Sobarocephala mitsuii Sasakawa
Creators: name: Lonsdale, Owen
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Clusiidae
Sobarocephala
Sobarocephala mitsuii

description: Sobarocephala mitsuii Sasakawa
Figs 14, 69–71
Sobarocephala mitsuii Sasakawa & Mitsuii, 1995: 517. Sueyoshi, 2006: 22.
Clusiodes sp. Tamaki, 1997: 150.
Paraclusia sp. Tamaki, 1997: 149.
Redescription (Fig. 14). Male. Body length 2.9–3.4mm. Arista sparsely plumose. Setae black. Ocellar seta welldeveloped. Two dorsocentral setae with slightly more developed setula in front of anterior dorsocentral. Presutural intra-alar seta well-developed. Acrostichal seta present. Two pairs of lateral scutellar setae. Head yellow with ocellar spot brown, and gena, parafacial and occiput white and silvery-tomentose. Notum yellow with notopleuron and small supra-alar spot dark brown. Scutellum yellow with brown central stripe (darkest apically and sometimes yellow centrally and basally). Katatergite and sometimes anterior margin of anatergite brown. Pleuron light yellow to white. Legs yellow with coxae and basal half of femora white to light yellow, tibiae light brown and fore tarsi brown. Halter white. Wing infuscated around distal half of R2+3. M1+2 ratio 3.3–3.5. Abdomen yellow with medial stripe (tapering anteriorly) from tergite 1 almost to posterior margin of tergite 5; dorsal half of epandrium brown.
Female. As described for male except as follows: body length 3.4–3.7mm; notum with thin floating stripes along dorsocentral rows medially; stripe on scutellum thinner anteriorly; fore and mid tibiae sometimes yellow; abdominal stripe continuing onto tergite 6; posterior margin of tergite 6 and anterior spot on tergite 7 dark brown.
Male terminalia. (Figs 69–71) Annulus well-developed, not enclosing 7th spiracle. Surstylus approximately 3/5 height of epandrium, slightly arched anteriorly, and with posterobasal margin incurved and broadly lobate; tubercles along apical and posterior margins. Hypandrial lobe with one short distal and two short medial setae. Phallapodeme, basiphallus, epiphallus and postgonite well-developed. Pregonite membranous with several central setae. Distiphallus 2/3 length of phallapodeme; paraphallus long and tapered with apex hooked and minutely spinulose; thumb narrow, well-developed.
Variation. Chinese male as described above except as follows: 3.6mm length; scutum yellow with subquadrate posteromedial stripe (as in S. uncinata), one pair of small faint posterolateral lines nearly attaining posterior margin, and posterolateral corner and notopleuron faintly brown; scutellum yellow with apex dark brown; pleuron yellow with anepisternum (excluding narrow yellow posterior and ventral margins) and adjacent katepisternum brown and posterior margin of meron light brown; metanotum lateral to scutellum brown; wing clear; mid and hind tibiae yellow. Abdomen yellow with tergites 2–6 entirely dark brown. Surstylus slightly smaller, approximately 2/3 height of epandrium. Most bristles missing, but arrangement of sockets (possibly excepting those of presutural acrostichal setae) agrees with S. mitsuii.
Holotype: JAPAN. Mikajima, Tokorozawa City, Saitama Pref., 9– 19.vii.1994, in bait trap, H. Mitsui (KPU No. 275) (1♀, KPU). [not examined]
Material examined: CHINA. Zhejiang Province: Tianmu Mountain (West), 500m, 30˚19’27”N, 119˚27’09”E [12–14], S.D. Gaimari, M. Hauser, 21.vi.2012 (1♂ [ethanol], CSCA). JAPAN. Aichi Prefecture, Mt. Samage, T. Kanbe, yellow pan traps, deciduous forest, 19–25.vi.1992 (1♀, CMNH), 23– 29.iv.1993 (2♀♀, CMNH), 29.v– 4.vi.1992 (4♀♀, CMNH), evergreen forest, malaise trap 17– 23.vii.1992 (4♀♀, CMNH), Noko, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Pref., Kyushu, i. vii.1997, M. Sueyoshi (2♂♂, BLKU). SOUTH KOREA. Chollabukdo Iksan-si, Geumma-myeon Miluk-san, 36°01’12”N, 127°01’52”E, 12–28.vii.2004, Malaise, C.L. Young (1♀, CSCA)
Comments. Sobarocephala mitsuii and S. uncinata (Ryukyus) are relatively northern in distribution compared to most congeners and are the only Japanese representatives of the genus. These are the only Old World representatives of the predominantly eastern North American S. flava group, and can be diagnosed by a sparsely plumose arista, black setae and a medially brown scutellum. Sobarocephala mitsuii is here recorded for the first time outside of Japan, with one female found in South Korea.
Examined here is the first Sobarocephala recorded for China (Zhejiang Province). This specimen differs in a number of respects from Japanese and Korean S. mitsuii, mostly in colouration (including a quadrate posteromedial stripe otherwise characteristic of S. uncinata and dark pleural markings) and may represent an undescribed species. For the moment, however, it seems prudent to accumulate additional material and consider geographic variation before further decisions are made regarding species boundaries.
description: Published as part of Lonsdale, Owen, 2014, Revision of the Old World Sobarocephala (Diptera: Clusiidae), pp. 211-240 in Zootaxa 3760 (2) on pages 224-225, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3760.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/229578