Achelipoda subobscura Plant, 2009, sp. n.
Creators: name: Plant, Adrian R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Empididae
Achelipoda
Achelipoda subobscura

description: 5. Achelipoda subobscura sp. n.
[Fig. 4]
Type material. Holotype 3: Indonesia, Sulawesi Utara, Dumoga-Bone NP, 0° 34'N, 123° 54'E, 232 m, Malaise trap in forest ‘Rintice 1’, 16–19.ix.1985, NMW Indonesia Expedition 1985 (Project Wallace), NMW.Z.1985.078, A. H. Kirk-Spriggs leg. [NMWC]. Paratypes: 1Ƥ, same data as holotype, 3–16.ix.1985, ‘Rintice 3’[NMWC]; 1Ƥ same data as holotype, Toraut, 0° 34'N, 123° 54'E, 214 m, forest edge, Sungai Tumpah, 23.vii – 3.viii.1985 [NMWC]; 1Ƥ, Maluku Utara, Bacan, Makian, 1.5 km E of Labuha, Malaise trap, forest trail, secondary area, 23–26.ix.1985, NMW Indonesia Expedition 1985 (Project Wallace), NMW.Z.1985.078, A. H. Kirk-Spriggs leg. [NMWC]. Holotype deposited in NMWC.
Etymology. The specific epithet derives from ‘subobscurus’ (Latin) meaning ‘darkish’ in reference to the darkened wings of this species.
Diagnosis. A yellowish species with apical third of wing darkened and vein CuA2 reaching the margin. Front coxa with regular ciliation anteriorly. Dorsal setae on scape and front trochanter rather long. Males with head and thoracic setae longer than in other species of the genus. Female with posteroapical spur on hind tibia.
Description. Male: length 2.5 mm.
Head: Black, dusted whitish, face whitish silver above mouth opening. Ocellar setae almost 2X as long as verticals, postoculars distinct, lower occipital pile conspicuous only immediately behind mouth opening. Antenna brownish with basal segments yellowish; scape with dorsal seta long, extending almost to end of pedicel. Postpedical 3–3.5X as long as wide, stylus 1.5X as long. Mouthparts brownish yellow.
Thorax: brownish yellow, darker on scutum anteriorly, scutellum and mediotergite; scutum with faint indication of narrow median stripe. Anterior dorsocentral almost as strong as supraalar, other dorsocentrals rather weaker.
Legs: yellow with apical tarsomeres hardly darker. C1 as long as thorax, throughout length anteriorly with a regular series of slightly proclinate yellowish setae, almost as long as limb is deep. C3 hardly broader than C2. Front trochanter with long dorsal seta. F1 inflated, widest 0.3–0.4 from base, almost bare dorsally but with dorsoapical patch of distinct setae. Femoral formula approximately 4/15/16 /4 +1 as well as basal spine, three most basal av and two most basal pv spines also strong. T1 0.8X length of F1.
Abdomen: brown, almost bare with a few pale hairs laterally near base and on sternite 8. Hypandrium + epandrium somewhat quadrate (Fig. 4), yellowish with irregularly ovate dark area laterally. Cercus very narrow and dark posteriorly, becoming wider and paler anteriorly; median lobe positioned only slightly posterolaterally of anterior lobe and bearing several long fine setae dorsally; anterior lobe broad, dorsally with numerous closely set short blackish setae. Subepandrial process and phallus broad, strongly reflexed anteriorly, distally narrow and pointed.
Wing: veins brown. Membrane clear basally but indistinctly and narrowly infuscate about level of ends of basal cells and more broadly and distinctly darkened on apical third leaving apex clear. Cells bm and br equal in length, crossveins closing them strictly linearly aligned. Vein CuA2 reaching wing margin.
Description. Female: similar to male but stylus 2X as long as postpedicel and thoracic setae rather weaker. Fore trochanter without long dorsal seta. F3 with posteroapical spur prominent, almost as long as limb is deep and apically pointed when viewed from behind. Abdomen brownish with terminalia hardly darker.
Comment. Achelipoda subobscura is known from Indonesian lowland mixed dipterocarp forest in July, August and September.
description: Published as part of Plant, Adrian R., 2009, Revision of the east Asian genus Achelipoda Yang, Zhang & Zhang, 2007 (Diptera: Empididae: Hemerodromiinae) including designation of a neotype for Achelipoda pictipennis (Bezzi, 1912) and descriptions of six new species, pp. 37-50 in Zootaxa 2020 on page 45, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.186062