Megaselia trimacula Fang & Liu, 2015, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Fang, Hong
name: Liu, Guangchun
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Phoridae
Megaselia
Megaselia trimacula

description: Megaselia trimacula, sp. nov.
(Figs. 14–19)
Description. Male. Body length 2.0– 2.2 mm.
Head (Fig. 14). Frons black, width about 0.3 mm, broader than long (2.0:1), with about 30 hairs and a distinct median furrow. Lower supra-antennal bristles short, about 2/3 as long as upper pair. Pre-ocellars slightly further from each other than upper supra-antennals. Antials closer to antero-laterals than to upper supra-antennal bristles and slightly lower than antero-laterals. Pre-ocellars lower on frons than medio-laterals and with more closer to each other than either from the latter. Postpedicels black or dark brown and without SPS vesicles. Arista obviously longer than frons width. Palps yellow with strong bristles which are obviously longer than maximum width of palps.
Thorax (Fig. 15). Thoracic dorsum black and flank dark brown. Mesopleuron with a few fine hairs. Notopleuron with 3 bristles and no cleft. Scutellum with a posterior pair of bristles and an anterior pair of hairs.
Legs (Figs. 16–17). Legs brown, but fore legs paler. Hind femur darkened at tip. Fore metatarsus longer than joints 2+3. Dorsal hair palisade of mid tibia extends 0.6 of its length. Hairs short below basal half of hind femur and anteroventral row of outer half, but the latter is longer than the former. Hind tibia with strong posterodorsal hairs and without anterodorsal hairs.
Wings (Fig. 18). Wings nearly hyaline, with yellowish brown veins. There is respective a long brownish spot on anterior margin above apex of M1 and M2 veins, and a nearly rounded brown patch between apex of M1 and M2 veins. Costal index about 0.42. Costal ratios 2.8:1.4:1. Costal cilia about 0.16 mm. Vein Sc runs to R1. Base of vein Rs with 1 minute hair, which obviously shorter than vein R2+3. Axillary ridge with 4 bristles. Halteres black.
Abdomen (Fig. 19). Abdominal tergites dark brown, but venter paler. Tergites with sparse hairs, which a little longer only at rear of tergite 6. Tergites 2–6 subequal in length. Venter with fine hairs below on segments 3–6. Hypopygium dark brown, with yellow anal tube. Each side of epandrium with bristle-like hairs. Hypopygium with differentiated sclerite [=epandrial ring (Brown 1992)], especially well developed ventrally, between epandrium and circi. Posterior lobes of hypandrium vestigial. Anal tube short, with bristle-like hairs at tip which significantly longer than hairs of cerci.
Female: unkown.
Type material. Holotype: male, Guozigou, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, 12-VIII-2004, Fang Hong. Paratypes: 3 males, same data as holotype.
Distribution. China (Xinjiang).
Etymology. The specific name refers to the three brownish spots on each wing.
Remarks. In genus Megaselia, species of wings with pigmented spots are rare, and four species were recorded with wing spots: M. conglomerata (Malloch) from North America, M. dickoni Wakeford & Disney from tropical America (Wakeford & Disney 1994), M. maculifera Beyer from Africa (Beyer 1965), and M. chorogi Naumov from Georgia of Asia (Naumov 1979). The new species is different from them by the morphology of wing spots. In the key of Schmitz & Delage (1981) M. trimacula will run to M. criniticauda Colyer at couplet 36 of Group V. In the key to British Megaselia (Disney, 1989) this species runs to M. killarneyensis Disney at couplet 62. In the key of Borgmeier (1964) it will run to couplet 7 of Group V. The new species will be easily distinguished from the above species by the three brownish spots on each wing. If in Group IV of Borgmeier (1964), it will run to M. conglomerata (Malloch) at couplet 32. The latter differs from the new species not only by two apical spots on each wing, but also by long anal tube.
description: Published as part of Fang, Hong & Liu, Guangchun, 2015, Three new species of Megaselia Rondani (Diptera, Phoridae) from mailand China, pp. 135-143 in Zootaxa 3999 (1) on page 139, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3999.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/236491