Medetera palmaris Negrobov 1972
Creators: name: Grichanov, I. Ya.
name: Gilasian, E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Dolichopodidae
Medetera
Medetera palmaris

description: Medetera palmaris Negrobov, 1972
Figs 11–14.
Medetera palmaris Negrobov, in Negrobov, Stackelberg, 1972: 277 [in key; description: ibid., 1974: 326].
Material. 1♂, Iran, Markazi Prov., Arak, Haftad Qolleh Protected Area, Chekab valley, 2219 m, 34°07'05"N, 050°16'25"E, 20.V–15.VI.2016, Malaise trap, E. Gilasian, M. Parchami-Araghi leg. (ZIN; male terminalia dissected and stored in glycerin in microvial pinned with the specimen); 6♂ (in ethanol), same data (HMIM, ZIN).
DESCRIPTION. Male (Fig. 11). Length (mm): body 2.2–2.3, wing 2.3/0.9, antenna 0.8. Head (Fig. 13). Frons bluish black, with whitish grey pruinosity; ocellar, vertical and postvertical bristles light brown; postocular setae white; face nearly parallel-sided, metallic greenish violet, with grey pruinosity along eyes and clypeus; narrowest distance between eyes 1,7 times as long as distance between ocellar setae; clypeus metallic violet, with grey pruinosity laterally; palpus black, with white hairs; proboscis black; antenna (Fig. 12) with sacpe and pedicel dirty yellow, postpedicel grey-brown, arista-like stylus black; postpedicel rounded, about as long as high; arista-like stylus dorso-apical, with microscopic hairs; length (mm) of scape to pedicel to postpedicel to stylus (segments 1 and 2), 0.05/0.05/0.07/0.02/0.59. Thorax greenish blue-black, with whitish grey pruinosity, with dirty white bristles and white setae; 5 pairs of dorsocentral setae strongly decreasing in length anteriorly, with posterior pair long and strong; acrostichal setae distinct, consisting of 6–7 pairs; proepisternum with 1 long and 1 short setae on its lower portion; 1 long and 1 short notopleural setae; 1 long and 1 short supra-alar setae; scutellum with 2 pairs of strong setae, with lateral setae nearly half as long as medials. Legs mainly yellow; fore coxa brown in basal half; mid and hind coxae black; fore femur brownish in basal half; mid femur brown in basal 2/3; hind femur blackish brown except apex; tarsi with brown-black segments 4 and 5; coxae, femora and tibiae with white hairs and setae; tarsomeres with black apical setulae; fore and mid coxae with anterior and apical setae; hind coxa with strong lateral seta; fore and mid femora with short hairs; hind femur (Fig. 14) with strong dorsal setae in basal half, with 4 anteroventral setae at apex; tibia and tarsomeres devoid of strong bristles; mid tibia with pair of antero- and posterodorsal setae at basal 1/4; hind tibia with short dorsal preapical setae; tarsomeres with simple setulae; fore podomere length (from femur to tarsomere 5, mm): 0.64/0.59/0.28/0.15/0.11/0. 06/0.09, mid leg: 0.71/0.72/0.34/0.19/ 0.13/0.07/0.08, hind leg: 0.69/0.89/0.23/0.33/0.17/0.09/0.09. Wing hyaline, veins yellow-brown; basal section of M 1+2 distinctly shorter than distal section (0.65/1.06); ratio of part of costa between R 2+3 and R 4+5 to this between R 4+5 and M 1+2, 0.28/0.08; ratio of cross-vein dm-m to distal part of M 4 to maximal distance between R 4+5 and M 1+2, 0.19/0.35/0.22; lower calypter yellow, with white setae; halter yellow. Abdomen greenish blue-black, with grey pollinosity, with short white setae; sternite 7 well developed; hypopygium [Negrobov, Stackelberg, 1974: fig. 731] black, narrow, elongate-triangular, with brownish yellow appendages; hypandrium (ventral view) relatively narrow and mostly parallel sided, with strong subapical constriction, forming apical round head with minute projection at apex [Ibid: fig. 730]; phallus simple, pointed at apex; epandrial lobes rather short, distinctly separated, each bearing equally long and simple setae; short epandrial seta present between epandrial lobes and base of hypandrium; surstylus [Ibid: fig. 732] long and narrow; dorsal and ventral arms of surstylus fused almost to apex; dorsal surstylar arm slender, with two dorsal setae; ventral surstylar arm with 2 simple apical setae, 1 leaflike subapical seta, 1 thick dentate seta at junction with dorsal surstylar arm; cercus with subtriangular base, narrow distally, ending with long slender pointed process, bearing flattened subapical ventral seta, equal in length to apical process; other cercal setae simple.
DISTRIBUTION. Iran (Markazi), Tajikistan, Kazakhstan (female).
DIAGNOSIS AND NOTES. Medetera palmaris was rather briefly described and never recorded again after description [Negrobov, Stackelberg, 1974]. This species keys to М. flavichaeta Naglis, 2013 from Kars province of Turkey [Negrobov, Naglis, 2016], strongly differing from the latter in shape of surstylus and hypandrium [Negrobov, Stackelberg, 1974: figs 730–732; Naglis, 2013: fig. 2]. It is worth noting that the hind tarsomere 2 was incorrectly measured as 1.8 times longer than tarsomere 1 in the description [Negrobov, Stackelberg, 1974: 326] and correctly described as “not more than 1.5 times longer than tarsomere 1” in both keys [Negrobov, Stackelberg, 1972: 277; Negrobov, Naglis, 2016: 356]. Wing vein M 4 and dm-m length ratio was most probably also incorrectly given in the original description of М. palmaris (2.4 vs. 1.8).
description: Published as part of Grichanov, I. Ya. & Gilasian, E., 2023, A new species of Medetera Fischer von Waldheim, 1819 (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) with a key to the species known from Iran, pp. 322-329 in Russian Entomological Journal 32 (3) on pages 327-328, DOI: 10.15298/rusentj.32.3.08, http://zenodo.org/record/13178086