Spilogona bella Couri & Pont, 2014, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Couri, Márcia
name: Pont, Adrian C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Muscidae
Spilogona
Spilogona bella

description: Spilogona bella sp. nov.
Figs 37–41.
Type material. Holotype ♂, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: Eastern Cape, Hogsback, Redwood trail, 3235.337′S, 2656.135′E, 1169 m, Malaise trap, indigenous (mixed) Afromontane forest, 8–10.iv.2010 (A.H. Kirk- Spriggs & V.R. Swart), BMSA (D)22620 (BMSA).
Paratypes, 3♂ 1♀. REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: data as for holotype, except: BMSA (D)22597, 1♂ (MNRJ) and BMSA (D)22622, 1♀ (MNRJ); Eastern Cape, Hogsback, Never Daunted, 3235.725′S, 2655.873′E, 1138 m, Malaise trap, indigenous Afromontane forest, 8–10.iv.2010 (A.H. Kirk-Spriggs), 1♂, BMSA (D)22137 (BMNH); KwaZulu-Natal, Royal Natal N.P., Thendele, 1600 m, 2842.378′S, 2856.083′E, Malaise traps, Leucosedea -dominated scrub, 15–17.ii.2010 (A.H. Kirk-Spriggs), 1♂, BMSA (D)20424 (BMSA).
Diagnosis. A Helina -like species that can be recognised by the scutal colour pattern (Fig. 4) and yellow palpus. In addition it has 2 + 3 dorsocentrals, a long-plumose arista, ocellar seta shorter and weaker than the upper frontal, and mentum of proboscis mostly dusted.
Description. General coloration. Ground-colour brown with grey pruinosity. Head with frons dark brown. Fronto-orbital plate, face and parafacial silvery pruinose, parafacial with a matt spot at level of pedicel, gena grey pruinose; antenna yellow and arista light brown; palpus dull yellow. Notum with prescutum with a fine brown median stripe and two brown lateral triangular marks; scutum with a brown transverse band with irregular posterior margin, scutellum with a large brown mark on middle. Pleura grey dusted. Wing clear. Calypters creamy, lower one largely smoky. Haltere pale yellow. Legs yellow, femora with apical halves ill-defined brown; tibiae yellow to light brown, tarsi brown. Abdomen in male with syntergite 1 + 2 and tergite 3 yellow when viewed from above and with grey pruinosity laterally when viewed from behind; syntergite 1 + 2 otherwise mainly black, and tergite 3 with a pair of large quadrate weakly separated black spots occupying most of tergal length; tergite 4 mostly dark brown, with some grey dust antero- and posterolaterally; tergite 5 brown on median third, otherwise grey dusted; tergites 3–5 with dark brown bristle-dots.
♂. Measurements. Male. Body length: 6 mm; wing length: 6.2 mm.
Head. Holoptic, eye bare, eyes separated at the narrowest point by a distance equal to 4 × diameter of anterior ocellus; frontal vitta distinct throughout; 5–6 pairs of strong frontal setae, without interstitials, the upper 2–3 pairs tending to be more reclinate; inner and outer verticals short; ocellar seta shorter than uppermost frontal; antenna inserted at mid-level of eye, with postpedicel 2½ × length of pedicel; arista long-plumose, the longest individual plumes longer than width of postpedicel; palpus filiform, vibrissa long.
Thorax. Dorsocentrals 2 + 3; acrostichal setulae fine, in 2 irregular rows presuturally and 3–4 irregular rows postsuturally, prescutellar pair weak; 2 postpronotals, the outer one almost 2 × the length of the inner; 1 presutural and 2 postsutural intra-alars; 1 presutural and 1 postsutural supra-alars; 2 postalars; prealar absent. Notopleuron with two setae, the posterior one a little longer. Scutellum with one basal and one apical pair of setae, both long and similar in length. Anepisternum with a series of 6 long setae. Katepisternals 1 + 2.
Legs. Fore femur with complete rows of posteroventral and posterodorsal setae, the posterior row short and fine; fore tibia with a posterior median seta; 1 dorsal and 1 posteroventral apical setae; mid femur with a short anterior row on basal half and 2 posteroventrals in basal quarter; 2 preapical posterodorsal setae, one of them very strong; mid tibia with 2 posterodorsal setae, apical setae on all surfaces, the anterior, ventral and anteroventral the longest; hind femur with a complete row of anterodorsal setae, anteroventral surface with 3–4 well-spaced setae on apical half, without posteroventrals; hind tibia with 2 anterodorsal and 2 anteroventral setae; anterodorsal preapical half as long as dorsal preapical; anteroventral apical present..
Wing. Veins bare; veins R4+5 and M parallel at wing-tip. Costal spine not developed. Lower calypter large, about 1.8 × the length of the upper.
Abdomen. Syntergite 1 + 2 and tergite 3 with several lateral marginals; tergites 4 and 5 with discal and marginal rows, strong and erect. Sternite 1 bare. Sternite 5 as in Fig. 37.
Terminalia. Cercal plate and surstylus as in Figs 38–39. Aedeagus as in Fig. 40.
♀. Measurements. Body length: 5.7 mm; wing length: 5.8 mm.
Similar to male, differing as follows: head dichoptic, frons ⅓ of head-width; abdomen brown, grey dusted with brown latero-median spots on tergites 3 and 4.
Ovipositor. Ovipositor and spermatheca as in Fig. 41.
Distribution. Republic of South Africa (Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal).
Etymology. The name is from the Latin bellus (“beautiful”) and refers to the beautiful colour pattern of the species; it is an adjective in agreement with the feminine noun Spilogona.
Remarks. S. bella runs to S. pectinisetodes Emden in Emden’s (1951) key, because of the biserial presutural acrostichal setulae and yellow postpedicel, but differs from this species and from S. semifasciata Emden by the scutal pattern and the yellow palpus.
description: Published as part of Couri, Márcia & Pont, Adrian C., 2014, New species of Afrotropical Muscidae (Diptera: Muscoidea), pp. 301-320 in Zootaxa 3852 (3) on pages 315-316, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3852.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/229938