Manota sicula Hippa, 2007, sp. n.
Creators: name: Hippa, Heikki
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2007
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Mycetophilidae
Manota
Manota sicula

description: Manota sicula sp. n.
(Figs 21 A–E)
A large-sized Manota.
Male. Coloration. Pale brown, frons, vertex and occiput, and abdominal tergites darker brown, mouthparts and legs paler than thorax, wing unicolorous, hyaline, almost colourless, knob of haltere dark. Head. Antennal flagellomere 4, Fig. 21 E. Palpomere 3 of maxillary palpus with apicomesial extension, with 4 apically expanded curved sensilla; palpomere 4 with parasegment. Thorax. Pleural setosity pattern similar to M. bicuspis, Fig. 1 E: anepisternum setose, with 40–50 setae; anterior basalare non-setose; preepisternum 2 setose, with 14–15 setae; laterotergite setose, with ca. 30–36 setae; episternum 3 setose, with 4–7 setae. Wing. Length 2.1 mm. Hypopygium (Figs 21 A–D). Sternite 9 extending posteriorly just over halfway between the base of gonocoxa and the base of gonostylus, posteriorly broader than anteriorly, lateral margin distinct, posterior margin convex with a notch medially, anterior margin deeply incised, the setae similar to adjacent ventral setae of gonocoxa, at apical margin with a transverse row of three stronger setae on both sides. Parastylar lobe exposed in ventral view, a roundish flat plate with three setae directed mesiad. Paraapodemal lobe distinct and exposed in ventral view, not shown in Fig. 21 D, similar to M. parilis, Fig. 18 A. The dorsal mesial margin of gonocoxa slightly concave near middle, followed posteriorly by a very indistinct low setose lobe which in turn is followed by a more posterior, triangular, mesially setose lobe and in a more ventral position a weakly two-branched lobe with a group of setae at the tip of both branches. Two juxtagonostylar setae present, a curved megaseta and a normal seta, both arising from a common basal body which is nearly as long as the megaseta, the megaseta apical on the basal body, the seta more basal at the side of it. Gonostylus flattened, unusually complicated by several lobes, the setae similar to the ventral setae of gonocoxa, with a few long setae at ventral mesial margin, with several long setae on an apicodorsal lobe, on the ventral part of the apical margin with one mesially directed megaseta and three long setae arising from a lobe ventrally from the megaseta, the mesial surface of gonostylus with two crest-like longitudinal lobes, without setae but with an area of long microtrichia. Tegmen unusual in shape, constricted at middle. Hypoproct posteriorly extending just beyond the level of the base of gonostylus, with ca. 20 scattered ventral setae on each half. Cerci mesially united but separated posteriorly by a deep notch.
Female and preimaginal stages unknown.
Discussion. In its hypopygium, M. sicula resembles M. hamulata, M. bicuspis, M. parilis, M. evexa, M. orthacantha, M. pentacantha and M. pacifica. It is distinguished from all these species by having stergite 9 posteriorly broader than anteriorly, from all except possibly M. pacifica by the transverse row of strong setae on both sides at the posterior margin of stergite 9, from all but M. evexa by the low plate-like parastylar lobe, and from all by the many-lobed gonostylus and the tegmen constricted at middle. M. pacifica may have similar strong setae at the apical margin of stergite 9 as in M. sicula. For further discussion, see under M. pacifica. The many-lobed gonostylus of M. sicula is reminiscent of M. maorica, but the detailed structure of the gonostylus as well as other characters of the hypopygium are very dissimilar (cf. Figs 3 A–C and 21A–D). M. sicula is similar to M. orthacantha in having the antennal flagellar segments long, flagellomere 4 about twice as long as broad instead of as long as or only slightly longer than broad. With their wing length over 2 mm, these two species are larger than the other similar species.
Types. Holotype. Male, Papua New Guinea, Morobe province, Ilauru, Mt. Kolorong, 2200 m, primary forest, Malaise trap, 30.X.–11.XI.1999, H. Hippa, R. Norberg and D. Borisch (in NRM).
Paratypes. 1 male with same data except 2260 m (in NRM).
description: Published as part of Hippa, Heikki, 2007, The genus Manota Williston (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) in Melanesia and Oceania, pp. 1-44 in Zootaxa 1502 on pages 40-42, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.177118