Stylogaster cryptica Stuke, 2015, spec. nov.
Creators: name: Stuke, Jens-Hermann
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Conopidae
Stylogaster
Stylogaster cryptica

description: Stylogaster cryptica spec. nov.
(Figs 63–71)
Type material. Holotype ♂: (1) Ethiopia: Shewa / Wendo Genet / 1900m, 28.i.2000 / A. Freidberg / & I. Yarom / Malaise trap; (2) Holotypus / Stylogaster cryptica / spec. nov. / det. Stuke, 2014.
Holotype is deposited in the TAUI. Abdomen dissected, macerated and stored in glycerine in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen. The holotype is otherwise in perfect condition.
Description of holotype (male). Body length about 4.6 mm. Wing-length 4.4 mm. Head-height 1.1 mm. Head. Eye dark brown, with a few small scattered inconspicuous ommatrichia. Facets on inner side of eye slightly enlarged. Ocelli brown. Ocellar tubercle dark brown, with 1 pair of inconspicuous ocellar setae. Ocellar triangle occupies almost the entire frons and reaches as far as antennae (Fig. 64). Ocellar triangle brown. Frons blackish brown lateral to ocellar triangle, with 2 proclinate fronto-orbital setae. Scape yellowish brown, pedicel and basal flagellomere pale brown to blackish brown. Arista three-segmented, dark brown. Arista situated dorsally on basal flagellomere (Fig. 65). Scape with a few brown setulae dorsally. Pedicel with black setulae dorsally and anteriorly.
Basal flagellomere dorsally without a more shining surface than ventrally. Shape of antenna as illustrated in Fig. 65. One distinct black vertical seta. Face pale yellow, silver pruinose. Postcranium black dorsally and yellow ventrally, distinctly silver pruinose. Postcranium with line of regularly-arranged small white setulae. Some long black setulae on mouth opening. Proboscis mainly brown to black, except for yellowish brown distal division of labellum and yellowish brown base of proboscis. Labrum ca 2.2 mm, labellum approximately the same length. Thorax. Yellowish brown to light brown, with scutum (with exception of postpronotum), scutellum and mediotergite dark brown. All setae black. Two small notopleural setae, 1 strong supra-alar seta, 2 strong postalar setae, 1 prescutellar dorsocentral seta, 1 apical scutellar seta, 1 seta on anepimeron and 1 seta above fore coxa on propleuron. Black semi-adpressed hairs on scutum. Wing generally clothed in microtrichia, but bc, base of c, base of br, bm, base of dm and cup all virtually without microtrichia. Hind margin of wing with brown setulae. Venation as in Fig. 66. Haltere orange-brown, distal part sharply defined dark brown. Legs whitish yellow, with brown hind femur. Legs with black and brown setae, only fore tibia additionally with some white setulae. Each coxa with only 1 brown to black seta. Hind trochanter with a small triangular tooth. Mid femur posteriorly in distal half with a row of regularly-arranged black setulae curved at their apices. Ventral side of mid femur without erect black setulae. All tibiae without conspicuous setulae. Hind tibia with short black spines on anterior surface. Claws only narrowly yellowish brown basally, black distally. Pulvilli yellow or yellowish brown. Empodia short, pale brown. Abdomen. Pale brown, with tergite 1 brown, tergites 2–4 with brown posterior margin and broad brown median fascia, tergites 5–6 and epandrium largely dark brown. Tergites with semi-adpressed black setulae, and longer setulae laterally on tergite 5. Tergite 1 with long black setulae laterally, tergite 2 with black setae on either side of anterior margin. Terminalia as illustrated in Figs 67–71. Cercus short, slightly widened laterally, rounded distally. No teeth and only a few inconspicuous bristles at basal junction of cerci. Surstylus broad, with a finger-like process anterodorsally. Distal margin of surstylus with a black tooth situated on a large triangular extension (Figs 68, 69). A small field of erect setulae on inner surface. One short membranous appendage on the inner surface of the surstylus directed from anterior margin backwards to the posterior margin (Fig. 69). Phallus sheath as illustrated in Fig. 67: Base of phallus sheath obviously protuding and covered with dense black spines.
Etymology. From Latin cryptica (concealed, feminine) reflecting the difficulty in recognising this species within a group of very similiar species.
Discussion. Stylogaster cryptica belongs to the Stylogaster nitens group as defined in the discussion of Stylogaster angolensis, and can be identified with the key given above. Using Stuke (2012) this species will key out as Stylogaster kakamegensis.
Distribution. Stylogaster cryptica is only known from the locus typicus in Ethiopia.
description: Published as part of Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2015, New Conopid records from the Afrotropical Region (Diptera). Part 1: Paramyopa Kröber, Pseudoconops Camras, Stylogaster Macquart, Thecophora Rondani, and Zodion Latreille, pp. 101-159 in Zootaxa 3963 (2) on pages 133-136, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3963.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/237609