Tomosvaryella moffattensis Foldvari, Skevington & Motamedinia 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 moffattensis

description: Tomosvaryella moffattensis Földvari, Skevington & Motamedinia sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 953571D1-7C04-4675-881D-EE7ED062543A
Figs 67A–E, 129, 148C, 152C
Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by the tuft of short dark longer spines on the hind trochanter ventrobasally (Fig. 148C); elongated surstyli in dorsal view (Fig. 67A); elongated gonopods with an inwards projections (Fig. 67B); hypandrium with two hairy membranous sheaths (Fig. 67C–E); subepandrial sclerite with a small fin-shaped protrusion (Fig. 67B); one of ejaculatory ducts with three spines (Fig. 67C–E); phallic guide with some dorso-dorsolateral spines in lateral view (Fig. 67C–E).
Description: MALE: Body length: 2.3 mm. Head. Flagellum acuminate; yellow-brown. Face silvery pollinose. Frons, upper part shining black; lower part distinctly silver pollinose; eyes touching for distance equal to 1.5 times the length of ocellar triangle. Occiput silvery pollinose, less so on upper 1/3. Thorax. Postpronotum pale, with 3–4 pale bristles. Mesonotum (viewed obliquely from front) brownish pollinose, anterior part more grey, grayish also from the side. Scutellum silvery pollinose and with 8–10 bristles along the distal edge. Dorsocentral bristles distinct, dark, somewhat longer along frontal edge, numerous dark bristles around postpronotum present. Halter, knob pale with a brownish tinge, stem brown. Legs. Mid coxa with 3 long dark bristles. Trochanters and femora dark brown, shining ventrally, silvery pollinose posteriorly except shiny hind femur; knees and basal 1/4 of tibiae yellow (tibiae otherwise brown), tarsal segments brown, ventrally paler, last segment darker. Hind trochanter with tuft of short dark longer spines (7–10) ventrobasally in one group: “echidna”-like (Fig. 148C); basal spines longer; ventrobasal spines (1) absent on fore and present on mid femur. Ventroapical row of spines on fore femur 2–3; 4–5 small, black spines on mid femur; hind femur without ventroapical spines, except 6–7 equally spaced bristles posteroventrally on distal half, longest up to 1/3 the width of hind tibia at distal end. Subapical (distal) spines on first four tibiae present (short). Hind tibia with a slight bending in posterior view. Hind metatarsus flattened, almost as long as 2–4 combined. Pulvilli shorter than last tarsal segment. Wing. Length: 3.1 mm. Upper side of basal costal cell with one long dark bristle. Fourth costal section 2.5 times as long as third costal section. Cross-vein r-m distal to middle of discal cell. 4–5 distinct brown setulae on tegula. Abdomen. Dissected. tergite 1 silvery grey. Lateral spines on first tergite present, 4–5 dark bristles up to 1–1.2 times as long as hind femur’s width at base. Postabdomen in dorsal view: Dissected. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium wider than long (MLE:MWE = 0.9). Surstyli symmetrical, elongated, right surstylus smaller than left one, right one with a small protrusion at inner margin before apex (Fig. 67A). Genital capsule in ventral view: gonopods unequal in height, left slightly longer than right one, elongated towards surstyli with two small inward projection before apex, subepandrial sclerite rather wide with a small fin-shaped protrusion in its center; hypandrium with two hairy membranous sheaths extended towards phallus (Fig. 67B). Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli curved towards sternite, right surstylus broadened in middle; phallus with three short ejaculatory ducts, one with three small spines, phallic guide with 6–7 dorso-dorsolateral spines (one is longer) (Fig. 67C–E).
FEMALE: Unknown.
Etymology: Named after Mount Moffatt Section of Carnarvon National Park. This is an incredibly diverse park for Diptera and 30 species of Tomosvaryella have been collected there, including the holotype for this species. Mount Moffatt is the centrepiece of this diversity and is without a doubt the best hilltop for concentrating Diptera in all of Australia. Two thousand four hundred and nine specimens of pipunculids have been collected in Mount Moffatt section of Carnarvon with 399 specimens on the summit of Mount Moffatt being the most collected in a single day (18 November 2014).
Examined material: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Queensland, Carnarvon National Park, Mount Moffatt Section, Mount Moffatt Summit, 25°4’S, 148°3’E, 1097m, 20.I.1998, hilltop, J.&A. Skevington & S. Winterton, JSS2938 (1♂, QM); PARATYPE: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 3 km NE of Mount Webb, 15°3’S, 145°9’E, 1. V.1981, D.H. Colless, Malaise trap, JSS218, JSS8602 (2♂, ANIC); Cape York, Stewart Range, 14°4’S, 143°41’E, 500m, 29. IV- 3. V.1961, L.&M. Gressitt, CNCD5554 (1♂, BPBM); Culgoa Floodplain National Park, 11.8km N Headquarters (CG2 AM), 28°54’S, 147°8’E, Brigalow, 20.I–18.III.2010, C. Kelly & A. Coward, Malaise trap, 19271, CNC576686 (1♂, QM); Elizabeth Creek, Boodjamulla National Park, 18°14’S 138°5’E, 170m, Bloodwood open forest, 18–22.IX.2005, M. Mathieson & G. Smith, Malaise trap, 12398, JSS50573 (1♂, QM); Mount Moffatt summit, 25°4’S, 148°3’E, 18.XI.2014, J.H., A.M. & A.W. Skevington, CNC374913 (1♂, CNC).
Distribution: Australia (Queensland) (Fig. 129).
Notes: The third abdominal tergite of JSS8602 is divided by a suture in the middle (Fig. 152C) but the terminalia characters are similar to the holotype except that in the ventral view, the subepandrial sclerite has two finger-like projections basally close to gonopods. The different shape of the abdomen may be either an eclosion aberration or perhaps was triggered by a mutation or a parasitoid. There are no known adult pipunculid parasitoids.
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 149-150, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5599.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14970961