Mallota wyatti Meyer, Goergen, Midgley & Jordaens, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Meyer, Marc De
name: Goergen, Georg
name: Midgley, John
name: Jordaens, Kurt
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Mallota
Mallota wyatti

description: Mallota wyatti sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 1D4C04B8-6555-4E39-A269-16F6A290418D
Figs 9, 19, 24, 33, 45, 55
Differential diagnosis
This species belongs to a group of three species which are characterized by the combination of the following character states: eyes short pilose, holoptic eyes in the male, the metafemur only moderately thickened and ventral pile of metatibia longer (at least half as long as width). Mallota wyatti sp. nov. can be differentiated from M. stipulata sp. nov. by the more pronounced facial tubercle (hardly present in M. stipulata) and the long frontal and ocellar pile (shorter in M. stipulata). Our new species is almost identical to M. extrema and the main diagnostic character to differentiate them is the colouration of abdominal tergum 2: predominantly dark black-brown to black with paler colouration that is limited to the anterodorsal corner of the tergum, posteriorly never reaching beyond half of the length (in M. extrema paler colouration as a lateral triangular macula, the posterior margin (almost) reaching the posterodorsal corner of the tergum; occasionally the triangular maculae are extended, touching medially and forming a complete fascia occupying more than half of the entire length of the tergum). In addition, the metafemur is largely black-brown coloured, at most with restricted dark orange macula in basal fourth (more distinctly coloured orange in the basal third in M. extrema), and the abdominal sterna 1–3 are completely dark black-brown (partially yellow-orange in M. extrema).
Etymology
Named in honour of Mr Nigel Wyatt, who was the curator of the Diptera collection at NHMUK, for his kind assistance and diligent curation of this collection over the last four decades. The specific epithet should be treated as a noun in the genitive case.
Type material
Holotype
TOGO • ♂; Kloto; Dec. 2021; G. Goergen leg.; RMCA, RMCA AB72067310.
Paratypes
TOGO • 1 ♀; Kloto; Jan. 2021; G. Goergen leg.; IITA, IITA AB72067305 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; Feb. 2022; RMCA, RMCA AB72094771.
REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (Congo-Brazzaville) • 1 ♀; Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Mbeli Camp; 3–10 Oct. 2022; V. Dérozier, B. Fouka, A. Kirk-Spriggs and H. Takano leg.; carrion bait; ANHRT, ANHRTUK00278668 • 1 ♀; same data as for preceding; 14–20 Feb. 2023; N. Bakala, V. Dérozier, A. Kirk-Spriggs and G. Laszlo leg.; carrion bait; ANHRT, ANHR TUK00282323.
Description
Body length: 11.0– 13.5 mm. Wing length: 9.0–10.0 mm.
Male
HEAD (Fig. 19). Eye with short silvery pile; holoptic, eye contiguity for distance at least equal to 1.5 times length of ocellar triangle, ommatidia equal in size. Frons protruding, in lateral view equal or slightly beyond facial tubercle; ground colour black, dorsal of antennae shining, otherwise light dark brown pollinosity, along eye margins more greyish; with long intermixed black and whitish pile, along lateral margins paler coloured, medially darker. Ocellar triangle black; short to medium long black pilose. Face ground colour black medially, sometimes more yellow laterally; with grey pollinosity, more densely so along eye margins, facial tubercle and ventrally of antennae non-pollinose; with dispersed long pale yellow pile along dorsolateral margins, otherwise bare; facial tubercle weakly pronounced. Clypeus smooth, without tuft of pile. Antennal segments black-brown to black; arista bare, black-brown; postpedicel longer than wide.
THORAX (Fig. 9). Scutum subshining black; with grey to brown pollinosity, with long mixed pale yellow and black pile. Scutellum (Fig. 24) yellow-brown, paler than scutum; with long pale yellow pile; anteromedially few black pile. Pleura ground colour black; posterior anepisternum, katepisternum and anterior anepimeron with long pale brown pile, otherwise bare.
LEGS. Mainly black, sometimes base of femora; protibia at base pale orange, mesotibia orange area extending beyond middle of tibia. Proleg with intermixed black and pale yellow short pile, in distal half femur anteriorly with short dense black pile, posteriorly long dense predominantly black pile. Mesoleg predominantly short pale yellow pile, femur posteriorly long dense pale yellow pile. Metaleg (Fig. 33), femur moderately thickened, with long dense pale yellow pile, except ventrally and at apex where predominantly black; tibia curved, with conspicuous short black pile, ventrally longer pile, basally sometimes more pale yellow.
WING (Fig. 45). Largely hyaline; weak microtrichose, absent in parts. Distal end of vein Sc and middle of vein R 1 without distinct stigmal cross-vein but with darker brown macula between the veins. Vein R 4+5 sinuate, without appendix.
ABDOMEN (Fig. 55). Mainly shining black; tergum 1 completely or predominantly black, white pollinose; with long white pile. Tergum 2 with pair of orange-red maculae restricted to anterodorsal corners of tergum; medial vitta of dense grey pollinosity along entire length except for anterior third, along posterior margin fascia of weaker pollinosity; predominantly short to medium long whitish pile except along posterior margin where black; terga 3 and 4 distinctly grey pollinose along anterior margin, continued posteriorly along medial line, posterior margin fascia of weaker pollinosity; tergum 3 with short whitish pile except in posterior half to fourth where black; tergum 4 predominantly black pile. Sterna black; sterna 1–3 with very long, dispersed whitish pile; sterna 4–5 with dispersed black pile.
Female
As male except eyes dichoptic; frons shining black dorsally of antennae, medially and along eye margins with distinct pollinosity, ventrally whitish and gradually darkening dorsally till brown-black anterior of ocellar triangle; pilosity black anterior of ocellar triangle. Scutum, pilosity predominantly pale yellow.
Distribution
Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Togo.
Comments
This species resembles M. extrema very closely. However, DNA analysis places representatives in a separate cluster from M. extrema. There are a few morphological characters that appear to be consistently different between the two species, as outlined in the diagnostic descriptions. Material of both entities were found in sympatry in the Republic of the Congo and in Togo. Apart from the morphological differences, DNA barcodes also show substantial differentiation from M. extrema (mean interspecific p-distance = 3.6%; range interspecific p-distances: 3.2–3.9%) and M. stipulata sp. nov. (mean interspecific p-distance = 4.9%; range interspecific p-distances: 4.8–5.3%) (Fig. 57; Table 2). The range of intraspecific p-distances in both species is much narrower (0–0.5%).
description: Published as part of Meyer, Marc De, Goergen, Georg, Midgley, John & Jordaens, Kurt, 2024, On the identity of the Afrotropical species of Mallota Meigen (Diptera: Syrphidae), pp. 242-290 in European Journal of Taxonomy 958 (1) on pages 270-275, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.958.2675, http://zenodo.org/record/13914492