Morellia (Morellia) curvitibia Stein 1913
Creators: name: Pamplona, Denise
name: Nihei, Silvio S.
name: Couri, Márcia S.
name: Pont, Adrian C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Muscidae
Morellia
Morellia curvitibia

description: 12. Morellia (M.) curvitibia Stein, 1913
(Figs 46–51)
Morellia curvitibia Stein, 1913: 463. Type locality: Tanzania, Mt Kilimandjaro. Syntypes: 2 ƋƋ, 3 ♀♀, HNHM (destroyed 1956), and 1 Ƌ, 1 ♀, ZMHB (Pont & Werner 2006: 38; Pont 2013: 66; seen).
Redescription. Colour. Black. Frontal vitta and fronto-orbital plate at upper middle black, fronto-orbital plate at lower middle, face, parafacial and gena black with silver pruinosity; antenna black with grey pruinosity; palpus black; mesonotum metallic black with one silver dusted central vitta along presutural acrostichals; postpronotal lobe, notopleuron and pleura silver pruinose, pleura more intensely so, with a presutural transverse stripe of grey pruinosity; legs brown; haltere yellow; calypters yellow with a white edge, upper calypter on outer half white and opaque; wing without dark maculae; abdomen with a shifting tessellated pattern, last tergite with silver pruinosity.
Male. Body length: 7.0– 7.5 mm; wing length: 7.0–8.0 mm.
Head. Eyes bare but with the usual minute and scattered hairs, separated at level of anterior ocellus by about 0.10 of head width; frons divergent towards lunule; ocellar triangle with a pair of setae and few long setulae; 15–20 pairs of frontal setae, some of them fine; postpedicel 3.0–3.1 times the length of pedicel; pedicel with 3 setae and a few setulae; arista plumose, with 16–18 cilia, bare apicad, and with some secondary plumes as far as level of 5th or 6th cilia; vibrissa as long as arista; 1 or 2 strong supravibrissal setae, half as long as vibrissa, and many other setulae that extend to level of middle of postpedicel; 6–7 subvibrissal setae followed by 6–7 genal setae.
Thorax. Acrostichals 0+2, the first pair weaker; dorsocentrals 0+2; intra-alars 1+1; presutural 1; prealar 1; supra-alars 2; postpronotals 3; notopleuron with 2 long subequal setae and covered with ground-setulae; postalars 2; intrapostalar 1; scutellum with 1 basal, 1 latero-discal and 1 apical pairs of setae, and latero-ventrally with many setae, the basalmost ones downcurved; postalar wall bare; suprasquamal ridge bare; proepisternal depression bare; proepimeron with 5–6 long setae and many setulae; prosternum broad and bare; anepisternum with a posterior row of about 10 setae, with 2 weak setae upcurved on upper-anterior corner, and covered with short setulae; katepisternals 1+2; anepimeron extensively setulose; katepimeron bare; anatergite bare; katatergite setulose. Legs: fore femur with a posterodorsal row of setae on apical two-thirds, becoming shorter basad, and a complete posteroventral row of setae; fore tibia with a posterodorsal row of short and strong setae, 1 dorsal and 1 anterodorsal preapical setae, 1 anteroventral and 1 ventral apical setae, and anterior surface with a brush-like ctenidium of golden setulae; mid femur without an apical tubercle, with 2 anterior setae on middle third, 3 posterior to posterodorsal preapical setae, a posterior row of fine setae on apical third, and with only short setulae ventrally; mid tibia with an anterodorsal comb-like row of short and weak setae, 4 short and strong setae, 1 dorsal and 1 anterodorsal preapical setae and 1 posteroventral, 2 ventral and 1 anteroventral apical setae; hind femur with 3 or 4 anteroventral setae on apical third and some finer and shorter setae on middle third, an anterodorsal row of setae, 1 posterodorsal and 1 posterior preapical setae, posterior surface with a group of basal setulae, with a ventral row of fine and short setae on basal half, and a few posteroventral setulae on apical fourth; hind tibia slightly curved, with an anteroventral row of setae on apical half, an anterior row of setae of which 5 are longer and others shorter and finer on basal two-thirds, 1 subapical seta on posterodorsal surface, 1 posterior seta on basal third, 1 posteroventral comb of fine setae on middle third, 1 anterodorsal and 1 dorsal preapical setae, and 1 posteroventral and 2 anteroventral apical setae; hind tarsus with a golden brush ventrally. Wing with a uniform covering of microtrichia; dm-cu sinuous; stem-vein bare on dorsal surface, and ventrally with about 4 short setulae before humeral crossvein and bare after humeral cross-vein; R2+3 bare on dorsal and ventral surfaces; R4+5 setulose from base to r-m on dorsal surface, with 2 longer setulae on base, and 2 setulae on base of ventral surface; 2 strong setae on basicosta.
Abdomen. With a lateral tuft of setulae on syntergite 1+2; tergites 3, 4 and 5 with stronger setae laterally; sternite 1 setulose; posterior margin of sternite 5 deeply concave and with few setae (Fig. 46).
Terminalia. Inner middle third of cercal plate straight; surstylus with setae on apical half (Figs 47–48); aedeagal apodeme narrowed apically; aedeagus with spicules on anterior membrane of distiphallus; basiphallus long; gonopod with two long and strong setae on basal half; paramere narrowed and with many setae apically (Fig. 49).
Female. Body length: 7.0 mm; wing length: 7.0– 7.5 mm.
Similar to male, differing as follows: eyes separated at level of anterior ocellus by about 0.26–0.30 of head width; fronto-orbital plate with 4 strong proclinate setae, the uppermost one weak, and 5 proclinate setulae, and 2 reclinate setae; hind femur with weaker setae and without the posterior setulae; hind tibia with shorter setae on anterior surface, only 3 setae on anteroventral surface and without a comb on posteroventral surface; hind tarsus without modifications in shape or bristling.
Ovipositor. Tergite 6 golf-club-shaped and rod-like, posteriorly with 2 large plates with setae; tergite 7 rodlike, anteriorly enlarged, posteriorly with 2 plates with setae; tergite 8 sinuous, rod-like, posteriorly with 2 plates with strong spines; sternite 6 rod-like, anteriorly broadened, posteriorly with 1 plate with setae; sternite 7 rod-like, posteriorly with 1 plate with setae; sternite 8 rod-like, posteriorly with 2 plates with setae; epiproct with 4 setae; hypoproct longer than broad with many setae; cercus long and cylindrical (Figs 50–51).
Material examined. TANZANIA: Kilimandjaro, x.1904, Katona, 1Ƌ and 1 ♀ syntypes (ZMHB); UGANDA: West Ruwenzori, 8–9000 feet, vii.1945, van Someren, 1 Ƌ, 1 ♀ (BMNH); Bwamba Valley, vii.1945, van Someren, 1 Ƌ, 1 ♀ (BMNH).
Distribution. AFROTROPICAL: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo.
description: Published as part of Pamplona, Denise, Nihei, Silvio S., Couri, Márcia S. & Pont, Adrian C., 2016, Taxonomy of Morellia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Muscidae): revision of the subgenera Morellia s. str. and Parapyrellia Townsend, pp. 1-110 in Zootaxa 4163 (1) on pages 34-36, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4163.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/259278