Antocha (Antocha) pulchra Markeviciute & Podenas 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Markevičiūtė, Radvilė
name: Podenas, Sigitas
name: Saldaitis, Aidas
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Limoniidae
Antocha
Antocha pulchra

description: Antocha (Antocha) pulchra Markevičiūtė & Podenas sp. nov.
(Figs 1, 15, 21–27)
Diagnosis. Medium-sized, greyish-brown species with subhyaline, milky wing, pterostigma absent (Fig. 23); gonocoxite cylindrical (Figs 15, 26, 27); outer gonostylus arched, unequally bifid at apex (Figs 15, 26, 27); inner gonostylus as wide as outer gonostylus (Figs 15, 26, 27); interbase oblong, rounded at apex (Figs 15, 27); paramere needle-like, narrowed to acute point (Figs 15, 27); aedeagus oblong, rounded at apex and covered by parameral sheath with four horn-like structures (Figs 15, 26, 27).
Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂ (in ethanol): CHINA, Sichuan, Emei Mt., N29.583720, E103.286880, H- 1311 m, 2018.VII.12, leg. Starkevich (NRC). PARATYPE: 1 ♂ (in ethanol) CHINA, Sichuan, Emei Mt., N29.583720, E103.286880, H- 1311 m, 2018.VII.12, leg. Starkevich (NIBR).
Description. Adult male (N= 2) body (Fig. 21) length 4.8–4.9 mm. Wing length 6.2–6.8 mm.
Head. Generally dark brownish-grey. Antenna (Fig. 22) length 1.1–1.2 mm; scape elongate, nearly cylindrical, light brownish-grey; pedicel rounded, dark brownish-grey; flagellum 14-segmented, dark brownish-grey; flagellomeres elongate, fusiform; apical segment oblong, oval, longer than penultimate. Rostrum and mouth parts light brown, palpus dark brownish-grey.
Thorax. Generally dark brown. Presutural scutum dark brown with three inconspicuous stripes. Scutum dark brown with three longitudinal stripes. Scutellum brown, lighter than mediotergite. Mediotergite as dark brown as scutum. Pleura brown. Anepisternum, katepisternum, anepimeron and anatergite light brown, katatergite as dark brown as mediotergite. Wing (Figs 1, 23) subhyaline, milky; pterostigma absent; veins generally brownish, but yellowish at wing base. Venation: vein Sc long, ending before branching point of Rs; radial sector long, straight; tip of R 1 approximately 0.7 times longer than R 2; cell dm comparatively small, approximately two times as long as wide; distal section of M 1+2 1.5 times longer than anterior margin of cell dm; A 1 and CuP veins strongly divergent; tip of A 1 reaches wing margin slightly beyond level of Rs origin; anal angle large, nearly right-angled. Halter 0.9 mm long; stem pale brownish-grey, knob light brownish-grey. Legs: coxae brown, fore coxa lighter; trochanters light brown, distal margin very narrowly rimmed with dark brown; femora light greyish-brown, tibiae and tarsi greyish-brown, darker at end. Length of femora: I: 4.8–5.5 mm, II: 5.4–6.2 mm, III: 6.3 mm; tibiae: I: 5.5–6.5 mm, II: 4.8–6.4 mm, III: 6.2 mm; tarsus I: 4.5–6.3 mm, II: 4.1–6.0 mm, III: 5.1 mm.
Abdomen. Generally brown. Tergites dark brown. Sternites brown, lighter than tergites. Male hypopygium (Fig. 26) light brown. Tergite 9 (Figs 24, 26) without distinct additional lobes or structures; posterior margin indistinctly emarginated medially; lateral corners obtuse. Sternite 9 (Fig. 25) rounded at apex. Gonocoxite cylindrical, without extra lobes (Figs 26, 27). Outer gonostylus sclerotised, slightly arched, unequally bifid at apex. Inner gonostylus covered with sparse setae, slightly arched with blunt apex. Interbase (Fig. 27) oblong, rounded at apex. Paramere relatively long, needle-like, narrowed to acute point. Aedeagus (Fig. 27) oblong and rounded at apex, covered by wide parameral sheath with four horn-like structures.
Etymology. The word “ pulchra ” comes from Latin and means “beautiful”. This word was chosen because of the beautiful shape of the parameral sheath with horn-like structures which covers the aedeagus.
Elevation range in China. Specimens were collected at 1311 m altitude.
Habitat. Mountainous mixed forest (Fig. 28) near Lengshui river.
Distribution. Sichuan, China.
Remarks. Some structures of the male genital complex A. pulchra sp. nov. are unique in comparison to other species of this genus. While the aedeagus in Antocha has a relatively complicated, curved (Figs 19, 20) or flattened (Fig. 11) structure, A. pulchra sp. nov. is simple, oblong, rounded at apex. The parameral structures are simple or complex, appearing to be connected with the aedeagal lateral structures (Figs 11, 12, 13, 14, 31, 34, 35) or cover the aedeagus as a wide parameral sheath (Fig. 16). In A. pulchra sp. nov. the aedeagus is covered by a unique parameral sheath which has four horn-like structures (Figs 15, 26, 27). The paramere in this genus is also a complex structure with twisted (Fig. 20), bifurcated (Figs 11, 12), acute (Fig. 9) blunt or subacute (Fig. 18) apex, but in A. pulchra sp. nov. it is a simple needle-like structure.
The morphology of some features like the outer gonostylus, parameres and parameral sheath of A. pulchra sp. nov. is similar to other species of Antocha (s. str) such as: A. alexanderi Oosterbroek, 2009, A. platystylis Alexander, 1974, A. studiosa Alexander, 1951, A. latifurca Alexander, 1969, A. perattenuata Alexander, 1971, A. longispina Alexander, 1969, A. mysorensis Alexander, 1974 found in India and A. perstudiosa Alexander, 1958 from Nepal.
Antocha platystylis is similar to A. pulchra sp. nov. on basis of the structure of the simple aedeagus and paramere, but the outer gonostylus and tergite 9 of the former species are shaped differently. Also, the parameral sheath in A. pulchra sp. nov. has four horn-like structures and in A. platystylis this structure appears as a subtending plate, which is pale to nearly hyaline outwardly, with outer angles extended into two acute pale points. The outer gonostylus of A. pulchra sp. nov. is sclerotised, slightly arched and unequally bifid at the apex. A very similar outer gonostylus is found in species like A. alexanderi, A. studiosa, A. latifurca, A. perattenuata, A. longispina, A. mysorensis, A. perstudiosa, but these species have different structures of the aedeagal complex.
description: Published as part of Markevičiūtė, Radvilė, Podenas, Sigitas & Saldaitis, Aidas, 2021, New Antocha Osten Sacken (Diptera: Limoniidae) from Sichuan, China, pp. 280-292 in Zootaxa 4969 (2) on pages 282-287, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4969.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/4749005