Antocha (Antocha) bifida Alexander 1924
Creators: name: Podenas, Sigitas
name: Young, Chen W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Limoniidae
Antocha
Antocha bifida

description: Antocha (Antocha) bifida Alexander, 1924a
(Figs. 1, 2)
Antocha (Antocha) bifida Alexander, 1924a:564; Savchenko & Krivolutskaya, 1976:111; Savchenko, 1983:106; Lackschewitz, 1964:716; Torii, 1992:167; Podenas & Byun, 2013:170; Oosterbroek, 2015.
Diagnosis. This is a medium-sized crane fly. Body generally brownish gray dorsally and yellowish ventrally. Wings milky with indistinct light brown stigma. Ninth tergite of male genitalia with two small bumps on posterior margin, outer gonostylus with small emargination at tip. Ovipositor with smooth, slightly arched cercus, which ends in a miniature hook.
Description. Based on dry-mounted specimens of both sexes. Body length: Males 3.6–4.2 mm; females 5.7– 6.1 mm. Wing length: Males 4.75–5.60 mm; females 6.0– 6.8 mm.
Head. Head brownish gray or brown dorsally, light gray laterally and along the orbits. Antenna 16–segmented, 0.82–1.05 mm in males, 0.92–1.25 mm in females. Scape nearly cylindrical, yellowish. Pedicel brownish gray, wider distally. Basal flagellar segments brownish gray, distal segments brown. Basal segments oval, distal three segments elongate. Apical segment approximately as long as penultimate. Verticils shorter than respective segments, slightly longer than whitish pubescence covering flagellomeres. Rostrum grayish yellow, covered with scarce grayish pruinosity. Palpus grayish yellow basally, brownish distally.
Thorax. Overall ochreous. Antepronotum brown, covered with gray pruinosity. Mesonotal prescutum grayish yellow or gray with three confluent brown stripes. Median stripe broad and split longitudinally by narrow light median line. Mesonotal scutum brown with slightly lighter central part. Scutellum light gray with widely yellowish posterior margin. Mediotergite covered with dense light gray pruinosity, sometimes with darkened apex. Pleuron generally yellow, somewhat darkened frontally and slightly pruinose with gray. Wing subhyaline, milky. Stigma pale, nearly invisible. Wing venation typical for subgenus: discal cell closed, Rs very long and straight, anal angle big and nearly right-angled. Stem of haltere light gray with yellowish base. Knob slightly darkened apically. Haltere 0.62–0.95 mm long in males and 0.75–0.90 mm in females. Coxae yellow to yellowish brown, covered with gray pruinosity. Trochanters yellow to yellowish brown. Femur obscure yellow. Tibiae obscure yellow. Tarsi obscure yellow at base passing into brown distally. Male femur I: 4.15–4.75 mm long, II: 4.55–5.25 mm, III: 4.95– 5.60 mm; tibiae I: 4.60–5.35 mm, II: 3.95–4.60 mm, III: 4.85–5.65 mm; tarsus I: 3.95–4.75 mm, II: 3.60–3.75 mm, III: 3.60–4.20 mm long. Female femur I: 4.40–5.00 mm long, II: 5.10–6.05 mm, III: 5.50–6.10 mm; tibiae I: 5.55– 5.90 mm, II: 5.20–5.60 mm, III: 5.75–6.10 mm; tarsus I: 4.60–5.15 mm, II: 4.25–5.10 mm, III: 4.40–5.05 mm long. Claw with a single, slender subbasal spine.
Abdomen. Abdominal tergites brown, covered with sparce gray pruinosity, the caudal margins narrowly light yellowish gray. Tergites covered with sparse yellowish setae. Basal sternites grayish yellow, subterminal sternites brown with light yellowish gray caudal margins.
Hypopygium. Male genitalia yellow. Ninth tergite (Fig. 1) with two small bumps on posterioriorly and widely concave margin between them. Gonocoxite (Fig. 2) elongate, oval, having no extra lobes. Outer gonostylus slightly arched, bearing two small bumps at apex. Inner gonostylus fleshy, covered with scarce setae.
Ovipositor yellow, covered with erect whitish setae. Cercus long, narrow with upturned apex and smooth ventral margin. Cercus distinctly longer than hypovalvae. Tip of cercus with microscopic hook. Hypovalvae apically with abundant sharp triangle microscopic teeth.
Distribution. This species is widely distributed in Asia. It is known from Southern Siberia (Russia), Mongolia, Korea, Japan, China and Philippines. It was found at altitudes between 640 m and 750 m in Taiwan (Fig. 15), but it is known from much wider range of altitudes in Korea, where it was found from 50 to 1500 m altitudes (Podenas & Byun, 2013). Larvae of this species were collected in fast running mountainnous streams with sandy or rocky bottoms. Adults are flying or hiding in nearby vegetation. Adult flies of this species are attracted to light (Podenas & Byun, 2013).
Material examined. TAIWAN: Shishito (fflα% UAEdffi+ ®), 25 May 1917, col. T. Shiraki, 1 ♂ (identified as Antocha javanensis by Alexander); Shishito, 26 May 1917, col. T. Shiraki, 2 ♂ (identified as Antocha javanensis by Alexander, one of them was designated as allotype of A. javanensis by Alexander); Kaohsiung: Shanping (ffi-), 640 m, J. Rawlins, C. Young, 23–31 March 1988, 1 ♂; Nantou Co Ren-Ai, Huei-Sun Forest Station (AEffiUae), 24.0891N, 121.0294E, 650 m, C. Young, 14 April 2011, 2 ♂; Nantou, Hweishun Forest Station, 750 m, C. Young, 19 August 1996, 1 ♂, 4 ♀. Also compared with determined specimens from adjacent regions including Holotype and other type specimens, which are listed in Podenas & Byun (2013).
Remarks. Antocha bifida was described by Alexander in 1924a based on both male and female specimens collected in Hokkaido and Honshiu of Japan. This species is widely distributed in Eastern Palearctic and Oriental Regions. In more arid conditions with very cold winters on mainland such as in Mongolia, this is the only observed species of Antocha. In less harsh climate in Korea and Japan, A. bifida is the most common species found coexisting with other Antocha species (Torii, 1992; Podenas & Byun, 2013).
description: Published as part of Podenas, Sigitas & Young, Chen W., 2015, Antocha crane flies from Taiwan (Diptera: Limoniidae: Limoniinae), pp. 523-537 in Zootaxa 4048 (4) on pages 525-526, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4048.4.4, http://zenodo.org/record/244855