Morellia (Morellia) edwardsi van Emden 1939
Creators: name: Pamplona, Denise
name: Nihei, Silvio S.
name: Couri, Márcia S.
name: Pont, Adrian C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Muscidae
Morellia
Morellia edwardsi

description: 15. Morellia (M.) edwardsi van Emden, 1939
(Figs 54–59)
Morellia edwardsi van Emden, 1939: 63. Type locality: KENYA, Mt. Elgon, heath zone. Holotype Ƌ, BMNH (seen).
Redescription. Colour. Black, with grey pruinosity. Frontal vitta and fronto-orbital plate black; face black with grey pruinosity; parafacial and gena with golden pruinosity; antenna black with grey pruinosity; palpus black; mesonotum metallic black with one silver dusted central vitta along presutural acrostichals and another one on postpronotal lobe; pleura with grey pruinosity; fore coxa with grey and golden pruinosity; legs brown; haltere with brown stalk and yellow knob; calypters brownish to brown; upper calypter on outer half white and opaque; wing with one faint spot in costal cell, near humeral cross-vein, another in br cell, and another in bm cell; abdomen with a shifting tessellated pattern.
Male. Body length: 6.0 mm; wing length: 6.0 mm.
Head. Eyes haired, separated at level of anterior ocellus by 0.18–0.22 of head width; frons divergent towards lunule; ocellar triangle with a pair of setae and many long setulae;18–20 pairs of frontal setae; postpedicel 1.1–1.5 times the length of pedicel; pedicel with 3 setae and few setulae; arista plumose, with 12–14 cilia, bare apicad, and with some secondary plumes as far as level of 1st to 3rd cilia; vibrissa shorter than arista; 1 strong supravibrissal seta, half as long as vibrissa, and many other setulae that extend to level of middle of postpedicel; 8–10 subvibrissal setae followed by 9–10 genal setae.
Thorax. Acrostichals 0+1; dorsocentrals 3+4; intra-alars 1+1; presutural 1; prealar 1; supra-alars 2; postpronotals 4, the innermost weaker; notopleuron with 2 long, subequal setae and covered with ground-setulae; postalars 2; intrapostalar 1; scutellum with 1 basal, 1 latero-discal and 1 apical pairs of setae, and latero-ventrally with many setae, the basalmost ones downcurved; postalar wall bare; suprasquamal ridge bare; proepisternal depression bare; proepimeron with about 4 long setae and many setulae; prosternum broad and bare; anepisternum with a posterior row of about 8 setae, without upcurved setae on upper-anterior corner, and covered with long setulae; katepisternals 1+2; anepimeron extensively setulose medially and on subalar ridge; katepimeron with 1 setula; anatergite bare; katatergite setulose. Legs: fore femur with a posterodorsal row of setae on apical two-thirds, becoming shorter basad, and a complete posteroventral row of setae; fore tibia with 2 anterior setae on middle third, a dorsal row of short setae, a posterodorsal row of short and strong setae, 1 dorsal, 1 posterodorsal and 1 posteroventral preapical setae, 1 anteroventral and 1 ventral apical setae; mid femur without a tubercle, with 2–3 anterior setae on middle third, 4–5 ventral setae on basal third, and 3 posterior to posterodorsal preapical setae; mid tibia on anterodorsal surface with a row of fine setae on basal half, the lowermost 2 stronger, 2 strong setae on apical half, 1 posterodorsal seta at middle, a posterior row of five strong setae, 2 ventral setae on apical third, 1 anterodorsal and 1 dorsal preapical setae, 1 ventral and 1 posteroventral apical setae; hind femur with an anteroventral row of setae, strongest on apical third, an anterodorsal row of setae and a few posteroventral setulae on apical fourth; hind tibia with many long anteroventral to ventral setae on apical half, an anterior row of setae with 1 stronger seta at middle, a posterodorsal row of fine setae, the subapical stronger, posteroventral surface with 6 setae, the lowermost longer and ending on ventral surface with a ctenidium, 1 anterodorsal, 1 dorsal and 1 anteroventral preapical setae, and 1 ventral apical seta; hind tarsus with strong setae and a golden brush ventrally. Wing with a uniform covering of microtrichia; dm-cu sinuous; stem-vein bare on dorsal surface and ventrally with 2 short setulae before humeral cross-vein and bare after humeral cross-vein; R2+3 bare on dorsal and ventral surfaces; R4+5 setulose from base to one fourth of distance to r-m on dorsal surface and on base on ventral surface; 4–5 strong setae on basicosta.
Abdomen. With lateral tufts of setulae on syntergite 1+2 and lateral and apical long setae on tergites 3 and 5; sternite 1 setulose; posterior margin of sternite 5 concave and with setae (Fig. 54).
Terminalia. Outer middle third of cercal plate convex; surstylus with one seta and some spicules (Figs 55–56); aedeagal apodeme small; basiphallus very long; aedeagus bare; gonopod with one long and strong seta on middle third; paramere with some setae apically and others in middle third (Fig. 57).
Female. Body length: 6.0 mm; wing length: 6.0– 6.5 mm.
Similar to male, differing as follows: upper third of frontal vitta black with silver pruinosity, lower two-thirds reddish-black with little pruinosity; eyes separated at level of anterior ocellus by about 0.38–0.43 of head width; fronto-orbital plate with many proclinate and reclinate setae; mid tibia without ventral setae; hind tibia with 4 short anteroventral setae on apical half, 1 posteroventral seta on apical third, a weaker ctenidium and no anteroventral preapical seta; hind tarsus with strong setae and without a golden brush ventrally.
Ovipositor. Tergite 6 as 2 golf-club-like rods, posteriorly with few setulae; tergite 7 as 2 rods, anteriorly enlarged, posteriorly with 2 plates with many small spines; tergite 8 as 2 rods, anteriorly enlarged and posteriorly with 2 plates with many spines; sternite 6 as 1 small rod, anteriorly enlarged, posteriorly with 2 setae and 1 small plate with setae; sternite 7 as 1 rod, posteriorly with 3 plates with many setae; sternite 8 as 1, Y-shaped plate, posteriorly with 2 plates with setae; epiproct with some setae; hypoproct longer than broad with many setae; cercus cylindrical and long (Figs 58–59).
Material examined. KENYA: Mt. Elgon, heath zone, 10,500–11, 500 feet, ii.1935, F.W. Edwards, holotype Ƌ and 1 ♀ paratype (BMNH); Aberdare Range, Nyeri Track, 10,500–11,000 feet, 28.x.1934, F.W. Edwards, 1 ♀ paratype (BMNH); ETHIOPIA: Maraquo, viii.1914, O. Kovács, 1 Ƌ paratype (BMNH).
Distribution. AFROTROPICAL: Ethiopia, Kenya.
description: Published as part of Pamplona, Denise, Nihei, Silvio S., Couri, Márcia S. & Pont, Adrian C., 2016, Taxonomy of Morellia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Muscidae): revision of the subgenera Morellia s. str. and Parapyrellia Townsend, pp. 1-110 in Zootaxa 4163 (1) on pages 38-41, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4163.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/259278