Tomosvaryella alexanderi 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 alexanderi

description: Tomosvaryella alexanderi Földvari, Skevington & Motamedinia sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 30EE7A34-252B-4072-ADCC-0C0A19EA6256
Figs 2A–E, 107, 149B
Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by the hind trochanter with a keel covered by a row of short bristles in a row along the edge (Fig. 149B); elongated surstyli in dorsal view (Fig. 2A); elongated gonopods in ventral view (Fig. 2B); subepandrial sclerite with 3–4 fin-shaped protrusions in middle in ventral view; phallic guide with 3–4 dorso- dorsolateral spines; one of ejaculatory ducts with one distinct spine in lateral view (Fig. 2C).
Description: MALE: Body length: 2.8–3 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 2–2.5 times the length of ocellar triangle. Occiput silvery pollinose, slightly less so on upper 1/3. Thorax. Postpronotum pale, with 5–6 pale bristles. Mesonotum (viewed obliquely from front) brownish pollinose, anterior part more grey, grayish also from the side. Scutellum brown pollinose and with 8–10 bristles along the distal edge. Dorsocentral bristles distinct, dark, somewhat longer along frontal edge, numerous long bristles around postpronotum present. Halter, knob pale, stem brown. Legs. Mid coxa with 4 strong, dark bristles, one is shorter. Trochanters and femora dark brown, shining ventrally, silvery pollinose posteriorly except shiny hind femur; knees yellow-brown (tibiae otherwise dark brown), tarsal segments yellow-brown, ventrally paler, last segment darker. Hind trochanter with a small keel, in a row of short bristles along the edge (Fig. 149B); ventrobasal spines absent on fore and mid femora. Ventroapical row of spines on fore femur absent; 4–5 short dark spines on mid femur; hind femur without ventroapical spines, except 10–12 bristles posteroventrally, equally spaced, longer on distal half, longest up to 1/3 of the width of hind tibia at distal end. Subapical (distal) spines on first four tibiae present. Hind tibia slightly bent in posterior view. Metatarsi not flattened, hind metatarsus almost as long as 2–4 combined, all tarsomeres shorter than usual. Pulvilli shorter than last tarsal segment. Wing. Length: 3.0– 3.1 mm. Upper side of basal costal cell with one long dark bristle. Fourth costal section 2 times as long as third costal section. Cross-vein r-m at middle of discal cell. 2–3 distinct brown setulae on tegula. Abdomen. Viewed obliquely from front tergites subshiny black, tergite 1 silvery grey, silvery pollinose spots on tergites 4 and 5 (larger on tergite 5). Dispersed short dark bristles on all tergites present, longest on tergite 5 up to 1/3 of the width of hind tibia at distal end. Lateral bristles on first tergite present, 5–6 dark bristles up to as long as hind femur’s width at base. Postabdomen in dorsal view: T6, S7 invisible; T5 1.1–1.3 times as long as ST8. Genitalia without dissection: ST8 medium sized, broad, round in dorsal view, dark brown and with some distinct bristles, otherwise velvet-like coverage; membranous area slit-like, widening dorsally; epandrium dark brown, surstyli yellow, long. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium longer than wide (MLE:MWE = 1.1). Surstyli elongated, broadened at base, straightened in middle, pointed at apex on inner margin, left surstylus slightly longer than right one (Fig. 2A). Genital capsule in ventral view: gonopods elongated towards surstyli, tapering at apex, equal in height; subepandrial sclerite with 3–4 small fin-shaped protrusions in middle (Fig. 2B); phallic guide with 3–4 dorso-dorsolateral spines. Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli curved towards sternite, right surstylus narrowed in apical quarter (Fig. 2C); phallus with three phallic guides, one with one small spine (Fig. 2E).
FEMALE: Unknown.
Etymology: This species is named in honour of Alexander Skevington, JHS’s son, a keen young entomologist and one of the collectors of several specimens of this species. Alexander collected or was involved in the collection of 7% of the specimens and 15% of the species used in this revision (Supplementary file 2).
Examined material: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Carnarvon N [ational] P[ark], summit of Fly Hill near West Branch Camp, 24°58’S, 147°60’E, 900m, 12.X.2002, J. Skevington, hand collected, JSS12799 (1♂, QM); PARATYPES: AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Carnarvon National Park, Carnarvon Gorge, Consuelo land, 24°56’S, 148°6’E, land, S. Boucher, sweep net, CNCD253914 (1♂, LEM); Carnarvon National Park, Mount Moffatt Section, southernmost of 3 Sisters, summit, 25°7’S, 148°6’E, hilltop, 23.I.1998, J.&A. Skevington & S. Winterton, hand collected, JSS2732; JSS2735; JSS2737; JSS2742; JSS2749 (5♂, QM); Mount Moffatt summit, 25°4’S, 148°3’E, 1097m, 18.XI.2014, J.H., A.M. and A.W. Skevington, CNC374960; CNC375009-10 (3♂, CNC); Carnarvon National Park; Summit of Fly Hill Near West Branch Camp, 24°58’S, 147°60’E, 900m, 12.X.2002, J. Skevington, JSM 467, CNC484089 (1♂, CNC); Western Australia: Summit of Mount Barker, 34°39’S, 117°39’E, hilltop, 26.I.2015, J.H., A.M. and A.W. Skevington, CNC391301 (1♂, CNC).
Distribution: Australia (Queensland, Western Australia) (Fig. 107).
Notes: Two highly disjunct populations have been documented based on specimens from Carnarvon National Park in Queensland and Mount Barker in Western Australia. Most specimens were captured hilltopping. Intraspecific genetic distance ranges from 0.0–3.9% (Supplementary file 3). This may be a cryptic species complex with the same terminalia characters, so future genetic work is encouraged.
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 12-13, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5599.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14970961