Aphaniosoma flavipyga Ebejer 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ebejer, Martin J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Chyromyidae
Aphaniosoma
Aphaniosoma flavipyga

description: Aphaniosoma flavipyga sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 15B3524C-9BDC-4E9B-A914-66DDD7DC3C6E
Figs 32–34
Diagnosis
A pale-yellow species with scutum having deeper yellow to pale brown vittae; epandrium shiny, pale yellow; aedeagus brown; 2 fronto-orbitals and a pair of longer frontal setae in front of the ocellar triangle. Similar species: A. freidbergi sp. nov. has a longer head, narrower eyes and a long and strong pair of setae in the middle of the frons. Aphaniosoma aldabrense Ebejer, 2009, A. kirkspriggsi Ebejer, 2009 and A. micropygum Ebejer, 2009, all from the Afrotropical Region, look similar and have the long pair of setae on the frons and a dark mediotergite.
Etymology
The species epithet is a combination of the Latin for yellow ‘ flavus ’ and for buttocks ‘ pyga ’ and refers to the large round yellow epandrial halves on each side.
Material examined
Holotype
ISRAEL • ♂; Zomet Zohar; 19 Mar. 1995; A. Freidberg leg.; SMNHTAU 405823.
Paratypes
ISRAEL • 16 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; same collection data as for holotype; SMNHTAU • 2 ♂♂; same collection data as for holotype; MJE • 1 ♂; Holon; 19 Mar. 1995; A. Freidberg leg.; SMNHTAU.
Description
MEASUREMENTS. Body length: male 1 mm, female 1.1 mm. Wing length: male 1 mm, female 1.1 mm.
Male
HEAD. Yellow including ocellar triangle and entire occiput, ocelli ringed black; at vertex, frons twice as broad as eye, narrowed anteriorly, at level of antennae about 0.5 × as wide as at level of anterior ocellus; gena narrow in front, deeper behind, in profile, below middle of eye, about 0.5 × as high as short oval eye, with numerous white setulae; occiput in profile not visible behind eye, with pale postocular setulae in one row; 2 vibrissal setae well differentiated from buccal row of setulae; face short and narrow, depressed and poorly sclerotized; median carina narrow and short; antenna yellow, pedicel with short seta dorsally; basal flagellomere with very fine short and dense pubescence along anterior margin shorter than diameter of basal segment of arista; basal 1 / 5 of arista pale, with fine pubescence; chaetotaxy: 2 posterior moderately developed fronto-orbitals with 2 very short setulae anterior to them; ocellars short; paraverticals short and convergent; 1 inner and 1 outer vertical; frons with about 10 scattered setae apart from longer pair in front of anterior ocellus.
THORAX. Yellow with pale golden yellow microtomentum; scutum with deeper yellow to pale brown vittae; mediotergite yellow; chaetotaxy: 1 postpronotal, 1 short inconspicuous intra-postpronotal setula, 1 presutural, 2 notopleurals, 0+3 intra-alars, 1 postalar, 2+4 dorsocentrals, only prescutellar strong, 1+4 acrostichals with prescutellars not developed, 4 scutellars, anepisternal and katepisternal setae not seen in holotype, damaged by pin (present in paratypes).
WING. Veins yellow; distance on costa between R 2+3 and R 4+5 about 0.4 × that between R 4+5 and M 1; distance between cross veins about 1.3 × as long as posterior crossvein, which lies slightly oblique and is about 0.3 × as long as apical section of M 4. Haltere creamy white.
LEGS. Yellow, with numerous pale setulae, longer setulae present on fore femur; apico-ventral seta on mid tibia present; claws black in apical half, pulvilli normal; hind trochanter not modified.
ABDOMEN. Tergites yellow with pale brown bands on basal ⅔; tergites sparsely setulose, with setulae more distinct on margins of tergites 5 and 6; tergite 6 narrow; sternite 6 with a heavily sclerotized central section directed anteriorly (Fig. 30 C).
HYPOPYGIUM (Figs 33–34). Epandrium large, pale shiny yellow, bearing elongate, conical surstylus, cercus very pale and long setulose; pregonite narrow and pale; postgonites pale brown pigmented, curved laterally; basiphallus pale brown; epiphallus notched at apex; distiphallus large and brown pigmented apically.
Female
Similar to male but without the secondary sexual characters.
Variation
Some specimens have pale brownish vittae along the dorsocentral and intra-alar lines, the former reaching the scutellum.
Distribution
Israel.
description: Published as part of Ebejer, Martin J., 2023, The genus Aphaniosoma Becker, 1903 (Diptera: Chyromyidae) in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, with descriptions of new species, pp. 1-161 in European Journal of Taxonomy 872 on pages 65-69, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2023.872.2131, http://zenodo.org/record/8018303