Merodon namaghijamii Vujic , Likov & Radenkovic, 2023

Vujic, Ante, Radenkovic, Snezana, Barkalov, Anatolij, Kocis Tubic, Natasa, Likov, Laura, Tot, Tamara, Popov, Grigory, Prokhorov, Alex, Gilasian, Ebrahim, Anjum, Shehzad, Djan, Mihajla, Kakar, Banafsha & Andric, Andrijana, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the Merodon tarsatus species group (Diptera, Syrphidae), Arthropod Systematics & amp; Phylogeny 81, pp. 201-256 : 201

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/asp.81.e93570
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FF52A05B-BDC0-474E-9848-0DC95A8155B2
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/8392E18D-C76D-518A-9EA5-166D2C56C00E
treatment provided by	Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny by Pensoft
scientific name	Merodon namaghijamii Vujic , Likov & Radenkovic
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Merodon namaghijamii Vujic, Likov & Radenkovic sp. nov.

Figs 1G, H View Figure 1 , 2D View Figure 2 , 4D View Figure 4 , 9A-C View Figure 9 , 11B View Figure 11 , 14E View Figure 14 , 18A View Figure 18 , 19B View Figure 19 , 28 View Figure 28 , 31G View Figure 31

M. aff. tarsatus 4 ( Vujić et al. 2021a).

Type locality.

IRAN: Razavi Khorasan Province, Torbat-e Jām County, Bezd village, 20 km SW of Torbat-e-Jām; 35°21 ’00” N, 60°44 ’00” E; 1274 m a.s.l.

Type material.

Holotype: ♂; FSUNS [specimen dry pinned, right mesoleg and metaleg except tarsi are missing taken for molecular analysis, left metatarsi are glued on triangular shaped paper pinned with the source specimen, genitalia and right metatarsi are in separate microvials]. Original labels: "Iran, Bezd village, / 20km south west Torbat-e-jam / 35°21'N 60°44'E, 1274m / 08.05.2015. / Leg. Amirreza Bidel", "Hussein Sadeghi coll. Iran", “117”, “13262”, “TS879”, " Merodon Merodon / det. A. Vujic 2016".

Diagnosis.

Medium sized (10 mm), long pilose, dark species, with olive-brown reflection (Fig. 19B View Figure 19 ); antennae dark brown, basoflagellomere elongated, 2.4 times as long as wide (Fig. 11B View Figure 11 ); legs entirely black (Fig. 18A View Figure 18 ); body pile pale yellow to gray. Male: eyes dichoptic, separated by distance of 2-3 facets (Fig. 31G View Figure 31 ); metafemur broad, about 3.3 times longer than wide, covered with long pilosity (Fig. 14E View Figure 14 ); basotarsomere of metatarsus expanded, about 2.5 times broader than the second tarsomere, ventrally with well-defined brush-like area of dense pile extending 3/4 of its length (Fig. 9B, C View Figure 9 ); ventral margin of metatrochanter angular; sternum 4 with very long laminate extensions on posterior margin (Fig. 4D View Figure 4 ); male genitalia: anterior surstyle lobe rectangular and posterior surstyle lobe oval (Fig. 1G View Figure 1 : al, pl); ejaculatory apodeme large, broader than long (Fig. 2D View Figure 2 : ea); lingula elongated and narrow (Fig. 2D View Figure 2 : l).

Similar to Merodon turkestanicus from which differs in shape and size of basotarsomere of metaleg, broader in M. namaghijamii Vujić, Likov & Radenković sp. nov. (Fig. 9A-C View Figure 9 ) and narrower in M. turkestanicus (Fig. 9E, F View Figure 9 ); and by the shape of male genitalia: ventral margin of posterior surstyle lobe angular (Fig. 1G View Figure 1 ) and ejaculatory apodeme wider than basal width of hypandrium in lateral view (Fig. 2D View Figure 2 ), while in M. turkestanicus ventral margin of posterior surstyle lobe oval (Fig. 1E View Figure 1 ) and ejaculatory apodeme narrower than basal width of hypandrium in lateral view (Fig. 2C View Figure 2 ). Differs from M. pakistanicus Vujić, Likov & Radenković sp. nov., M. smirnovi and M. tarsatus by dichoptic eyes (Fig. 31G View Figure 31 ), holoptic in these three species with eye contiguity more than 6 facets long (Fig. 30C, E, F View Figure 30 ).

Description. Male. Head: Antenna dark brown to black; basoflagellomere (Fig. 11B View Figure 11 ) elongated about 2.4 times as long as wide, more than 2 times as long as pedicel, more or less straight dorsally, tapering to apex; fossette dorsolateral and large (Fig. 11B View Figure 11 ); arista dark and thickened at basal third; face and frons black with gray microtrichia; face covered with dense whitish-yellow pile, frons with gray-yellowish pile; oral margin black; lunule shiny black to brown, bare; eye dichoptic, separated for length of 2-3 facets (Fig. 31G View Figure 31 ); vertex isosceles (Fig. 31G View Figure 31 ), shiny black; vertex with long, pale gray-yellowish pile, mixed with a few black pile on ocellar triangle; ocellar triangle equilateral (Fig. 31G View Figure 31 ); occiput with gray-yellow pile, ventrally covered with dense gray microtrichia; eyes covered with dense whitish-gray pile (Fig. 31G View Figure 31 ); vertical triangle: frons = 1.2: 1. - Thorax: Scutum and scutellum black with olive-green to brown lustre, covered with dense, erect yellowish pile; scutum without pollinose vittae; anterior half of scutum from dull to shiny; posterodorsal part of anterior anepisternum, posterior anepisternum (except anteroventral angle), anterior anepimeron, dorsomedial anepimeron, and posterodorsal and anteroventral parts of katepisternum with long, dense pale yellow pile; wings mostly covered with microtrichia; wing veins brown; calypter pale yellow; halter yellow; legs black; pile on legs pale yellow to whitish; ventral margin of metatrochanter angular; metafemur moderately broad, about 3.3 times longer than wide, with pile on ventral surface as long as width of metafemur, longer than pile on dorsal surface (Fig. 14E View Figure 14 ); apicomedial lamina on metatibia distinct, covered with very long yellow pile (Fig. 18A View Figure 18 ); basotarsomere of metatarsus expanded, about 2.5 times broader than second tarsomere (Fig. 9B View Figure 9 ), ventrally with well-defined brush-like area of dense pile extending 3/4 of its length (Fig. 9B, C View Figure 9 ). - Abdomen: About 1.2 times longer than mesonotum; terga dark brown to black; terga 2-4 without white pollinose fasciae; pile on terga all yellow to gray-whitish (Fig. 19B View Figure 19 ); sterna dark brown, covered with long whitish-yellow pile. - Male genitalia: Anterior surstyle lobe rectangular, about 1.5 times longer than wide, covered with dense short pile (Fig. 1G View Figure 1 : al); posterior surstyle lobe oval (Fig. 1G View Figure 1 : pl); cercus rectangular (Fig. 1G View Figure 1 : c); hypandrium sickle-shaped, without lateral projections (Fig. 2D View Figure 2 ); lingula elongated and narrow (Fig. 2D View Figure 2 : l). - Female. Unknown.

Etymology.

The new species " namaghijamii " was named after the famous Persian writer, poet: Ahmad Ibn Abolhasan Jāmi-e Nāmaghi-e Torshizi. He was born in Namagh, Iran (1048) and died in Torbat-e Jām, Iran (1141). The holotype was collected from the county named Torbat-e-Jām, located near the border of Iran and Afghanistan. This name was proposed by Hussein Sadeghi Namaghi from Iran. A noun in the genitive case.

Distribution and ecological data.

Merodon namaghijamii Vujić, Likov & Radenković sp. nov. has only been recorded in northeastern Iran so far (Fig. 28 View Figure 28 ). Its only known locality is within the cold-desert steppe scrubland ecosystem, with Artemisia sieberi - Zygophyllum sp. as dominant vegetation type ( Azizi Jalilian et al. 2020). It belongs to the Central Persian desert basins ecoregion ( Olson et al. 2001). The single specimen of M. namaghijamii Vujić, Likov & Radenković sp. nov. was collected using a malaise trap, placed at the edge of an alfalfa field ( Medicago sativa L.) in Bezd village in the vicinity of Torbat-e-Jām. Torbat-e Jām is located in northeastern Iran close to Afghanistan, with very hot summers and cold winters, with 26°C average annual temperature and 260 mm annual precipitation. Artemisia sieberi , Peganum harmala L. and Ziziphora tenuior L. are the dominant plant species in this area. On the basis of our data the flight period is May.