Tomosvaryella denhamensis 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 denhamensis

description: Tomosvaryella denhamensis Földvari, Skevington & Motamedinia sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: FDDC09BD-A50A-4D83-A02E-80FCEB0E066E
Figs 32A–E, 117
Diagnosis: This species can be recognized by the hind trochanter having a distinct edge and some short bristles; elongated surstyli in dorsal view (Fig. 32A); phallic guide with two long spines dorsolaterally (Fig. 32B); gonopods extended towards surstyli (Fig. 32B); both surstyli broadened with a small hump in dorsomedial margin in lateral view (Fig. 32D–E).
Description: MALE: Body length: 2.6 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 2–3 indistinct bristles. Mesonotum (viewed obliquely from front) brownish pollinose, anterior part more grey, grayish also from the side. Scutellum brownish silvery pollinose and with 10–12 short bristles along the distal edge. Halter, knob pale, stem brown. Legs. Mid coxa with 3–4 long dark bristles. Trochanters brown, femora dark brown, shining ventrally, silvery pollinose posteriorly except shiny hind femur; knees and basal 1/5 of tibiae yellow (tibiae otherwise brown), tarsal segments brown dorsally, yellow ventrally, last segment darker. Hind trochanter with edge, 45 degrees to the long axis of trochanter, distal part shiny, 3–4 short bristles on proximal part, otherwise velvet-like coverage; ventrobasal spines absent on fore and mid femur. Ventroapical row of spines on fore femur absent; 4–5 small, black spines on mid femur; hind femur without ventroapical spines, except 10–12 equally spaced, equally long bristle, posteroventrally, longest up to 1/3 times the width of hind tibia at distal end. Subapical (distal) spines on first four tibiae present (short). Hind metatarsi not flattened, as long as 2–4 combined, scrub-like bristles ventrally (t1 only). Pulvilli shorter than last tarsal segment. Wing. Length: 2.7 mm. Upper side of basal costal cell with one long dark brown bristle. Fourth costal section 2 times as long as third costal section. Cross-vein r-m slightly distal to middle of discal cell. 2–3 short dark setulae on tegula. Abdomen. Dissected. tergite 1 silvery grey, Lateral bristles on first tergite present, 4–6 short dark bristles up to as long as hind femur’s width at base. Postabdomen in dorsal view: Dissected. Genitalia. Genital capsule in dorsal view: epandrium longer than wide (MLE:MWE = 1.2). Surstyli elongated (Fig. 32A). Genital capsule in ventral view: both gonopods extended towards sternite, equal in height; phallic guide strong with two small lateral lobes before apex, with 3–4 dorso- dorsolateral spines, two spines longer than others, subepandrial sclerite distinct (Fig. 32B); Genital capsule in lateral view: both surstyli broadened with a small hump at dorsomedial margin, smoothly curved towards sternite (Fig. 32D–E). Ejaculatory apodeme tube-like, bent, with a bulb in its middle (Fig. 32C).
FEMALE: Unknown.
Etymology: Named after the small town closest to where the only known specimen was collected.
Examined material: HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: ~ 3 km N[orth] of Denham, 25.909°S, 113.531°E, hilltop, 12.XII.1999, J. Skevington, JSS7375 (1♂, WAM).
Distribution: Australia (Western Australia) (Fig. 117).
Notes: One hundred specimens of 10 species of Tomosvaryella were collected on the amazing little hilltop where the only specimen of this species was found. The site is extremely arid and only one other pipunculid genus was caught here (four specimens of Clistoabdominalis trochanteratus (Becker 1900)). Tomosvaryella T. denhamensis sp. nov. is genetically closest to T. bulbosa sp. nov. (8.1% pairwise divergence) (Supplementary file 3).
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 77-79, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5599.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14970961