Pnyxiopalpus roslii Sutou and Maruyama 2012, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Sutou, Mitsuaki
name: Maruyama, Munetoshi
name: Komatsu, Takashi
name: Kanao, Taisuke
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Sciaridae
Pnyxiopalpus
Pnyxiopalpus roslii

description: Pnyxiopalpus roslii Sutou and Maruyama sp. nov.
(Figures 1–3)
Materials studied
Holotype. female on a slide (Figures 1B, 3 A–F), Malaysia, Selangor, Ulu Gombak, University of Malaya Field Studies Centre, 3 ◦ 19 ′ 29 ′′ N 101 ◦ 45 ′ 11 ′′ E, 260 m als., 7 April 2007, M. Maruyama and T. Komatsu (NSMT-I-Dip-6783). Paratypes. Three females on slides and six in 80% ethanol, same data (KUM); two females on slides and two in 99% ethanol, same data (PCMS); two females in 99% ethanol as vouchers for DNA barcodes, same data (NSMT-I-Dip-6784 and 6785); one female on a slide and one female in 99% ethanol, same locality, 27 November 2010, T. Kanao (KUM).
Symbiotic host
Nasutitermes proatripennis (Ahmad, 1965)
Etymology
Dedicated to Dr Rosli Hashim who supported our fieldwork in Ulu Gombak.
Female
Head. Polished dark brown. Compound eyes blackish, each eye very sparsely with a few interfacetal setae. Eye bridge constricted medially (Figure 2C). Anterior ocellus smaller than posterior ones (Figure 2C). Anterior vertex prominent in lateral and dorsal view without setae (Figure 2C); clypeoprefrons with setae whose apex expanded apically (Figure 2A). Antenna consists of dark brownish scape and brownish pedicel and flagellomeres; proximal part of 1st flagellomere yellowish; 4th flagellomere about 1.8 times longer than wide with short neck (Figure 2D). Setae of antennae apically expanded (Figure 2E). Palpus one-segmented with 6–8 setae whose apex expanded apically, and with deep hollow in which many sensillae present (Figure 2B). Proboscis weakly developed (Figure 2A). Thorax. Polished dark brown. Thoracic chaetotaxy is as shown in Figure 3A: posterior pronotum, methothoracic epimeron and pleurotergite bare; scutum, scutellum, mediotergite, anterior pronotum, episternum 1, episternum 3, anepisternum and katepisternum with minute setae. Dorsal minute setae on scutum in two rows; minute setae on anepisternum and katepisternum weakly divided into two patches; short setae on episternum 3 clearly divided into two patches. All thoracic setae remarkably reduced: only sockets are visible at low magnification (<× 200), but minute setae are observed at high magnification (Figure 2H); exceptionally short setae on episternum 3 visible at low magnification (Figure 3A). Scutellum weakly developed (Figure 3A). Wing stump normally truncate (Figures 2G, 3A). Halter long, knob covered by many short setae (Figure 3A). Legs. Brown. Front tibia with a patch of 8–20 dark brownish prolateral enlarged setae on distal two-fifth or on distal half, and with 4–7 dark brownish enlarged setae on outer apex (Figures 2F, 3C); inner apex of front tibia with two dark brownish enlarged setae and a tibial spur, and without differentiated patch of setae (Figure 3B). Front femur proximally with dense ventral setae. Middle tibia with 3–6 dark brownish enlarged setae and two spurs apically. Inner surface (outer surface depending on mounted angle) of middle femur with numerous setae proximally (similar to Figure 3F). Hind tibia with two dark brownish enlarged setae and two spurs apically, and posterior surface slightly undulating in lateral view (Figure 3D); proapical setae of hind tibia apically expanded forming scalelike apex (Figure 3E). Inner surface of hind femur with numerous setae proximally and nearly bare on middle and distal surface (Figure 3F). All tibial spurs covered by scale-like appressed setae (Figure 3B). All trochanters with dense ventral setae. Abdomen. Tergites and sternites dark brown. First–fifth tergites with minute setae similar to those on thoracic sclerites; sixth–ninth tergites and all sternites with short setae. Membranous parts of abdomen without setae but with microtrichia ventrally. Ovipositor bilobate ventrally with short setae (Figure 2I). Body length. 3.3–4.4 mm, from base of antenna to apex of abdomen.
Male
Unknown.
Remarks
Vilkamaa and Hippa (1999) described the following eight unique diagnostic characters of the genus Pnyxiopalpus: (1) front tibiae with enlarged conical setae; (2) tibial spurs covered by scale-like appressed setae; (3) tarsi with a medial ventral keel and a row of tightly placed setae; (4) setae of female femora and tibiae apically expanded; (5) thorax and femora lacking vestiture of microtrichia; (6) female abdomen divided into a broad preabdomen and a narrow postabdomen, the former consisting of the first six segments; (7) wing veins r-m, R and R1 ventrally setose; and (8) female mesothoracic pleura richly setose. This new species also has these characters, except for (7) not being studied due to the lack of wings. This species is easily distinguished from the known congeners by the degeneration of all thoracic setae (Figure 3A) and dense setosity on the inner proximal part of the middle and hind femora (Figure 3F). Condition of the character (4) of this species is remarkable as follows: apically expanded setae are observed in various parts of the body, coxae, trochanters, femora, tibiae and basitarsomeres of the legs (Figure 3E), clypeoprefrons (Figure 2A), palpi (Figure 2B), antennae (Figure 2E) and haltere. See the Discussion for the biology of this species.
DNA barcodes
The DNA barcode sequences of two females were identical. They were deposited in DDBJ under the accession numbers AB638762 and AB638763, and also in BOLD with barcode IDs JBOL053-11 and JBOL054-11.
description: Published as part of Sutou, Mitsuaki, Maruyama, Munetoshi, Komatsu, Takashi & Kanao, Taisuke, 2012, Discovery of a remarkable new species of black fungus gnat (Diptera, Sciaridae) from termite nests in Malaysia, pp. 969-978 in Journal of Natural History 46 (15 - 16) on pages 971-975, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2012.654478, http://zenodo.org/record/4590791