Hemerodromia songsee Plant, 2015, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Plant, Adrian R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Empididae
Hemerodromia
Hemerodromia songsee

description: Hemerodromia songsee sp. nov.
(Figs 8, 63–65, 94)
Diagnosis. Thorax with distinctive colour pattern; scutum yellow on anterior 0.5, black behind; scutellum, mediotergite, laterotergite and meron black; fused anepisternum + katepisternum yellow. Male cercus elongate, extending beyond apex of epandrium, narrowed medially, apically spatulate in lateral view.
Description. Male: Body length 2.5–2.8 mm; wing length 2.3–2.5 mm. Head. Black, dusted greyish, strongest on upper occiput; antenna and mouthparts yellow, all setae whitish; one pair reclinate ocl; postocular setae uniseriate below, becoming 2–3 serial above where merging with two pairs small vtl; frontal setulae apparently absent. Antenna with postpedicel 1.5X long as wide, stylus of similar length; scape with distinct fine dorsal seta. Thorax. Dusted greyish. Scutum with ground colour clear yellow or yellowish orange on anterior ~ 0.5 (excepting extreme anterior margin blackish); posterior 0.5 black or brownish black with dark markings often extending forward a short distance along line of dorsocentrals and along lateral margin to level of anterior spiracle (Fig. 8). Prothoracic ‘collar’ dorsally, scutellum, mediotergite, metanotum, laterotergite and meron black. Fused anepisternum + katepisternum and anepimeron clear yellow, sometimes somewhat darkened, especially posteroventrally. All setae yellowish; minute apart from a pair of sct and one npl. Legs. Yellowish white, apical tarsal segments hardly darker. C1 ~ 1.2X longer than distance between C1 and C2, all setulae minute excepting a few slightly longer apicals. F1 ~ 1.2X long as C1, ~ 4X long as wide, slightly constricted 0.4 from base; femoral formula ~ 6–8/19–21+1/20–23/5–6, denticles black, rows converging apically; spines yellow, longest basally. T1 ~ 0.65X long as F1, evenly curved, ventral face shallowly concave; with one row of 17–18 sharply pointed spinose setae ventrally; a small bluntly pointed ventroapical spur with strong ventroapical erect black spinose seta arising from near its base. Mid and hind legs slender with only small setulae but T3 with a short row of small setae posterodorsally and a ‘comb’ of short setae posteroapically. Wing. Membrane with dark microtrichia, especially about apices of basal cells but hyaline basally. Veins blackish but yellowish near base and C pale yellow with posterior margin very narrowly black. Marginal setulae pale yellow. R2+3 slightly curved, joining C ~ 0.6X distance between end of R1 and R4; length of C between ends of R2+3 and R4 quite long, ~1.5–1.8X long as R4. R4 slightly Sshaped, angle with R5 at extreme base ~ 80°; R5 ~ 2X long as R4; R4+5 fork distal to M1+2 fork by ~ 0.5– 1 X length of R4; R5 and M1 linear, convergent distally; cell bm+dm short, ending at or slightly beyond level of R1. Halter pale yellowish. Abdomen. Tergites 1 and 7 yellow, 2 yellow laterally, 3,4,5,6 and 8 blackish; only indistinct setulae on posterior margins, becoming longer on 7 and conspicuous on 8. Sternites yellowish; setae on posterior margins yellow becoming longer on posterior segments where also present on disc. Terminalia. Black with dark setae. Cercus elongate, extending beyond apex of epandrium (Figs 63, 64); narrowed medially; apically spatulate in lateral view; distinctly setose dorsally. Epandrium elongate subrectangular, slightly pointed apically, with strong setae on distal 0.5. Hypandrium hemispherical, with distinct setae posteroventrally. Subepandrial sclerite subquadrate (Fig. 65); bacilliform sclerite elongate, reaching beyond end of epandrium; surstylus present, expanded and strongly spatulate apically in lateral view; with numerous fine setae on inner face. Female: Similar to male but abdomen with less conspicuous setae distally but tergite 7 blackish and sternite 7 brown.
Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, THAILAND: Chiang Mai Province, Doi Phahompok NP, Kiewlom1/ montane forest, 2,174 m, 20°3.549'N, 99°8.552'E, 21–28.v.2008, MT, P. Wongchai [T6100](QSBG). PARATYPES: 1♂, same data as holotype; 1♂, 21–28.iv.2008, K. Seesom; 2♂, 2♀, stream in herb smothered stream in hill evergreen, 2,175 m, 20.06644°N, 99.14314°E, 16.ii.2011, netted, A.R. Plant; 1♂, Doi Phaluang, 1,449m 20°1.06'N, 99°9.581'E, 21–28.v.2008, P. Wongchai; 1♂, 1,460 m, 20.04280°N, 99.16444°E, netted, A.R. Plant; 3♂, 6♀, Chiang Mai Province, Doi Inthanon NP, Kew Mae Pan Trail, 2,200 m, 18°33.162'N, 98°28.81'E, 17–24.xi.2006, 22–29.iv.2007, 29.iv.–6.v.2007, MT, Y. Areeluck; 2♂, 1♀, Kew Mae Pan, 2,200 m, 18°33.163'N, 98°28.8'E, 21–27.ix.2006, 12–19.x.2006, MT, Y. Areeluck; 1♂, 2f, Kew Mae Pan, 1,980 m, 18.5527°N 98.480°E, 26.xi.2012, 5.xii.2013, netted, A.R. Plant; 2♂, 8♀, Kew Mae Pan, 2,210 m, 18°33'29.4"N, 98°28'51.7"E, 1.iv.– 2.v.2014, 2–29.v.2014, MT, W. Srisuka et al.; 2♂, 1♀, Checkpoint 2, 1,700 m, 18°31.554'N, 98°29.94'E, MT, 13– 21.ix.2006, 21–27.iv.2006, 19.iv.–6.v.2006, Y. Areeluck (QSBG & NMWC). VIETNAM: 2♂, Viet Try, Sa Pa, Sin Chay, 1,900 m, 22.65°N, 103.59°E [approx.], 21.x.–11.xi.1999, MT, R. de Vries (IRScNB) (RBINS).
Etymology. The specific epithet is a concatenation of the Thai song (two) and see (colour) in reference to the bicoloured thorax. It is used as a noun in apposition.
Remarks. The pattern of rather clearly marked black and yellow on the thorax of this species appears to be relatively stable and is a useful identification aid for H. songsee sp. nov. Although the fused anepisternum + katepisternum is usually clear yellow, it and the anepimeron are not infrequently darkened, especially posteroventrally. In Thailand, H. songsee sp. nov. is known from hill evergreen and moist hill evergreen forests at 1,449–2,210 m on two mountains in Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand (Fig. 94). 58% of all specimens were captured in April or May, at the end of the hot dry period preceding the onset of the Southwest Monsoon. The remaining specimens were taken in February, September, November and December. Two specimens are known from northwestern Vietnam, captured at 1,900m between late October and early November.
description: Published as part of Plant, Adrian R., 2015, Diversity of Hemerodromia Meigen, 1822 (Diptera: Empididae) in Thailand, the tip of a tropical iceberg?, pp. 1-56 in Zootaxa 4039 (1) on pages 41-43, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4039.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/289932