Iteaphila bayarea Sinclair & Shamshev 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Sinclair, Bradley J.
name: Shamshev, Igor V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Iteaphilidae
Iteaphila
Iteaphila bayarea

description: Iteaphila bayarea sp. nov.
(Figs 38, 39, 49)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: FA2FE181-942D-40A2-B26E-BECEB075952E
Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, labelled: “U.S.A.: CALIFORNIA:/ Marin County, Mill / Valley, Blithedale / Ridge [37°55′15″N 122°33′19″W], Lee Street / 19-23-IV-1966 110m / Paul H. Arnaud, Jr.”; “ HOLOTYPE / Iteaphila / bayarea/ Sinclair & Shamshev [red label]” (USNM). PARATYPES: USA. California: same data as holotype except, 28–29.iii.1966 (5 ♂, USNM); same data as holotype except, 25–27.iii.1966 (1 ♂, CAS).
Possible additional material examined. USA. California: Marin Co., Mt. Tamalpais [37°56′11″N 122°38′16″W] along Cataract & Kent trails, 12.iv.1979, DDW (11 ♂, 6 ♀, CAS); Marin Co., Mt. Tamalpais, Old Stage Road [37°54′58″N 122°35′37″W], Rattlesnake Ck No. 2, 10.v.1997, PHA (1 ♀, USNM); Oakland [37°48′16″N 122°16′15″W], 8.iv.1937, E.S. Ross (1 ♂, CAS).
Recognition. This species is distinguished from the similar I. nupta by the broad apex of the epandrium and surstylus not curved dorsally, as well as by the laterally expanded apex of the hypandrium (Figs 38, 39).
Description. Wing length 3.0– 3.4 mm. Male. Head dark brown in ground-colour, with brown to black setation, occiput thinly to densely greyish pollinose. Eyes holoptic, with upper ommatidia enlarged. Frons represented by small triangular space just above antennae, bare, greyish pollinose. Ocellar triangle prominent, with 2 pairs of long hair-like setae. Postvertical setae subequal in length with postocular setae, thin; occiput covered with numerous similar setae in lower part. Antenna dark brown; scape short, slightly shorter than globular pedicel, both with short setae; postpedicel rather narrow, nearly 4 times longer than basal width, base somewhat expanded and smoothly tapered; stylus ca 3–4 times longer than wide, sensillum-tipped; segment 9 tubular, 2–3 times longer than wide, apical sensillum about as long as segment 9. Proboscis medium-length, projected obliquely; labium slightly shorter than head height; palpus slender, projected parallel to labrum, somewhat shorter than labrum.
Thorax dark brown in ground-colour with posterior part of postpronotal lobe and postalar tubercle sometimes paler, with brown to black setation; scutum viewed dorsally entirely subshiny, velvety brown, slightly matt, with 2 indistinct paler vittae between acrostichal and dorsocentral setae; viewed anteriorly densely brown pruinose; mesopleuron uniformly thinly greyish brown pollinose; subshiny in oblique view. Proepisternum with a few hairlike setae. Postpronotal lobe with 1 long thin and several shorter setae. Mesonotal setae distinct, thin; acr very short, 4-serial, arranged in 2 pairs of closely spaced irregular rows, lacking on prescutellar depression, distance between paired rows slightly greater than length of acr; dc uniserial (with some additional setulae in anterior part), offset from row anteriorly, slightly longer than acr, 2–3 distinct prescutellar dc; 1 ph, 1 presut spal (sometimes with additional setulae), 3–4 npl (with a few additional shorter setae), several psut spal setulae, 1 pal and several short setulae, 5–6 pairs of sctl.
Legs, including coxae, almost entirely brownish; knees of fore and mid legs brownish yellow, tarsi somewhat darker. Coxae and trochanters with unmodified hair-like setae. Fore femur with row of short anteroventral hairlike setae and somewhat longer setae on posteroventral, dorsal and posterior faces. Fore tibia with row of slightly prominent thin posterodorsal setae. Mid femur with moderately long posteroventral bristly setae along entire length, bearing some moderately long setae on dorsal and posterior faces. Hind femur with long anteroventral and dorsal setae along whole length. Mid and hind tibiae without prominent setae. Tarsomere 1 of mid and hindlegs with pair of rows of stiff ventral setae; tarsomere 5 somewhat flattened on all legs; pulvilli broad, shorter than tarsal claw.
Wing distinctly uniformly brownish infuscate; basal costal seta absent; pterostigma distinct brownish, elliptical, overlapping apex of R 1; anal lobe very prominent, acute. Sc complete; R 2+3 often slightly bowed posterior to pterostigma; R 4+5 unbranched; cell dm broad, longer than basal cells, truncate apically; base of M 2 (crossvein) more than one-third length of dm-m, M branches widely separated; dm-m crossvein slightly concave. Apex of cell cua recurved, CuA+CuP long, ending short of wing margin. Halter brown.
Abdomen brown, shiny, with brownish setae. Terminalia (Fig. 38) concolorous with abdomen, small. Hypandrium with several long setae, rounded, upcurved apically with broad, rounded and truncate (posterior view) apex, clothed in small shiny projections (Fig. 39); gonocoxal apodeme short and slender; postgonite long, arched, expanded into broad plate with short apicolateral lobe; inner apodeme expanded and flattened, shorter than gonocoxal apodeme. Phallic guide extended slightly beyond epandrium, parallel with phallus and bent nearly at right angles subapically; bent apical section paired with jagged margin; apex tapered. Epandrium not inflated laterally; dorsal bridge narrow; produced distally into slender horizontally projecting surstylus; apex of surstylus expanded dorsally into anteriorly projecting, hook-shaped process. Phallus slender, arched slightly beyond epandrium, bent nearly at right angles subapically; apical section slender, rounded; ejaculatory apodeme plate-like, rounded, longer than gonocoxal apodeme. Cercus short, narrow, one-third length of epandrium; apex narrow, extended free from epandrium; hypoproct produced into pair of short, slender processes, slightly projecting beyond epandrium.
Female. Unknown from type series.
Distribution. Nearctic: USA (California). This species is presently known only from the San Francisco Bay area in California (Fig. 49).
Etymology. This species is named after the distribution of this species around the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California and it is considered a noun in apposition.
Remarks. This species is very similar to I. nupta, distinguished by the male terminalia and apex of the epandrium and surstylus.
The above specimens listed under Additional material examined, are possibly conspecific, but males differ from the type series in the shape and width of the hypandrium in posterior view (Fig. 40). The hypandrium is narrower and apically rounded in the additional material and uncertain if this could be interpreted as a different species. In addition, the apex and length of the male cercus varies from truncate to slightly prolonged among specimens. New material and, especially, molecular study of different populations would be helpful in sorting through these variations.
description: Published as part of Sinclair, Bradley J. & Shamshev, Igor V., 2021, World revision of Iteaphila with unbranched radial vein (Diptera: Empidoidea: Iteaphilidae), pp. 1-89 in Zootaxa 4968 (1) on pages 35-36, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4968.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4745566