Empis (Enoplempis) dubitata Sinclair, Brooks & Cumming, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Sinclair, Bradley J.
name: Brooks, Scott E.
name: Cumming, Jeffrey M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Empididae
Empis
Empis dubitata

description: Empis (Enoplempis) dubitata sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: BB040C10-2CF4-4CF5-8708-24AEB9413900
(Figs 308–311, 324)
Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, labelled: “[USA] StanU [37°25′N 122°10′W] Cal/ 11 Apr1906 ”; “ALMelander/ Collection/ 1961”; “ HOLOTYPE / Empis (Enoplempis) / dubitata Sinclair,/ Brooks & Cumming [red label]” [right wing, right foreleg and both midlegs missing] (USNM). PARATYPES: USA. California: Fresno County: Coalinga [36°08′N 120°21′W], 10.v.1962, 10 mi. W, R. M. Bohart (1♂, UCDC). Monterey County: Hastings Res. [36°22′N 121°33′W], 19.v.1938, C.D. Mich [e]ner (1♂, CSUC).
Diagnosis. This species is distinguished from other species of the subgenus by the male with narrowly dichoptic eyes, hind tibia with flattened anteroventral process with digitiform apical lobe and inner trim of black setae, hind femur with pair of nipple-like posteroventral lobes (Figs 310, 311) and tarsomeres 1 and 2 on all legs with strong ventral setae as long or longer than width of tarsomere (Fig. 309).
Description. Wing length 7.0– 7.3 mm. Male. Head dark in ground-colour, with greyish pruinescence. Eyes narrowly separated on frons; frons as narrow as width of anterior ocellus; short setulae along inner margin of eye. Face without setae; short, slightly divergent towards mouthparts, with oral margin dark and shiny. Ocellar triangle elevated, with thin greyish pruinescence, with pair of parallel short ocellar setae, subequal to length of postocular setae and several pairs of short setulae. Occiput bearing single row of setae, stronger than postocular setae; postocular setae shorter than occipital row; postocellar region without setae. Antenna dark brown; scape 2× longer than pedicel, with short, black setae; pedicel with ring of apical setae; postpedicel long, slightly tapered, 5.5× longer than basal width; stylus length 1.5× basal width of postpedicel. Palpus pale yellowish brown, with dark setulae. Proboscis yellowish brown, length less than 2× head height; labellum with short, dark setae.
Thorax dark brown in ground-colour, densely grey pruinescent, with 2 pairs of brown vittae; median narrower pair between acr and dc rows, ending at prescutellar depression; faint broader outer vittae extending to postalar ridge; postpronotal lobe, lower margin of notopleuron, postalar ridge and outer margin of scutellum yellowish. Proepisternum with several pairs of short setae on lower section; upper proepisternum in front of spiracle without setae. Prosternum bare. Antepronotum with several pairs of lateral setae. Postpronotum with 1 long seta and several short setae. Scutum with sparse uniserial row of acr; dc uniserial, longer and stronger than acr, increasing in size posteriorly; 1–2 posterior npl, with 1–2 slender anterior npl; 1 presut spal; 1 psut spal; 1 pal. Scutellum with pair of short to long apical sctl, with or without pair of outer, shorter marginal setae; disc bare. Laterotergite with 3–6 short to long setae. Anterior and posterior spiracles pale.
Legs long, yellowish brown, with apical tarsomeres darker; coxae without blue pruinescence. Hind trochanter with numerous dark setulae. Femora without white ventral pile. Fore femur without anteroventral and posteroventral row of short setulae. Fore tibia with 2–4 erect anterodorsal and posterodorsal setae, shorter than width of tibia; 1–3 posteroventral setae; anterior face with short appressed setae; apex with circlet of preapical setae. Fore tarsomere 1 not expanded; tarsomeres 1–5 with biserial row of spine-like ventral setae, ventral setae on tarsomere 1 longer than width of segment; tarsomeres 1–4 with apicolateral pair of spine-like setae, longer than width of segment. Mid femur with anteroventral and posteroventral row of short setulae. Mid tibia with 1–2 pairs of erect anterodorsal and posterodorsal setae not longer than width of tibia; 2–4 anteroventral and posteroventral setae not longer than width of tibia; apex with circlet of preapical setae. Mid tarsus similar to fore tarsus. Hind femur with rows of short, thickened anteroventral setae on apical fifth, with short distal lobe with similar apical setae; transverse brush of short, strong setae on apical fifth, longer and on slight swelling on posterior face; pair of nipple-like lobes distal to transverse brush; transverse row of 5–7 thickened posteroventral setae distal to nipple-like lobes, with row of stiff setae above; preapex with strong posterior, anterodorsal and anterior seta (Figs 310, 311). Hind tibia with base not greatly narrowed; base with flattened anteroventral process with digitiform apical lobe and inner trim of black setae; posteroventral process triangular with conical apex; 2–5 erect anterodorsal and posterodorsal setae, about as long as width of tibia; 2–4 strong anteroapical setae; posteroapical comb with seta (Figs 309–311). Hind tarsus with tarsomere 1 slightly swollen, with 1–2 erect dorsal setae; tarsomeres similar to mid tarsus.
Wing lightly infuscate with dark veins; all veins well sclerotized; veins mostly complete (except Sc), with CuA+CuP reaching wing margin. Basal costal seta absent. R 5 and M 1 divergent near wing margin; R 5 ending near wing tip; radial fork acute. Halter pale, yellowish brown.
Abdomen concolourous with thorax, greyish pubescent, tergites brown, with pale posterior margins; posterior half of tergite 7 and sclerites of segment 8 shiny; sclerites of segment 8 narrowly fused anterolaterally. Terminalia (Fig. 324): brown, with posterior half of epandrium and phallus yellowish brown. Cercus long and linear, tapered to narrow, shallowly forked apex, shorter than epandrium; dorsal margin straight; dorsal setae longer than width of cercus. Subepandrial process with truncate apex, extending to either side of phallus. Epandrial lamella subtriangular, posterior margin rounded, with low expanded dorsoapical ridge; fused with cercus anteriorly; apical setae short, longer setae along ventral margin, shorter than width of epandrium. Hypandrium short, apical margin truncate, with numerous short setae. Phallus expanded on lower half; tapered and arched to narrow apex; apex emerging beyond cerci, with papilla-like projections on apical section; ejaculatory apodeme broad, half length of epandrium, Y-shaped, with lateral apodemes near lower margin.
Female. Unknown.
Geographical distribution and seasonal occurrence (Fig. 308). Empis (En.) dubitata sp. nov. is known from central California. Adults have been collected in April and May.
Etymology. Named from the Latin for uncertain, in reference to this being one of the species that is unplaced to species group.
Nuptial gift presentation. Form unknown.
description: Published as part of Sinclair, Bradley J., Brooks, Scott E. & Cumming, Jeffrey M., 2025, Revision of the western Nearctic species of Empis subgenus Enoplempis (Diptera: Empididae), pp. 1-200 in Zootaxa 5615 (1) on pages 156-157, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5615.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15217957