Strongylophthalmyia sivelli Zhou & Evenhuis & Yang 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zhou, Jiale
name: Evenhuis, Neal L.
name: Yang, Ding
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Strongylophthalmyiidae
Strongylophthalmyia
Strongylophthalmyia sivelli

description: Strongylophthalmyia sivelli sp. nov.
(Figs 15–20, 28, 32)
Type material. Holotype. CHINA: ♂, Hebei, Chengde, Wulingshan, Shibatan, 12 Apr. 2019, Ding Yang leg. (CAU). Paratypes. CHINA. 3♀, same collection data as for holotype (CAU).
Diagnosis. Generally shining black (Figs 15, 16); face yellow, parafacial and apex of frons yellowish brown; antennal arista bicolorous, with yellowish brown basal two thirds and blackish brown apical third (Fig. 28); wing slightly infumate, with distinct large dark patch at apex and vague broad median transverse band interrupted along cell r 1 (Fig. 32); legs mostly yellow, with fore femur with large blackish brown spot dorsally in apical third, mid and hind femora blackish brown in apical third to half; phallapodeme finely curved inwardly in apical half (Fig. 20); distiphallus about 1.81 times as long as phallapodeme, with hook-shaped sclerotized apical “glans” (Figs 19, 20).
Description. Male and female (Figs 15, 16). Body length 4.2–4.5 mm, wing length 3.8–4.0 mm.
Generally shining black (Figs 15, 16). Face yellow; parafacial and apex of frons yellowish brown. Antenna yellowish brown with apical third of arista blackish brown (Fig. 28). Proboscis and palpus dark brown. Wing slightly infumate, with large distinct dark patch at apex and vague broad median transverse band at level of dm-m; median transverse band interrupted along cell r 1 (Fig. 32); wing veins brown to dark brown. Halter white with base slightly darkened. Legs mostly yellow; fore femur with large blackish brown dorsal spot in apical third (Figs 15, 16); mid and hind femora blackish brown in apical third to half (Figs 15, 16); tibiae largely dark brown in male (Fig. 15), slightly darkened in female with vague dark brown ring on hind tibia (Fig. 16); tarsi yellowish brown to dark brown.
Head with frons finely inflated; parafacial with dense silvery tomentose stripe; gena with silvery tomentose stripe along eye margin; postgena bulging. Head chaetotaxy: 1 inner vertical seta, 1 outer vertical seta, 3 fronto-orbital setae, 1 ocellar seta, 1 postocellar seta. Clypeus band-like in male, thick and bulbous in female; palpus elongate, with sparse long dark setulae. Antennal scape with scattered marginal setae and 1 dominant dorsal seta; pedicel with single strong seta dorsally; flagellomere ovate, wider than long, densely covered with short white setulae (Fig. 28).
Thorax with mesonotum covered with scattered short golden setulae, in dorsal view with distinct transverse suture. Anepisternum with short setulae on posterior half. Scutellum subtriangular, slightly inflated. Thoracic chaetotaxy: 1 anepisternal seta, 1 notopleural seta, 1 dorsocentral seta, 1 posterior supra-alar seta, 1 scutellar seta. Wing (Fig. 32) with R 4+5 and M 1+2 slightly convergent apically; apical section of M 1+2 clearly arched; M 4 reaching wing margin; CuA+CuP closely approaching wing margin; r-m located about basal 0.37 of cell dm; apical section of M 4 shorter than dm-m; alula relatively large; anal lobe slightly narrowed. Legs with dense white setulae.
Abdomen covered with dense long dark setae. Tergite 1 weakly sclerotized. Pregenital sclerites relatively weakly sclerotized.
Male genitalia: Epandrium (Figs 17, 18) short and broad, with dense long setae. Surstylus (Figs 17, 18) nearly parallel-sided in lateral view, with short stout setae on inner distal surface. Cerci (Figs 17, 18) narrow basally, distinctly expanded apically, with one rather long subapical seta and several shorter ones. Hypandrium (Figs 19, 20) strongly expanded laterally, with one pair of bifid anterior lobes. Phallapodeme (Fig. 20) long, finely curved inwardly in apical half. Pregonite (Figs 19, 20) long, narrow, band-like, basally fused to inner surface of hypandrium. Phallic plate (Fig. 20) thickened, divided into two articulating sclerites. Distiphallus (Figs 19, 20) long, about 1.81 times as long as phallapodeme, with hook-shaped sclerotized apical “glans”, membrane microtrichose. Ejaculatory apodeme (Figs 19, 20) relatively short, narrow.
Etymology. The specific epithet is dedicated to the English entomologist Duncan Sivell (The Natural History Museum, London, UK) for his kind support of our study on acalyptrate flies.
Distribution. China (Hebei).
Comparative notes. Strongylophthalmyia sivelli sp. nov. appears to be closely related to S. caliginosa Iwasa, 1992 (Japan) by sharing the shining black body color and the similar color patterns on the femora. The new species differs from the latter by the following character states: antennal arista yellowish brown in basal two thirds and blackish brown in apical third (yellowish brown in basal third and blackish brown in apical two thirds in S. caliginosa); palpus dark brown (yellow in S. caliginosa); mesonotum smooth (coarse, finely wrinkled in S. caliginosa); apical dark patch of wing relatively small, not reaching apex of R 2+3 and midpoint of apical section of M 1+2 (larger, reaching apex of R 2+3 and midpoint of apical section of M 1+ 2 in S. caliginosa); median transverse band of wing indistinct, vanished in cell r 1 (well-developed, clearly present in cell r 1 in S. caliginosa); surstylus less than half of width of epandrium in lateral view (more than two thirds of width of epandrium in S. caliginosa).
description: Published as part of Zhou, Jiale, Evenhuis, Neal L. & Yang, Ding, 2024, Taxonomic review of the Strongylophthalmyia ustulata group (Diptera: Brachycera: Strongylophthalmyiidae) from China, with the descriptions of three new species, pp. 530-548 in Zootaxa 5403 (5) on page 540, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5403.5.2, http://zenodo.org/record/10562330