Empidideicus (Anomaloptilus) nanus Evenhuis & Gharali 2022, n. sp.
Creators: name: Evenhuis, Neal L.
name: Gharali, Babak
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Bombyliidae
Empidideicus
Empidideicus nanus

description: Empidideicus (Anomaloptilus) nanus Evenhuis & Gharali, n. sp.
(Figs 10, 24, 32, 33, 44, 57, 71, 72)
Types. Holotype ♂ and 5♂, 3♀ paratypes from: MADAGASCAR: Majunga Province: Ampijora (Andranofasika) National Park, 16°19.16′S, 46°48.90′E, 46 m, 22/ 28 Sep 2003, M.E. Irwin, R. Harin’Hala, hand net in deciduous forest, MG 25–16 (CAS). Other paratypes: MADAGASCAR: 9♂, 4♀, topotypic, 7–14 Sep 2003 R. Harin’Hala, Malaise in deciduous forest (CASLOT 018549); Tulear Province: 1♀, Zombitse National Park, near ANGAP Office, 22°53.19′S, 44°41.53′E, 840 m, 29 Dec 2001 – 5 Jan 2003, M.E. Irwin, F. Parker & R. Harin’Hala, Malaise in deciduous spiny forest (CASLOT 019832); 10♂, 6♀ Mahafely Reserve, Parcel I, 23°41.19′S, 44°35.46′E, 164 m, 5–20 Oct 2002, M.E. Irwin, R. Harin’Hala, Malaise across trail in gallery forest (CAS).; Toliara Province: 2♂, 2♀, Parc National de Tsimanampetsotsa, Forêt de Bemanateza, 20.7 km E. Efoetse, 23°59′32″S, 43°52′50″E, 90 m, 22–26 Mar 2002, Fisher, Griswold et al., Malaise trap in spiny forest thicket, coll. code: BLF6257 (CAS); Ambilobe Province: 1♂, 4♀, Ankarana [12.95°S, 49.14°E], Aug, Sep 1986, S. V. Fowler (BMNH). Holotype in CAS. Paratypes in BMNH, CAS, and BPBM.
Diagnosis. This species is easily distinguished from other species of the subgenus in Madagascar by the short second flagellomere (one fifth length of the first flagellomere), a brown spot on halter knob, the brown scutellum with a yellow apex, and the deep apical invagination of the spermatheca (depth about half the reservoir height).
Description
Male (Fig. 10). Length: 0.95–1.12 mm. Wing: 1.00– 1.21 mm. Head: longer than high; eyes dichoptic, separated at vertex by 1.7× distance between lateral ocelli; occiput and postgena black; front slightly depressed medially, white with subtriangular light brown area immediately below ocellar tubercle; face white; antennae (Fig. 24) with scape and pedicel yellow, flagellomeres dark brown; scape short, subtrapezoidal; pedicel subconical, wider than long; first flagellomere lanceolate, length 2× width; second flagellomere one-fifth length of first flagellomere, with minute transparent apical style; mentum white; clypeus white, basally light brown, length subequal to labrum height; proboscis dorsally yellow ventrally brown, shorter than head length; labrum sclerotized, stiff, pointed apically, length subequal to clypeus, yellow basally, brown apically; palpus not evident.
Thorax (Fig. 32). Mesonotum matte brown, with admedian yellow longitudinal vittae not reaching to scutellum, leaving two small yellow marks in prescutellar area, with two brown spots just behind transverse suture; yellow dorsolaterally from humeral callus to postalar callus and two interhumeral marks yellow; scutellum brown except posterior margin narrowly yellow; pleura yellow with dark brown on following: anteroventral corner of anepisternum and anepimeron, lower half of meron, and lower three-fourths of katepisternum; propleuron white; halter stem yellow, knob yellow with light brown spot dorsally.
Leg. Fore coxa yellow, mid and hind coxae brown; femora and tibia yellow; basitarsus yellow, remainder of tarsus brown.
Wing (Fig. 44). Elongate, length 2.7× width; hyaline; veins brown, well sclerotized except vein separating basal cells and A 1; costa ends slightly beyond end of R 4+5; vein Sc incomplete; Rs evanescent at connection with R 1; R 4+5 slightly bowed; vein M 1 curved; M 2 straight; cell dm closed by apical crossvein; A 1 effaced, straight to wing margin; anal cell open very slightly at wing margin; fringe of hair on posterior margin of wing well shortest at wing tip becoming longer and more sparse toward base.
Abdomen (Fig. 57). Tergites dark brown, posterior margins narrowly yellow, brown mark laterally interrupted with wide yellow band; last tergite with two long dark brown bands; tergites with sparsely scattered minute yellowish white hairs; sternites yellow.
Genitalia (Fig. 71). Epandrium in lateral view subquadrate, with long, narrow apicoventral process, slightly clubbed and darkly sclerotized apically (Fig. 71A); cerci small, not exerted; gonocoxa in lateral view linear-ellipsoid, with small circular gonostylus, in ventral view with relatively short medial cleft, basally with sclerotized band (Fig. 71B); lateral arms of parameral sheath extending well beyond gonocoxa, longer than aedeagal bulb, flared apically; apical portion of parameral sheath cylindrical with sharp bulge subapically; aedeagal bulge spheroid, half length of lateral parameral arms (Fig. 71C); aedeagal apodeme in lateral view peanut-shaped, truncate ventrally, with relatively small downturned lateral rami.
Female. Similar to male; the mesonotal vittae (Fig. 33) are more evident than in male. Genitalia (Fig. 72) with genital fork U-shaped with two inwardly directed processes on lateral arms, lateral arms much more sclerotized than medial portion; spermatheca spheroid, sclerotized brown, with striations externally, apical invagination deep, about half length of reservoir height; apical spermathecal duct ca. 6.5× length of spermatheca, thin, transparent, basally (0.1× its length) slightly sclerotized, brown; sperm pump 0.8× length of apical duct, transparent, not sclerotized apically or basally; basal duct confluent with sperm pump, common spermathecal duct absent.
Etymology. The specific epithet derives from the Latin nanus = small; referring to the small size.
description: Published as part of Evenhuis, Neal L. & Gharali, Babak, 2022, The subgenus Empidideicus (Anomaloptilus) (Diptera: Mythicomyiidae) in Madagascar, pp. 401-426 in Zootaxa 5222 (5) on pages 412-413, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5222.5.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7471736