Tomosvaryella deltastyla Foldvari, Skevington & Motamedinia 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Motamedinia, Behnam
name: Földvari, Mihaly
name: Skevington, Jeffrey H.
name: Kelso, Scott
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Pipunculidae
Tomosvaryella
Tomosvaryella deltastyla

description: Tomosvaryella deltastyla Földvari, Skevington & Motamedinia sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 98F30D6E-B2CF-453B-9054-8FC8027DDABD
Figs 31A–D, 121, 155E
Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by triangle-shaped surstyli in dorsal view (Fig. 31A); epandrium with a depression in its middle divided into two parts by epandrial groove in dorsal view (Fig. 31A); membranous area approaching epandrium; broadened gonopods, phallic guide strong with one longer spine before apex and some condensed small spines in middle in lateral view (Fig. 31C–D); phallus with a small membranous sheath close to ejaculatory ducts, one of ejaculatory ducts with a small denticulated sheath at its base (Fig. 31C–D); subepandrial sclerite separated into two parts from its middle towards surstyli (Fig. 31B).
Description: MALE: Body length: 2.2–2.3 mm. Head. Flagellum long acuminate; yellow-brown. Face silvery pollinose. Frons, upper part shining black; lower part distinctly silver pollinose; eyes touching for distance equal to 2–2.5 times the length of ocellar triangle. Occiput silvery pollinose, less so on upper 1/3. Thorax. Postpronotum pale, with 5–6 black erect bristles. Mesonotum (viewed obliquely from front) brownish pollinose, anterior part more grey, grayish also from the side. Scutellum brownish silvery pollinose and with 8–10 erect black bristles along the distal edge, in length up to the width of hind femur at base. Dorsocentral bristles massive, black, uniform in length, almost as long as bristles on scutellum, numerous black bristles around postpronotum present. Halter, knob pale, stem brown. Legs. Mid coxa with 2–3 long dark bristles. Trochanters brown, femora dark brown, shining ventrally, silvery pollinose posteriorly except shiny hind femur; knees and basal 1/5 of tibiae yellow (tibiae otherwise brown), tarsal segments brown dorsally, yellow ventrally, last segment darker. Hind trochanter gray pollinose, with 2–4 bristles close to hind coxa, ventrally slightly flattened half circle (completely flat dorsally); ventrobasal spines (2) present on fore and missing on mid femur. Ventroapical row of spines on fore femur absent; 4–5 small, black spines on mid femur; hind femur without ventroapical spines, except 14–16 equally spaced, equally long bristles, posteroventrally, longest up to 1/4 times the width of hind tibia at distal end. Subapical (distal) spines on first four tibiae present (short). Hind metatarsus not flattened, slightly longer than 2–4 combined and with strong dark bristles dorsally, scrub-like bristles ventrally (t1 only). Pulvilli shorter than last tarsal segment. Wing. Length: 2.2 mm. Upper side of basal costal cell with one long dark bristle and 1–3 shorter bristles. Fourth costal section 2–2.2 times as long as third costal section. Cross-vein r-m at middle of discal cell. 3–4 distinct black setulae on tegula. Abdomen. Viewed obliquely from front tergites subshiny brown-black, tergite 1 silvery grey, silvery pollinose spots on tergites 4 and 5 (spot on t5 larger). Dispersed strong dark bristles on all tergites present, longest on tergite 5, in length up to 1/3 width of hind tibia at distal end. Lateral bristles on first tergite present, 4–6 short dark bristles up to as long as 1/3 width of hind femur at base. Postabdomen in dorsal view: T6, S7 invisible; T5 1.6–1.8 times as long as ST8. Genitalia without dissection: ST8 large, rounded triangle in dorsal view, brown and with a few distinct bristles, otherwise with velvet-like coverage; membranous area with round part extended dorsally and narrow part approaching epandrium, mostly directed posteriorly; epandrium brown, surstyli yellow, broad at base. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium slightly as long as wide (MLE:MWE = 1.07), with a depression in its middle divided into two parts by epandrial groove. Surstyli triangle-shaped, broadened in basal half, strongly narrowed in apical half (Fig. 31A). Genital capsule in ventral view: gonopods widened, equal in height; phallic guide strong and wide, with one upward spine dorsally before apex, subepandrial sclerite separated into two parts from its middle towards surstyli, phallus with a small membranous sheath close to ejaculatory ducts, one of ejaculatory ducts with a small denticulated sheath at its base (Fig. 31B); Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli broadened at middle and narrowed apically, curved towards sternite; phallic guide strong with some condensed small spines dorsally in its middle, pointed at apex (Fig. 31C–D).
FEMALE: As male except for the following characters. Frons, eyes separated, as wide as 1.5–1.8 times the width at antennae; completely silver-grey pollinose on lower 1/3, shiny black in front of ocellar triangle, smooth change in transition zone (at 1/3 from ocellar triangle) to shiny black. Enlarged ommatidia silvery shining. Pulvilli and claws about 1–3 times as long as last tarsal segment, smaller on metatarsi. Female abdomen with silver spots on sides of tergites 4–6. Ovipositor. straight in ventral view, down curved at distal end and robust in lateral view (yellow piercer, brown base), reaching distal end of 3 rd segment; base silvery pollinose with dispersed short dark bristles. LP:LB = 2.5. LDP:LPP = 1.8. (Fig. 155E).
Etymology: After the Greek capital letter delta, shaped like a triangle, in reference to the triangle shaped surstyli.
Examined material: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: Karijini National Park, Juna Downs Road, 22°44’S, 118°25’E, 798m, dry Turee Creek, grassy open Eucalyptus scrub, 25.IV–14.V.2003, C. Lambkin & T. Weir, Malaise trap, JSS16089 (1♂, WAM); PARATYPES: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: Karijini National Park, Juna Downs Road, 22°44’S, 118°25’E, 798m, dry Turee Creek, grassy open Eucalyptus scrub, 14–19.V.2003; 25.IV–14.V.2003, C. Lambkin, T. Weir, Malaise trap, JSS16101, JSS16106 (1♂, 1♀, ANIC); Queensland: Cudmore National Park (CM3M), 22°58’S, 146°23’E, 351m, Melaleuca heath near drying creek, 28.X.2010 – 2.VIII.2011, Lambkin, Starick & Bailey, Malaise trap, CNC574703 (1♂, QM); Cudmore National Park (CM1M), 22°54’S, 146°21’E, 365m, Eucalyptus woodland with Spinifex, 27.X.2010 – 2.VIII.2011, Lambkin, Starick & Bailey, Malaise trap, CNC576550, CNC591868 (2♂, CNC, QM); New South Wales: Ledknapper National Reserve, 5km N Beulah Homestead (LDN1M), 28°19’S, 147°10’E, Allocasuarina, 18.III–15.V.2010, S. O’Sullivan & C. Lambkin, Malaise trap, CNC576713 (1♂, QM); Ledknapper National Reserve, 7.3km ENE Beulah Headquarters (LDN2M), 29°21’S, 146°13’E, E. melanopholia, Spinifex, 10.XII.2009 – 18.III.2010, S. O’Sullivan, K. Taylor, Malaise trap, CNC576515 (1♂, QM).
Distribution: Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia) (Fig. 121).
Notes: This is another species with a wide distribution in the Australian outback. It will be nice to fill in some of the gaps in the range over time to help understand its host, ecology and distribution in more detail. Intraspecific genetic distance is 0.0%. This species is genetically closest to T. ngarrbekiota sp. nov. (8.3% pairwise divergence) (Supplementary file 3).
description: Published as part of Motamedinia, Behnam, Földvari, Mihaly, Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Kelso, Scott, 2023, Revision of Australian Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera: Pipunculidae) with description of 100 new species, pp. 1-271 in Zootaxa 5599 (1) on pages 75-77, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5599.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14970961