Tomosvaryella setaria Motamedinia, Skevington & Foldvari 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Motamedinia, Behnam
name: Földvari, Mihaly
name: Skevington, Jeffrey H.
name: Kelso, Scott
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Pipunculidae
Tomosvaryella
Tomosvaryella setaria

description: Tomosvaryella setaria Motamedinia, Skevington & Földvari sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 387B86A2-A40F-43DE-83AE-2F8ADFC87C3A
Figs 88A–E, 135, 158C
Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by distinct spines along the posterior margin of sternites 2–4; hind trochanter with a small keel and some short bristles ventromedially; both gonopods with a long finger-like projection emerged from their bottom (Fig. 88A); phallic guide long, pointed at apex, widened at the middle with two longer spines in its middle and some short, scattered spines mostly basally (Fig. 88D–E).
Description: MALE: Body length: 3.5–3.6 mm. Head. Scape and pedicel dark brown. Pedicel with three upper bristles; flagellum light brown, gray pollinose and tapering. Face silvery pollinose. Frons, upper part shining black; lower part distinctly silver pollinose; eyes touching for distance equal to 1.5–2 times the length of ocellar triangle. Occiput covered by short dark bristles. Thorax. Postpronotum light yellow, with 2–4 distinct light brown bristles in upper margin. Mesonotum (viewed obliquely from front) silvery pollinose, anterior part grey; scutum with scattered bristles on anterior supra-alar area. Postalar callus light brown with 3–4 brown bristles on upper margin. Scutellum black, silvery pollinose with 10–15 short bristles along distal edge. Halter, knob pale, stem light brown. Legs. Mid coxa with 4–6 dark bristles, two longer than others. Coxae, trochanters, femora dark brown, hind femur shining ventrally, knees and basal 1/4 of tibiae yellow (tibiae otherwise brown), tarsal segments yellow ventrally and light brown dorsally, last segment darker. Fore trochanter with two distinct bristles ventroapically. Hind trochanter silvery pollinose, with a small keel and 3–6 short bristles ventromedially; ventrobasal spines absent on fore and mid femur, two rows of ventroapical spines present. Hind femur with two rows ventroapical spines.Tibiae with two rows of short black bristle on anterior and three rows on posterior side. Hind tarsomeres distinctly flattened (especially tarsomeres 1–3), hind metatarsus as long as 2–4 combined; posterior corners with distinct bristles on all tarsomeres. Pulvilli shorter than last tarsal segment. Wing. Length: 3.5 mm. Upper side of basal costal cell with one dark brown bristle. Fourth costal section 1.5–2 times as long as third costal section. Cross-vein r-m at middle of discal cell. 5–8 short dark setulae on tegula. Abdomen. Tergites 1, 5 silvery pollinose; tergite 4 with two grey spots laterally, otherwise brown pollinose. Lateral bristles on first tergite present, 6–10 long brown bristles up to as long as hind femur’s width at base; sternite 2 with 3–6 small dark spines in the middle of posterior margin; sternite 3–4 with two distinct dark spines along posterior margin. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium wider than long (MLE:MWE = 0.8). Surstyli symmetrical, rather straight and rectangular-shaped, left surstylus slightly wider than right one, right surstylus curved to left one at apex (Fig. 88A). Genital capsule in ventral view: gonopods rather unequal in height, left gonopod longer, right one wider than left one, both gonopods with long finger-like projection emerged from the base, left one extended towards surstyli, right one bent along inner margin of right gonopod; phallic guide long with two different-sized spines laterally, left spine longer and lower than right one; subepandrial sclerite wide and distinct (Fig. 88B); Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli widened, left surstylus gently curved towards sternite; right surstylus straight in apical two thirds with a small projection in its basal towards hypandrium; phallic guide long, pointed at apex, widened at the middle with two longer spines centrally and some short scattered spines mostly at its base (Fig. 88D–E). Ejaculatory apodeme tube-like, bent, with a bulb in its middle (Fig. 88C).
FEMALE: Body length: 3.2 mm. As male except for the following characters. Frons, eyes separated, as wide as the width at antennae; completely silver-grey pollinose on lower 1/3, shiny black only around directly ocellar triangle, smooth change in transition zone (just before ocellar triangle) to shiny black. Enlarged ommatidia silvery shining. Pulvilli and claws about 1.2–1.5 times as long as last tarsal segment. Tergites 3–6 and somewhat tergite 2 brown pollinose in its middle; Ovipositor. Straight in ventral view, straight, in lateral view (yellow piercer, dark brown base), reaching sternite 2; base silvery brown pollinose. LP:LB = 2.3. LDP:LPP = 2.0. (Fig. 158C).
Etymology: From the Latin seta, bristle, in reference to the distinct spines along the posterior margin of sternites 2–4.
Examined material: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: Karijini National Park, Juna Downs Road, 22°43’S, 118°25’E, 799m, near rock outcrop, Eucalyptus Eremophila scrub, 25.IV–14.V.2003, C. Lambkin & T. Weir, Malaise trap, JSS16047 (1♂, WAM); PARATYPES: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 2 km along Ridgepole Waterhole Road, 10 km ESE Musselbrook Resource Centre, Lawn Hill National Park, 18°38’S, 138°12’E, 220m, 10.V.1995, G. Daniels & M.A. Schneider, JSS8295 (1♀, QM); Western Australia: 35 km N Marble Bar, 20°55’S, 119°59’E, 160m, 14.V.2003, F.D. Parker & M.E. Irwin, hand netted in burned area from Eucalyptus and Abutilon dioicum (Malvaceae) flowers; CSIRO-SCHLINGER PILBARA EXPEDITION, April 19 – May 23, 2003, JSS15751 (1♂, CNC); Karijini National Park, Hamersley-Mount Bruce Road, 22°37’S, 118°19’E, 762m, open mallee with Spinifex, 14–19.V.2003, C. Lambkin & J. Recsei, Malaise trap, JSS15973 (1♂, ANIC); 22°34’S, 118°18’E, 757m, dry rocky creek bed, Eucalyptus grassland, 25.IV–14.V.2003, C. Lambkin & T. Weir, Malaise trap, JSS16123 (1♀, ANIC); Karijini National Park, Juna Downs Road, 22°44’S, 118°25’E, 798m, dry Turee Creek, grassy open Eucalyptus scrub, 25.IV–14.V.2003, C. Lambkin & T. Weir, Malaise trap, JSS16102 (1♀, ANIC); Karijini National Park: Juna Downs Road (between drying pools in rocky Turee Creek), 22°42’S, 118°25’E, 789m, 25.IV–14.V.2003, C. Lambkin & T. Weir, Malaise trap, CNCD3867 (1♀, CNC).
Distribution: Australia (Queensland, Western Australia) (Fig. 135).
Notes: This is a desert species found from NW Queensland to West Central Western Australia. Intraspecific genetic distance ranges from 0.0% to 3.1%. Based on the genetic divergence this may be a species complex and needs more investigation. It is genetically closest to T. millstreamensis sp. nov. (4.8–6.0% pairwise divergence) (Supplementary file 3).
description: Published as part of Motamedinia, Behnam, Földvari, Mihaly, Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Kelso, Scott, 2023, Revision of Australian Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera: Pipunculidae) with description of 100 new species, pp. 1-271 in Zootaxa 5599 (1) on pages 194-195, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5599.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14970961