Merodon acutus Vujic et Radenkovic 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Vujić, Ante
name: Radenković, Snežana
name: Likov, Laura
name: Gorše, Iva
name: Djan, Mihajla
name: Ristić, Zlata Markov
name: Barkalov, Anatolii V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Merodon
Merodon acutus

description: Merodon acutus Vujić et Radenković sp. nov.
ZooBank link: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: B6261D02-1B12-4EB7-A718-3CE714B3B67A
GenBank accession number of the COI gene sequence: ON562698 (Figs 1B, 1E, 2A, 2C–D, 6A, 6C, 7A, 14A)
Type material. HOLOTYPE: RUSSIA, Kabardino-Balkaria, Chegemsky Canyon, Bulungu, 43.254402°N, 43.149387°E, 12.VII.1999, ♂, 058350, Leg. Barkalov А., SZMN. PARATYPES: RUSSIA, Caucasus, Republik Adygea, near Kamennomostsky, Belaya riverarea, 44.326325°N, 40.183335°E, 11.V.2015, 2♀, 09688, 09689, Leg. Rattel E., Gerzovskiy O., FSUNS.
Diagnosis. Legs black; male: calcar on metatrochanter long and distinct (Fig. 1B: a) similar to M. armipes (Fig. 1A), while small and pointed in morphologically related species M. nigripodus (Fig. 1C); metafemur with very small ventral protuberance (Fig. 1B: marked with black arrow), distinct in M. armipes (Fig. 1A: marked with arrow); metatibia with two apical processes: one medium-sized, anteroventral, apical lamella with straight ventral margin (Fig. 1B: marked with white arrow), and one twisted, distinct, inner, posteroventral spina (Fig. 1E: marked with arrow); anteroventral apical lamella with similar direction as in M. ponticus, but with blunt apex (Fig. 1D: marked with arrow), while in M. nigripodus the apical lamella is distinctly triangular, slightly undulate and directed towards metafemur (Fig. 1C: marked with arrow); male genitalia: anterior surstyle lobe biramous (Fig. 2A: al), with distinct and broad interior accessory lobe (Fig. 2D: il) and rectangular extension (Fig. 2A: marked with arrow), while in M. nigripodus the interior accessory lobe is shorter (Fig. 2E: il) and the extension is angular (Fig. 2B: marked with arrow). Female: similar to other Caucasian species M. portschinskyi, except angular metatrochanter with dense whitish pilosity (Figs 6A, 7A), rounded in M. portschinskyi (Figs 6B, 11B), and basoflagellomere longer than wide in M. acutus (Fig. 6C), while almost as long as wide in M. portschinskyi (Fig. 6D).
Description. Length. Male: 9–10 mm; female: 9–10 mm. MALE (Figs 1B, 1E, 2, 7A). Small to medium sized, black species with pale pilose terga laterally and with some black pile medially; legs black, except for partially dark brown tarsi; metatrochanter with long and distinct process (Fig. 1B: a); metafemur with very small ventral protuberance (Fig. 1B: marked with black arrow), swollen, covered with short pile (Fig. 1B: b); metatibia narrow, with two apical processes: one medium-sized, anteroventral, apical lamella with straight ventral margin (Fig. 1B: marked with white arrow), and one distinct, twisted, inner, posteroventral spina (Fig. 1E: marked with arrow). Genitalia: anterior surstyle lobe biramous (Fig. 2A: al), with distinct and broad interior accessory lobe (Fig. 2D: il) and rectangular extension (Fig. 2A: marked with arrow); posterior surstyle lobe hook-like (Fig. 2A: pl); cercus elongated (Fig. 2A: c); hypandrium sickle-shaped (Fig. 2C), with folded theca (Fig. 2C: marked with arrow).
FEMALE. (Figs 6A, 6C, 14A). Similar to the male except for the normal sexual dimorphism and for the following characteristics: metatrochanter angular (Fig. 7A); pollinose fasciate maculae on terga 2–4 narrow; terga pale pilose, except some black pile medially from posterior half of tergum 2 until anterior half of tergum 5; tergum 4 with clear transverse depression; tergum 5 with a pair of indistinct, lateral, longitudinal depression; vertex at the level of ocellar triangle, and frons with medial vitta of black pile.
Etymology. Participle “acutus” (masc.) meaning sharpened made sharp, sharp, having been sharpened, refers to the sharp inner posteroventral spina on metatibia. The name is to be treated as an adjective.
Distribution. Merodon acutus sp. nov. was recorded from the northern slopes of the Caucasus (390–1540 m above sea level) in Russia (Fig. 16).
description: Published as part of Vujić, Ante, Radenković, Snežana, Likov, Laura, Gorše, Iva, Djan, Mihajla, Ristić, Zlata Markov & Barkalov, Anatolii V., 2022, Three new species of the Merodon ruficornis group (Diptera: Syrphidae) discovered at the edge of its range, pp. 301-347 in Zootaxa 5182 (4) on pages 307-311, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5182.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7056510