Paramonovius nightking Li &amp; Yeates 2019, sp. nov
Creators: name: Li, Xuankun
name: Yeates, David K
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Bombyliidae
Paramonovius
Paramonovius nightking

description: <b>Paramonovius nightking sp. nov</b> (Figs 2–4) http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: 936DFF93- AAA3-460F-AD5D-8EC342CB3132 Material examined <i>Holotype</i> &amp;male; AUSTRALIA Western Australia, Wandoo National Park, Kent Road, York, -31.96443 116.51224, Scattered Banksia with low open shrubs on white sand. On <i>Leucopogon oxycedrus</i>, 19 May 2012, J. and F. Hort (WAM: E97796). <i>Paratypes</i> 7&amp;male;, 2&amp;female;: AUSTRALIA Western Australia, Wandoo National Park, Kent Road, York, -32.1180 116.60557, Jarrah open woodland with low open mixed shrubs. Feeding on <i>Leucopogon oxycedrus</i>, 19 May 2012, J. and F. Hort (WAM: E97797 – E97798, E97801 – E97807). <i>Other material</i> 2&amp;male; AUSTRALIA Western Australia, Flynn State Forest, Kent Road, York, -31.96443 116.51224, Scattered <i>Banksia</i> with low open shrubs on white sand. On <i>Leucopogon oxycedrus</i>, 19 May 2012, J. and F. Hort (WAM: E97799 – E97800). Diagnosis Body mostly covered with thick pale pruinescence. Scape and pedicel brownish yellow, flagellum black. Scutum with large black square markings in each corner and one thin black stripe in the midline. Wing membrane infuscated on anterior half, with inconspicuous lighter markings. Description <i>Male</i> Body length 8.7–10.9 mm, wing length 9.1–11.5 mm. <b>Head</b>. Head about 2.2× wider than long, mostly blackish with thick pale pruinescence and covered in admixed white to black hairs and scales. Eye narrowly separate by 0.5× width of ocellus. Frons short, 2.0× length of ocellar tubercle, with thick pale pruinescence and few golden scales. Ocellar tubercle slightly raised, brown to blackish brown with grey pruinescence, with long black hairs turning dark yellow at base. Face with thick pale pruinescence and long black hairs except turning dark yellow at base, parafacial area with long white scales admixed with a few long hairs. Gena with thick pale pruinescence and long white scales admixed with few long hairs. Clypeus with sparse pale pruinescence and otherwise bare. Occiput with dense white hairs and scales, dorsal central area admixed with fine black hairs and strong yellow hairs. Posterior eye margin slightly convex. Antennal scape and pedicel brownish yellow with thick pale pruinescence, scape with long black hairs turning dark yellow at base, pedicel with short white to pale yellow hairs; flagellum black without pruinescence, subapex with 3–5 long hairs. Scape 3.4× as long as wide, and 2.8× as long as pedicel, uniform from base to apex. Pedicel 1.6× as long as wide. Flagellum 12.0× as long as wide, 1.9× as long as scape + pedicel, 2.6× as long as scape, conical and slightly laterally compressed, one-segmented with apical stylus (Fig. 2c). Palpus short, not extending beyond oral cavity, black with blackish brown hairs, one-segmented, without palpal pit. Mouthparts slender, 3.2× as long as eye length, 4.8× as long as head length, labellum thin and filiform (Fig. 2f). <b>Thorax</b>. Integumental colour of scutum mostly black with dense pale pruinescence except postalar callus brownish yellow, scutum with large black square markings in each corner and one thin black stripe in the midline. Scutum covered with short white and golden scales, admixed with some long black hairs. Five brownish yellow notopleural setae present. Postalar callus with long black hairs. Scutellum brownish yellow with sparse pale pruinescence, with short white scales on anterior margin, dense short black scales and long black hairs on posterior margin, admixed with short golden scales. Pleura black with thick pale pruinescence, anepisternum with long white scales except anterior half with strong yellow hairs, katepisternum, katepimeron and dorsal margin of metepisternum with long white scales, coxae with dense long white scales, anepimeron, meron, laterotergite and mediotergite bare. <b>Legs</b>. Legs mostly brownish yellow. Fore and mid femora with black scales on anterior face, hind femur with black scales on dorsal half, ventral half of femora with white to pale yellow hairs. Femora strong, with anterior blackish brown bristles. Other hairs and bristles on legs brown. Fore tibia 2.2× longer than fore basitarsus, mid tibia 2.5× longer than mid basitarsus, hind tibia 2.0× longer than hind basitarsus. Claw and pulvillus enlarged, as long as distitarsus (Figs 2i and 3g). <b>Wings</b>. Wing membrane infuscated on anterior half, with inconspicuous light markings on the area around base of vein <i>R</i> <i> 4</i> , crossvein <i>r-m</i>, crossvein <i>dm-cu</i> and apex of cell <i>bm</i>. Cell <i>r</i> <i> 5</i> widely open; cell <i>br</i> nearly as long as cell <i>bm</i>, crossvein <i>r-m</i> arising from base of cell <i>dm</i>; crossvein <i>m-m</i> long, 2.0× as long as crossvein <i>r-m</i>; cell <i>cup</i> open (Fig. 2d). Haltere stem yellow, knob dark yellow. <b>Abdomen</b>. Integumental colour of tergites black with thick grey pruinescence. Tergite 1 with pale yellow hairs admixed with long black hairs on posterior margin; tergite 2 covered with white scales admixed with brown to black hairs on posterior half and short golden scales on posterior margin; tergites 3 to 7 compact, with golden scales admixed with black hairs, and with thick short white scales posterolaterally; tergites 2–6 with median stripe consisting of dense, decumbent short white scales. Tergites 7–9 rotated, with epandrium and gonocoxite rotated 180°. <i>Genitalia</i>. Epandrium nearly rectangular, anterior margin deeply concave, posterolateral corner with thick long hairs (Fig. 4d). Hypandrium fused with gonocoxite. Gonocoxite elongate, basal half wide and apical half abrupt narrowed. Ejaculatory apodeme large (Fig. 4a,b); gonocoxal apodeme strong and pointed anteriorly; anterior arm of aedeagal sheath long and wide, extending beyond gonocoxal margin; lateral ejaculatory process strong; inner apex of gonocoxite sharp; outer apex of gonocoxite sharp; dorsal bridge without lateral hollow; aedeagal sheath with acute projection on subapex; gonostylus small and strongly incurved; phallus long and strong (Fig. 4c). <i>Female</i> Body length 10.8–11.0 mm, wing length 11.5–11.6 mm. Very similar to male, except frons black with thick pale pruinescence, 3.0× as wide as ocellar tubercle, frons with long brown to black hairs admixed with short golden scales (Fig. 3c). Tergite 8 fused and sclerotized, with some sparse hairs. Around 30 acanthophorite spines present on each side, slightly curved apically. Genital fork strong and broad, enlarged basally. Sperm pump strong and about as long as basal spermathecal duct, clothed in longitudinal muscle, with lateral papillae; sperm pump basal collars present and apical collars absent; common and basal spermathecal duct not elongate; apical spermathecal duct shorter than spermatheca; spermatheca elongate, cylindrical with apex spherical (Fig. 4f). Remarks Wing with short stump vein sometimes present on crossvein <i>m-cua</i>. Etymology This species is named after the Night King in the American fantasy drama <i>Game of Thrones</i>, because all the specimens were collected in winter and the fly is mostly covered in thick pale pruinescence. The specific name is treated as a noun in apposition. Distribution Endemic to WA.
description: Published as part of <i>Li, Xuankun &amp; Yeates, David K, 2019, A new genus and species of an unusual Australian winter bee fly (Diptera: Bombyliidae) with discussion on its phylogenetic position, pp. 92-203 in Austral Entomology 58</i> on pages 96-99, DOI: 10.1111/aen.12361, http://zenodo.org/record/3265414