Nothybus procerus Lonsdale & Marshall, 2016, spec. nov.
Creators: name: Lonsdale, O.
name: Marshall, S. A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Nothybidae
Nothybus
Nothybus procerus

description: Nothybus procerus spec. nov.
Figures 45, 46, 70, 107–113
Description. Head: Distal half of first flagellomere black on outer surface and on approximate distal third of inner surface. Anterolateral velvety patches on frons widely separated, reaching anterior margin and confluent with laterally dark brown parafacial. Face with strong horizontal brown stripe medially; venter of face with large, subcircular glossy dark brown tubercle that is not enclosed by tomentose band dorsally; ventrolateral silvery tomentose stripe reduced to less than half width of glossy facial spot. Back of head with one pair of small dark brown lateral spots below transverse band of whitish pruinosity. Mouthparts light yellow to slightly orange, with one pair of black lateromedial spots on labellum.
Thorax: Yellowish-orange with dorsum darker orange to brownish and most of pleuron (excluding proepisternum and anterior-facing sections of anepisternum and katepisternum) yellow. Scutum with nearly indistinct medial brown stripe that is bounded by 2–3 rows of setulae; two pairs of faint ovate spots outside dorsocentral rows presuturally; postpronotum light yellow on ventral 1/3, dark brown on dorsal 2/3 and iridescent on dorsal half (iridescent band increasing in width posteriorly); notopleuron with faint mottling posterolaterally, excluding yellowish tubercle, and with one iridescent spot anteriorly and one iridescent band posteriorly that continues laterally onto light yellowish-white stripe from posterior margin of anepisternum to posterodorsal corner of katepisternum. Scutellum dark brown laterally and on most of dorsum with margin dirty orange, becoming bright orange apically; subscutellum with dark brown ill-defined spot dorsomedially. Katatergite and most of anatergite dirty orange to brownish.
Wing: (Fig. 70) Wing length 6.5mm. Transverse brown stripe wide anteriorly, not extending into apex of cell r1, tapering to a point at CuA1 along dm-cu. Clear subapical spots in a straight line with second spot very slightly displaced distally. Apical margin brownish from CuA1 to midpoint of cell r2+3 with region along R4+5 faded. Vein r-m surrounded by brown cloud. CuA1 with small, round, faded cloud slightly distal to r-m.
Legs: Mid legs missing from holotype male. Coxae and femora light yellowish-orange with apices of femora dark brown (slightly more so on anterior surface of fore femur). Tibae and tarsi dark brown with fore basitarsomere white on distal 2/3.
Abdomen: Mostly yellowish-orange; slightly more than posterior half of tergite 2 dark brown; tergites 3 and 4 with posteromedial margin dark brown.
Male terminalia: (Figs 107–113) Tergite 6 short with lateral margins longer; with setae along posterolateral margin. Sternite 6 subquadrate, setose on posterior half and with several longer posterolateral setae. Sternite 7 not evident in dissected male. Sternite 8 well developed with setae along posterolateral margin. Epandrium well developed, setose on posterior half, fused to posterior half of surstylus. Surstylus slightly higher than epandrium and angled anteriorly, very narrow, base and apex tapered, incurved on anteromedial margin, and with inner surface confluent with subepandrial sclerite. Cercus broad, flat. Hypandrium with anteromedial margin broadly rounded; lateral lobe with broadly rounded and setose swelling with several outstanding setae; posteroventral margin broadly adjoining pregonite; broadly fused to phallapodeme. Pregonite straight with base gradually widening; two large ventrobasal setae and several minute lateromedial setae; lateral and apical surfaces minutely spinulose and textured. Basiphallus sclerotized laterally and along dorsobasal surface, nearly forming a complete basal ring; ventral surface produced into an elongate, striated sac-like epiphallus with a slightly expanded apex and very lightly sclerotized lateral membrane. Distiphallus elongate, extending over hypandrium; lightly sclerotized and ribbon-like along most of length with one pair of medial, ill-defined sclerotized stripes; lateral membranous region very lightly sclerotized along basal ¾ and on expanded subapical membranous flaps; apically with narrow, dark sclerotized bulb that ends in one pair of flattened, partially sclerotized tubules. Ejaculatory apodeme with stout base (striated on one side); centre of short stem well sclerotized; blade large and clear.
Variation—female: As described for male except as follows: scutum darker (possibly an artifact of preservation) with broad dark brown infuscated region between dorsocentral rows, largely obscuring medial stripe. Mid leg as described for hind leg (tibia, tarsus and apex of femur dark brown). Tergites 2 and 3 dark brown with orange tint on anterior 2/3 of tergite 3; tergite 5 black on medial 2/3 with narrow orange anteromedial line; tergite 6 brownish posteromedially with stripe wider than long.
Etymology. The specific epithet is Latin for “slender”/“long”, referring to the general habitus and the shape of the surstylus.
Distribution. Southern India.
Holotype: INDIA. S India, Madras State, P. Susai Nathan, Nilgiri Hills, Devala, 1000–1100m, xi-1960 (1♂, ZMAN).
Paratype: INDIA. Castle Rock, N. Kanara dist., 11–26.x.1916, S. Kemp, Zool. S. Ind. (1♀, BMNH).
Comments. Nothybus procerus is the only Nothybus known from southern India. Compared to other species in the N. kempi group, it has a relatively large glossy facial spot, a small faded cloud on CuA1 close to r-m, pale tergites 3 and 5, an entirely pale pleuron, a very high and narrow surstylus, and a phallus that is apically distinctive.
description: Published as part of Lonsdale, O. & Marshall, S. A., 2016, Revision of the family Nothybidae (Diptera: Schizophora), pp. 1-42 in Zootaxa 4098 (1) on pages 27-28, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4098.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/271096