Chamaemyia aurilinea Ebejer, 2017, sp. n.
Creators: name: Ebejer, M. J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Chamaemyiidae
Chamaemyia
Chamaemyia aurilinea

description: Chamaemyia aurilinea sp. n.
(Figs 1–7)
Diagnosis. The species is recognized by its elongate eye, black antenna and femora, completely yellow tibiae and tarsi, and by the golden brown pollinosity on the scutum along a broad vitta between the dorsocentral lines; beneath the dorsocentral setae runs a narrow brown vitta thus bordering the golden pollinose area.
Description. Male. Head: (Figs 2, 3) as long as high, silver-grey pollinose except on mesofrons where it is dark brownish-grey and ocellar triangle and midline stripe to lunule more of a pale golden brown; central facial sclerite higher than broad; lunule silver-grey pollinose as orbits; eye elongate, length to height 1.3:1; gena at narrowest part as high as height of first flagellomere; occiput dark grey pollinose except for narrow postocular margin, which is paler grey; 2 long orbitals, each about 3/4 length of frons, long proclinate ocellars arising in line with anterior ocellus and reaching anterior margin of frons, medial vertical a little longer than posterior orbital, lateral vertical as long as anterior orbital; postverticals half as long as medial vertical, wide apart and parallel; a few very short setulae in front of and medial to anterior orbital; all setae and setulae black; antenna black apart from yellow ring around insertion of arista and basal 1/4 on medial aspect of first flagellomere; arista entirely black with micropubescence that is barely distinguishable; pedicel with one long black seta dorsally and several black setae along medial, lateral and ventral margins, ventrally reaching middle of first flagellomere; gena with row of 4 black setae along middle, posterior two longer; proboscis and palp pale yellow.
Thorax: (Fig. 3) scutum silver-grey pollinose with a distinct golden vitta running from anterior dorsocentral to scutellum, bordered dark golden brown on each side along dorsocentral line; postpronotum, notopleuron, supraalar depression, posterior half of anepisternum and epimeron distinctly golden-grey pollinose contrasting with scutum; prescutellum present but very narrow; scutellum pale golden-grey pollinose; chaetotaxy: 1 postpronotal, 2 notopleurals, 1+2 dorsocentrals, 1 presutural, 1 supra-alar, 2 post-alar, acrostichals in 2–4 rows anteriorly, becoming 2 rows posterior to middle dorsocentral, prescutellars short but distinct about 3 times as long as other acrostichals, 2 pairs of scutellars, 1 strong and 1 weak katepisternal just behind middle of superior margin; all setae apart from acrostichals long; legs: coxae and femora black with dense grey pollinosity and with apical 1/5 of femora pale yellow, tibiae and basal tarsomeres yellow, apical 4 tarsomeres dark brown; fore femur with posterior and posteroventral rows of long setae; all setae and setulae of legs black; hind femur distinctly thickened—about 2 times thickness of tibia; wing (Fig. 4) hyaline veins dark brown apart from pale yellow R1 and costa from base almost to apex of R2+3 and stem veins including veins bordering basal and anal cells; squama and halter entirely pale yellow.
Abdomen: pale greyish brown pollinose with one pair of small black spots on each tergite 3–5, fairly densely scattered black setulae on all tergites those along posterior margin longer, about 2/5 as long as tergite.
Postabdomen: (Figs 5–7) epandrium small, black and densely grey pollinose as rest of abdomen, postgonite (Fig. 6, 7a) in ventral view, broad at apex; aedeagus (Fig. 7c) in ventral view broadening at apex; in lateral view (Fig. 7d) long and narrow.
Average length male and female: body 3 mm, wing 2.9 mm.
Female: similar to male in all respects of pollinosity and colouration but first flagellomere and distal tarsomeres more often darker than in males; abdomen with two pairs of black spots on tergites 3–5 and a small lateral spot on tergite 6; dorsal spots round, lateral spots elongate.
Variation: The third segment of the arista may be pale brownish-yellow; the intensity of the golden and the brown vittae on the scutum varies such that in pale specimens they are discernible only posteriorly or from certain angles; the distal tarsomeres particularly of the middle and hind leg may be less distinctly dark brown;
Etymology. The name is from the Latin words aurum —gold and linea —line, and refers to the golden brown vitta on the scutum.
Material examined. Holotype, ♂, Saudi Arabia: Asir, Abha, Al-Souda, Bani Mazen, 1–25.v.2013, Malaise Trap, HAD (NMWC). Paratypes: 6♂ 2♀, Asir, Abha, Al-Souda, Al-Muktatha dam, 1.ii.2012, JCD (NMWC); 2♂ 6♀, Asir, Abha, Al-Souda, Al-Muktatha dam, 14.iii.2013, HAD (NMWC); 4♀, same data (CERS-JU); 2♂ 3♀, same data (CSCA); 1♀, Asir, Abha, Hay Al-Nusub, 18°13ʹN 42°30ʹE, 9–30.v.2014, Malaise trap, HAD (CERS- JU); 5♂5♀, Abha, Al-Souda, Al-Muktatha dam, 31.xii.2014, HAD (CERS-JU); 3♂ 3♀ same data (BMNH); 2♂ 2♀, same data (MJE); 4♂ 1♀, same data (NMWC); Yemen: 1♂ 1♀, Ta’Izz, 3–24.i.1999, light trap, A. van Harten (NMWC); 1♂, Ar-Rujum, 16.x.2000 – 15.i.2001, Malaise trap, A. van Harten & A.M. Hager (NMWC); 2♂, Ar- Rujum, 15.i.–9.iv.2001, Malaise trap, A. van Harten (NMWC).
Distribution. Saudi Arabia.
description: Published as part of Ebejer, M. J., 2017, A conspectus of the silver-flies (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae) of the Middle East with descriptions of new species of Chamaemyia Meigen and Melanochthiphila Frey, from the Arabian Peninsula, pp. 461-482 in Zootaxa 4319 (3) on pages 463-465, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4319.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/890345