Morellia (Morellia) nigrisquama Malloch 1928
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 nigrisquama

description: 26. Morellia (M.) nigrisquama Malloch, 1928
(Figs 96–101)
Morellia nigrisquama Malloch, 1928b: 329. Type locality: INDONESIA, Sumatra, west coast, Gunung Singgalang. Holotype Ƌ, BMNH (van Emden 1965: 108; Pont 1970: 95; seen).
Redescription. Colour. Black, with grey pruinosity. Frontal vitta and fronto-orbital plate black; face and parafacial black with silver pruinosity and a little golden dust; gena with grey pruinosity; antenna black with grey pruinosity; palpus brown; mesonotum metallic black with one silver dusted central vitta presuturally along acrostichals; postpronotal lobe, notopleuron and pleura silver pruinose; legs dark brown; haltere yellow; calypters brown, upper calypter on outer half paler; wing without dark markings; abdomen with a shifting tessellated pattern and with silver pruinosity ventrally.
Male. Body length: 7.0–9.0 mm; wing length: 6.0–8.0 mm.
Head. Eyes bare, but with the usual minute and scattered hairs, separated at level of anterior ocellus by about 0.17 of head width; frons divergent towards lunule; ocellar triangle with 1 pair of setae and a few long setulae; 15 pairs of frontal setae; postpedicel about 3 times the length of pedicel; pedicel with 2 setae and a few setulae; arista plumose, with 23–26 cilia, bare apicad, and with some secondary plumes as far as level of 5th to 7th cilia; vibrissa shorter than arista; 1 strong supravibrissal seta, half as long as vibrissa, and many other long setulae that extend to level of basal fourth of postpedicel; 5 subvibrissal setae followed by 6–8 genal setae.
Thorax. Acrostichals 0+1; dorsocentrals 2+4; intra-alars 1+1; presutural 1; prealar 1; supra-alars 2; postpronotals 4, the innermost weaker; notopleuron with 2 long subequal setae and covered with ground-setulae; postalars 2; intrapostalar 1; scutellum with 1 basal, 2 discal and 1 apical pairs of setae, and latero-ventrally with many setae, the basalmost ones downcurved; postalar wall bare; suprasquamal ridge with short pile; proepisternal depression bare; proepimeron with about 4 long setae and a few setulae; prosternum broad and setulose; anepisternum with a posterior row of about 9 setae, with 2 weak setae upcurved on upper-anterior corner, and covered with short setulae; katepisternals 1+2; anepimeron setulose medially and on subalar ridge; katepimeron with 2 setulae; anatergite bare; katatergite setulose. Legs: fore femur with a posterodorsal row of setae on apical two-thirds and a posteroventral row of setae on apical two-thirds; fore tibia with a posterodorsal row of short and strong setae, the lowermost 3–4 long and weak, 3–4 long and weak posteroventral setae on apical half, 1 dorsal, 1 posterodorsal and 1 posteroventral preapical setae, and anterior surface with a brush-like ctenidium of golden setulae; fore tarsus with a golden ctenidium on apical half; mid femur without a tubercle, with 1 anterior seta on middle third, a posterior row on apical half and 3 posterior to posterodorsal preapical setae and 4 ventral setae on basal half; mid tibia with a posteroventral row of 4 strong setae on basal two-thirds, 1 anterodorsal and 1 dorsal preapical setae and 2 anteroventral, 1 posteroventral and 2 ventral apical setae; hind femur with an anteroventral row of setae on apical half, an anterodorsal row of setae, a dorsal row of strong setulae, a ventral row of weak setae on basal half, 2 posterodorsal preapical setae and a few posteroventral setulae on apical fourth; hind tibia with 5–6 short and subequal anteroventral setae on apical half, an anterior row of short and weak setae, 1 strong anterodorsal and 1 strong posterodorsal setae on apical third, 6 short and weak posteroventral setae on apical third, a posterior ctenidium on apex, 1 anterodorsal and 1 dorsal preapical setae, 1 anteroventral and 1 ventral apical setae; hind tarsus without modifications in shape or bristling. Wing with a uniform covering of microtrichia; dm-cu sinuous; stem-vein bare on dorsal surface, and ventrally with about 4–6 short setulae before humeral cross-vein and bare after humeral cross-vein; R2+3 bare on dorsal and ventral surfaces; R4+5 setulose from base to midway to r-m or almost to r-m on dorsal and ventral surfaces; 5–6 strong setae on basicosta.
Abdomen. With a lateral tuft of setulae on syntergite 1+2; tergites 2–5 with setae laterally; sternite 1 setulose; posterior margin of sternite 5 concave and with few setae (Fig. 96).
Terminalia. Apex of cercal plate like a spine; surstylus with 1 strong seta apically (Figs 97–98); aedeagal apodeme narrowed apically; basiphallus long; aedeagus bare; gonopod with 2 small setae on basal half; paramere with some small setae on middle third (Fig. 99).
Female. Body length: 7.0 mm; wing length: 6.0 mm.
Similar to male, differing as follows: eyes separated at level of anterior ocellus by 0.36–0.38 of head width; fronto-orbital plate with 2 proclinate setae; hind femur with an anteroventral row of setae, longer on apical half; hind tibia with 4 shorter and subequal anteroventral setae on apical half, without the anterodorsal and posterodorsal strong setae, 2 posteroventral setae on middle third.
Ovipositor. Tergite 6 as 2 rods, posteriorly with some very small setulae; tergite 7 as 2 rods, posteriorly strongly curved, 2 round plates with strong spines; tergite 8 as 2 rods; sternite 6 as 1 rod; sternite 7 as 1 rod, 2 round plates with strong spines; sternite 8 as 2 small plates with 2 small setae; enlarged spicules on intersegmental membrane between segments 6–7 and 7–8; epiproct large with 4 very small setulae; hypoproct with many setae; cercus cylindrical (Figs 100–101).
Material examined. INDONESIA: Sumatra, Gunung Singgalang, 1800 m, 1925, E. Jacobson, holotype Ƌ and 1 ♀ (BMNH); MALAYSIA, Pahang, Cameron Highlands, 5,000 feet, 8.vi.1974, C. E. Roche, 1 ♀ (BMNH).
Distribution. PALAEARCTIC: China (Xizang). ORIENTAL: China (Yunnan), Nepal, India (several states), Pakistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia (Bali, Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi). AUSTRALASIAN: Indonesia (Seram).
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 60-62, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4163.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/259278