Platypapus durulmusensis Zouhair & Grootaert & Gençer & Kettani 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zouhair, Laila
name: Grootaert, Patrick
name: Gençer, Lütfiye
name: Kettani, Kawtar
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Hybotidae
Platypapus
Platypapus durulmusensis

description: Platypapus durulmusensis Zouhair & Grootaert sp. nov.
(Figs 5, 6)
Type material. HOLOTYPE. Sivas prov. ♂, DurulmuŞ, 39.839 N, 37.318 E, 1286 m, grassland, 23.v.2001, sweep net, leg. L. Gençer. PARATYPE: Sivas prov. 1♂, same data as holotype.
Diagnosis. A small blackish brown species of the Platypalpus pallidiventris-cursitans group with one pair of long vertical bristles. Antennae black, postpedicel conical about 2.5X as long as wide at base, stylus black about 2X longer than postpedicel. Thorax with mesoscutum including postpronotal lobe greyish dusted, pleura densely grey dusted leaving a polished spot on katepisternum. Legs yellow with fore coxae at base, hind four coxae, hind trochanter, knees of four hind legs brown, all tarsi brown annulated with last segment of all legs darker, almost entirely dark brown. Mid tibia with long, sharp, black apical spur. Wings hyaline, with yellowish brown veins. Veins R 4+5 and M 1+2 divergent, running parallel before ending in the costa.
Description. Male. Length: body 2.2 mm, wing 2.1 mm. Head black in ground colour, occiput densely greyish pollinose with short pale setae and one pair of long yellow verticals. Gena densely greyish dusted. Ocellar tubercle greyish pollinose, with 2 yellow, long anterior setae and 2 very short posterior yellow setae. Frons densely greyish pollinose, wide, broader than pedicel. Face densely greyish dusted, narrow, narrower than pedicel. Clypeus, densely greyish dusted and short. Antenna black, postpedicel conical about 2.5X as long as wide at base, stylus black about 2X longer than postpedicel. Proboscis blackish, shorter than head height. Palpus yellowish, somewhat large, elongate ovate, with scattered pale setulae and two long yellowish subapical setae.
Thorax black. Mesoscutum including postpronotal lobe greyish dusted, pleura densely grey dusted leaving a large triangular polished spot occupying the posterior part of katepisternum. Postpronotal lobe with 1 long yellow seta and 3 minute yellow setae. Mesoscutum with 2 distinct notopleurals (anterior long, posterior shorter), 1 yellow postalar, 1 pair of long yellow prescutellars, 4 yellow scutellars (apical pair long and cruciate, lateral pair short and faint), acrostichals yellow biserial, dorsocentrals yellow uniserial, slightly longer than acrostichals. Legs yellow with fore coxae brownish at base, hind four coxae entirely brown, hind trochanter brown, knees of four hind legs brownish, all tarsi brown annulated with last segment of all legs almost entirely dark brown. Coxae and trochanters with ordinary yellowish setae of different lengths. Fore femur thickened in basal third, with pale setae anteroventral and posteroventral. Fore tibia slender, clothed with pale setulae, with 2–3 somewhat thick yellow dorsal setae. Mid femur as thick as fore femur, with double row of black ventral spinules and row of long, yellow posteroventral setae. Mid tibia slender, with row of very small ventral spinules and long, sharp, black apical spur, almost as long as tibia is deep. Hind femur slender, with row of ventral pale setae. Hind tibia slender, as long as femur, clothed with ordinary pale setulae. Wing hyaline, with yellowish brown veins. Veins R 4+5 and M 1+2 divergent, running parallel prior to ending in costa. Crossveins m-cu and r-m separated, bm longer and broader than br. Vein CuA straight. Vein M 4 reaching wing border. Vein CuA+CuP distinct in median part and evanescent in basal and apical parts. Squama brown. Halter whitish.
Abdomen brownish black, first tergite broadly dusted at sides, remaining tergites narrowly dusted apically on sides, sternites polished, abdominal setae pale and short. Terminalia (Fig. 6). Cerci small, enclosed by epandrial lamellae (Fig. 6B). Right cercus club-shaped with broad apex. Left cercus slightly shorter with pointed apex, in dorsal view. Left border of left epandrial lamella with long, closely set setae on basal half, while shorter setae and wider set on apical half (Fig. 6C).
Female. Unknown.
Etymology. This new species is named after the name of the locality where it was found (DurulmuŞ).
Remarks. In the key of Grootaert & Chvála (1992), P.durulmusensis sp. nov. is closely related to P.approximatus Becker and P. pedestris Becker. These two species share most characters with the new species described above, but the latter differs from P. pedestris mainly in terms of the length of antennal segments and from P. approximatus in the coloration of legs and tarsi annulations. Genitalia of the two species (see Grootaert & Chvála 1992, figs 131–133 and figs 151–153) differ from that of P. durulmusensis sp. nov. (Fig. 6).
description: Published as part of Zouhair, Laila, Grootaert, Patrick, Gençer, Lütfiye & Kettani, Kawtar, 2025, Turkish Hybotidae (Diptera: Empidoidea): description of six new species with additional data, pp. 503-524 in Zootaxa 5609 (4) on pages 509-510, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5609.4.3, http://zenodo.org/record/15215427