: holotype, male, China, Taiwan, Oiwake, Noko-gun, altitude 7570 feet [2307 m], August 12, 1936 (Takahashi) (USNM); Tipula (Vestiplex) subtestata Alexander, 1938: holotype, male, China, Sichuan, Mount Omei, Chu Lao Tong Temple, altitude 6500 feet [1981 m], June 5-6, 1937 (Tsen); paratype, the same data as holotype (USNM); Tipula (Vestiplex) testata Alexander, 1935: holotype, male, China, Beh-Luh-Din, 30 miles north of Chengdu, altitude 6000 feet [1829 m], August 8-10, 1933 (Graham); paratypes, 3 males, topotypic, August 12-17, 1933 (Graham) (USNM).

Biology and distribution.

Two males and three females were collected during mid May, 2018. All were collected at ultraviolet lights over two nights in a Nu Jiang (Salween) river valley in the northwestern part of China’s Yunnan Province bordering North Myanmar (Kachin State). The new species was collected at altitudes of approximately 2100 meters in mixed mountain forest, dominated by various deciduous trees, bamboo and bushes ( Figs 21-22 ).

Discussion.

Tipula (V.) butvilai sp. nov., is closest to T. (V.) testata (China, Sichuan) based on the shape of the male hypopygium. Both species are characterized by their hypertrophied ventral portion of tergite 9 and a pair of lobes on posterior margin of dorsal portion of tergite 9 but can be easily separated by the shape of the appendage of sternite 9, inner gonostylus and details of tergite 9. They can also be separated by the yellow preapical ring on the femur which is present in T. (V.) butvilai sp. nov., but absent in T. (V.) testata . Other species closely related to T. (V.) butvilai sp. nov., and T. (V.) testata are T. (V.) bicornigera (Taiwan; Alexander 1938a: pl. 2, fig. 26), T. (V.) subtestata (China, Sichuan; Alexander 1938b: pl. 2, fig. 30) and Tipula (Vestiplex) xingshana Yang & Yang, 1997(China, Hubei; Yang and Yang 1997, p. 1438, fig. 3 a–c) which all share a hypertrophied ventral portion of tergite 9, but can be separated by the shape of posterior margin of the dorsal portion of tergite 9, which includes two pairs of lobes.

Etymology.

The new species is named after our colleague and prominent Lithuanian collector Rimantas Butvila ( Joniškis, Lithuania).

Figures

Figure 1. T. (Vestiplex) butvilai sp. nov., adult male, lateral view of holotype.

Figures 2 - 8. Hypopygium of male T. (Vestiplex) butvilai sp. nov. 2 hypopygium, dorsal view 3 hypopygium, lateral view 4 sternite 9, ventral view (tergite 9, gonocoxites, left outer and inner gonostyles removed) 5 tergite 9, dorsal view 6 left gonocoxite 7 left outer gonostylus 8 left inner gonostylus, lateral view. Abbreviations: adm, adminiculum; da, depressed area; dl, dorsal lobe of appendage of sternite 9; dp, dorsal portion of tergite 9; gcx, gonocoxite; ig, inner gonostylus; ms, median sclerite; og, outer gonostylus; pl, posterior lobe of dorsal portion of tergite 9; st 9, sternite 9; t 9, tergite 9; vl, ventral lobe of appendage of sternite 9; vp, ventral portion of tergite 9. Scale bar: 0.6 mm (2 - 3), 0.5 mm (4 - 8).

Figures 9 - 13. Ovipositor of female T. (Vestiplex) butvilai sp. nov. 9 ovipositor, left lateral view 10 sternite 8 with hypovalvae, ventral view 11 sternite 9, dorsal view 12 furca, dorsal view 13 spermatheca, lateral view. Abbreviations: c, cerci; h, hypovalvae; st 8, sternite 8; st 9, sternite 9; t 10, tergite 10. Scale bar: 0.75 mm (9), 0.5 mm (10 - 13).

Figures 21, 22. Type locality of T. (Vestiplex) butvilai sp. nov., China, NW. Yunnan, Nu Jiang valley, S. from Gongshan, 27 ° 43.42 ' N, 98 ° 45.15 ' E.