Litoleptis niyodoensis Imada & Kato, sp. n.
Creators: name: Imada, Yume
name: Kato, Makoto
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Rhagionidae
Litoleptis
Litoleptis niyodoensis

description: Litoleptis niyodoensis Imada & Kato sp. n.
[Japanese name: niyodo-jingasa-shitone-abu] (Figs. 3 e, 3f, 4c, 7)
Description. Body length: 2.9 mm (n=7) in male, 3.1 mm (n=3) in female. Wing length: 2.7 mm (n=7) in male, 3.0 mm (n=3) in female. Head Frons bare in male, with sparse setae in female. Antenna 0.47 mm (n=3). Antenna 1.1 times as long as diameter of eye, densely covered with short setae consistently. First flagellomere elongate as long tapering segment or oval and enlarged near base, concave ventrally at basal one-third to half; distal end not enlarged (Fig. 7 a). Male (Fig. 7 b) Gonostylus with flat, oblong-shaped extension apically, bluntly pointed inwardly at apex; undulating in posterior edge of basal part. Sperm sac bulbous hardly visible. Lateral ejaculatory process integrated into sperm sac, elongate transversely accompanying with distal end of sperm sac. Ejaculatory apodeme short, round at anterior margin of gonocoxite. Posteromedial margin in ventral surface of gonocoxite bear 5–7 bristles. Aedeagus tapering toward apex, connected with gonocoxite at paramere at thick and wide joint. Paramere swollen dorsally near distal end, widest at connection with aedeagus, approximately three times as wide as distal end. Female (Fig. 7 c) Spermatheca membranous, rounded at end. Spermathecal duct accessory gland prominent, with short and sclerotized columnar duct, arising at approximately two-thirds the distal length between genital chamber and spermatheca, with saccate structure visible. Common spermathecal duct absent. Genital chamber small.
Type material. Holotype. JAPAN [HONSHU] 1♂, emerged 29.III.2011 from larva collected by MK on 27. II.2011 at Yasuikeikoku, Kouchi Pref (Fig. 1:11), “Rh 0184”, NMNS. Paratypes. 7♂, 3♀ (Rh 0185–0194) emerged during 27–29.III.2011 from larvae collected by MK on 27. II.2011, same locality as holotype, KUHE. Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, taken from Niyodo river, the main stream of Yasui river flowing near the type locality.
Distribution. Japan (Honshu: Kouchi Prefecture) (Fig. 1).
Natural history. Habitat of this species is similar to that of L. kiiensis. Larvae of this species are miners of thallus of Reboulia hemisphaerica. Adults emerged in spring (March, in laboratory condition).
Diagnosis. Litoleptis niyodoensis resembles L. kiiensis and himukaensis, and be distinguished from them by the following characters: first flagellomere tapering toward apex with a slight depression at basal one-third to half without enlarged apex; gonostylus with oblong-shaped extension, undulating in posterior edge of basal part; posteromedial margin in ventral surface of gonocoxite bear 5–7 bristles; paramere swollen posteriorly near distal end (without swollen in other two species); spermatheca rounded at end in female (as opposed to conical-shaped in L. kiiensis).
description: Published as part of Imada, Yume & Kato, Makoto, 2016, Bryophyte-feeding of Litoleptis (Diptera: Rhagionidae) with descriptions of new species from Japan, pp. 41-58 in Zootaxa 4097 (1) on pages 49-50, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4097.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/271005