Mallota glabra Meyer, Goergen, Midgley & Jordaens, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Meyer, Marc De
name: Goergen, Georg
name: Midgley, John
name: Jordaens, Kurt
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Mallota
Mallota glabra

description: Mallota glabra sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 6B74F8B8-4710-479B-AB48-59B32F4CDE04
Figs 5, 15, 22, 29, 36, 41, 51
Differential diagnosis
This species belongs to a group differentiated from other Afrotropical species of Mallota by the distinctly long pilose eyes and dichoptic eyes in both sexes. It can be differentiated from M. aenigma and M. hircus sp. nov. by the bare clypeus (with a tuft of long pile in M. aenigma and M. hircus). It is most closely related to M. dasyops but can be differentiated by the blunt apex of the metatibia, rather than pointed as in M. dasyops, and the bare medioventral part of the metafemur (with short black pilosity in M. dasyops). Specimens of M. glabra sp. nov. are in general larger and have more extensive black pilosity on scutum and scutellum, but these characters are not exclusive.
Etymology
After the Latin ‘ glabrum ’ for ‘bald’, referring to the absence of pile in the medioventral part of the metafemur. The specific epithet should be treated as an adjective (nominative singular feminine).
Type material
Holotype
SOUTH AFRICA • ♂; KwaZulu-Natal, Dlinza Forest N.R.; 3 Nov. 2020; Midgley and Bellingan leg.; NMSA, NMSA DIP 206104.
Paratypes
SOUTH AFRICA – Eastern Cape • 1 ♀; Ciskei, 23 km N of King William’s Town; 26–27 Jan. 1984; D. and C. Barraclough leg.; NMSA, NMSA DIP 50179. – KwaZulu-Natal • 1 ♀; Karkloof; 13 Nov. 2018; K. Jordaens leg.; RMCA, RMCA AB59880787 • 1 ♂; oNgoye (Ngoye) Forest; 22–23 Apr. 2006; G.B.P. Davies leg.; NMSA, NMSA DIP 65015 • 1 ♀; oNgoye Forest N.R.; 6 Nov. 2020; Midgley and Bellingan leg.; NMSA, NMSA DIP 205936. – Limpopo • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; N Transvaal, Zoutpansberg Range, Entabeni For. Station; Jan. 1975; Stuckenberg leg.; NMSA, NMSA DIP 48401, NMSA DIP 63846. – Western Cape • 1 ♂; Cape, Outeniqua State For. near Knysna; 23 Jan. 1984; D. and C. Barraclough leg.; NMSA, NMSA DIP 49398 • 1 ♂; Cape, Storm’s River State Forest; 24 Jan. 1984; D. and C. Barraclough leg.; NMSA, NMSA DIP 49880 • 1 ♀; Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve; 3 Dec. 2023; J.M. Midgley and G.L. Theron leg.; NMSA, NMSA DIP 222552 • 1 ♂; Groenkop Forest; 18 Dec. 2021; R.C. Swart leg.; RMCA • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; 29 Jan. 2022; RMCA.
Description
Body length: 12.5–14.5 mm. Wing length: 9.0–11.0 mm.
Male
HEAD (Fig. 15). Eye with medium long to long whitish pile; dichoptic, separated for distance at most equal to ocellus of ocellar triangle, ommatidia equal in size. Frons protruding, in lateral view equal to or slightly beyond facial tubercle; ground colour black, narrowly yellow along ventral margin; predominantly shining, dorsally light grey pollinosity, along eye margins more densely grey to grey-brown pollinosity; with long pale brown pile. Ocellar triangle black; long black pilose. Face (Fig. 22) ground colour black, sometimes sublateral band from eye margin to oral margin more yellow-brown; with whitish pollinosity, facial tubercle and medial part ventral of tubercle non-pollinose; with dispersed long yellow pile along dorsolateral margins, otherwise bare; facial tubercle weakly pronounced.Antennal segments black-brown, postpedicel sometimes black; arista bare, brown; postpedicel longer than wide.
THORAX (Fig. 5). Scutum subshining black; with grey pollinosity, with long pale brown pile; anteriorly and medially fasciae with more brownish pollinosity and dark brown pile. Scutellum yellow-brown, paler than scutum; with long pale yellow pile; anteromedially with distinct black pile. Pleura ground colour black; posterior anepisternum, katepisternum and anterior anepimeron with long pale brown pile, otherwise bare.
LEGS. Femora mainly black, with orange-red maculae in basal third, metafemur more extensively yellow to orange-red; with short to long dense pale yellow pile except ventrally where short black pile. Metafemur (Fig. 29) greatly thickened, in anterior view medial part about three times as broad as apex; medioventral part bare (Fig. 36). Pro- and mesotibia predominantly black; with short pale yellow pile; metatibia curved with apex bluntly pointed and covered with short blunt spines (Fig. 29), entirely dark brown; with short predominantly black pile, few pale yellow hairs. Tarsal segments orange-red; with short black pile.
WING (Fig. 41). Largely hyaline; most areas microtrichose. Stigmal cross-vein present between distal end of vein Sc and middle of vein R 1. Vein R 4+5 sinuate, without appendix.
ABDOMEN (Fig. 51). Mainly shining black; tergum 1 pale orange ground colour; white pollinose; with long white pile. Tergum 2 with pair of yellow-orange maculae narrowly separated along medial line, posteriorly with narrow yellowish margin; predominantly short whitish pile except along posterior black part where black; tergum 3 along anterior margin with yellow-orange maculae; grey pollinose narrowly along anterior margin, with medial interruption; with short whitish pile except in posterior fourth where black and slightly longer; tergum 4 predominantly black, posteriorly with narrow yellowish margin; with mixed black and whitish pile. Sterna pale yellow to red-brown, posteriorly sometimes darker; with very long, dispersed whitish pile.
Female
As male except frons intermixed pale yellow and black pile, dorsally predominantly black. Apex metatibia not bluntly pointed.
Distribution
South Africa.
Comments
Although very similar to M. dasyops, it is clearly a distinct species and can be differentiated mainly by character states of the metafemur and metatibia, as outlined in the diagnosis and the key. It has a much more restricted distribution with material available from South Africa only. Mallota glabra sp. nov. is morphologically most similar to M. dasyops but apart from the morphological differences, DNA barcodes also show substantial differentiation between both species (mean interspecific p-distance of 7%; range of interspecific p-distances: 6.8–7.3%) (Fig. 57; Table 2). The range of intraspecific p-distances in both species is much narrower (0–0.3%).
description: Published as part of Meyer, Marc De, Goergen, Georg, Midgley, John & Jordaens, Kurt, 2024, On the identity of the Afrotropical species of Mallota Meigen (Diptera: Syrphidae), pp. 242-290 in European Journal of Taxonomy 958 (1) on pages 259-263, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.958.2675, http://zenodo.org/record/13914492