Leptocera tenuispina Buck & Marshall 2009, new species
Creators: name: Buck, Matthias
name: Marshall, Stephen A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Sphaeroceridae
Leptocera
Leptocera tenuispina

description: Leptocera tenuispina Buck, new species   
(Figs. 192–198, 205)  
 Description. Outstanding paramedian acrostichals strongly enlarged, longest one usually about 0.75x as long (rarely as long) as lower orbital bristle; prescutellar acrostichals also moderately enlarged. Mid tibia with bristle above distal dorsal shorter than anteroapical bristles; posteroapical bristles subequal, extending to socket of ventrobasal metatarsal bristle or beyond it (i.e., on average longer than in L. kanata sp.n.).   
Male terminalia (Figs. 192–195): Sternite 5 with posteromedial desclerotized area relatively large. Anterior section of surstylus with anterior process unusually long and slender in lateral view; its apex without prominent, darker, lateral ridge (ventral view); ventral lobe rounded and fairly prominent, with short bristles. Posterior section of surstylus with bristles more or less evenly distributed; the two strong apical bristles equal to subequal. Postgonite as in Fig. 205.  
 Female terminalia (Figs. 196–198) indistinguishable from L. kanata sp.n.   
 Type material. Holotype ♂, and 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀ paratypes (CNCI): CANADA, British Columbia, Hixon, 24.v.1966, E.D.A. Dyer. Other paratype: CANADA. British Columbia: 1 ♂, Greenwood, Hwy 3, 21.vi.1982, B.V. Peterson (CNCI).   
 Other material examined. CANADA. British Columbia: 1 ♀, Robson, 29.viii.1947, H.R. Foxlee (CNCI). Note: Females of this species are morphologically inseparable from L. kanata sp.n. The specimen from Robson is tentatively identified as L. tenuispina sp.n. because L. kanata sp.n. apparently does not occur in British Columbia west of the Prairies.   
 Etymology. The species name is a noun in apposition and refers to the slender anterior process of the surstylus, and the great similarity to the eastern Palaearctic L. equispina.   
 Distribution (Map 7). At present only known from central British Columbia (Canada). Possibly also further south in Rocky Mts. in the United States (Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico; see unassociated females listed under L. kanata sp.n.).   
 Discussion. This species is extremely similar to the eastern Palaearctic L. equispina. The latter was only known from type specimens collected in Mongolia but the Guelph Collection (DEBU) has 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀ from Teletskoye Lake, Altai Region, Russia, 8–20.vii.1991, S.A. Marshall. Leptocera tenuispina sp.n. differs from L. equispina as follows: posteroapical bristles of mid tibia distinctly longer, extending at least to socket of ventrobasal metatarsal bristle; anterior process of surstylus more slender; long posterior bristle of anterior section of surstylus inserted more dorsally (i.e., closer to base of surstylus); and posteromedial desclerotized area of male sternite 5 larger. The females appear to be indistinguishable. The eastern Palaearctic L. boruvkai is also similar but can be separated based on the following characters: anterior process of surstylus more strongly curved; bristles of ventral lobe of anterior section of surstylus more numerous and longer; bristles of dorsal (posterior) surface of posterior section of surstylus restricted to basal half; female sternite 7 lacking median projection. The Nearctic L. angulispina sp.n. and L. kanata sp.n. can be distinguished by characters provided in the key.
description: Published as part of Buck, Matthias & Marshall, Stephen A., 2009, Revision of New World Leptocera Olivier (Diptera, Sphaeroceridae), pp. 1-139 in Zootaxa 2039 (1) on pages 91-94, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2039.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5311868