Suragina mulanjeensis Muller 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Muller, Burgert S.
name: Swart, Vaughn R.
name: Snyman, Louwrens P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Athericidae
Suragina
Suragina mulanjeensis

description: Suragina mulanjeensis Muller sp. nov.
Figs 5, 29, 30, 50, 71, 73, 85
Type material examined.
Holotype: Malawi • 1 ♂; [Southern Region]; Mulanje Mt. [Mulanje Massif] nr Likabula; [15°56.983'S, 35°35.617'E]; 26–27 Oct. 1983; A. Freidberg leg.; (NMSA - DIP 158398) (NMSA).
Paratypes: 1 ♂ 6 ♀; same data as holotype (♂: NMSA - DIP 162049; ♀: NMSA - DIP 158392, 158393, 158394, 158395, 158396, 158397) (NMSA) • 1 ♂ 4 ♀; Southern Region; Mulanje Mountain [Mulanje Massif] at:; 15°56.1667'S, 35°31.1982'E; 1061 masl; 12–14 Oct. 2016, A. H. Kirk-Spriggs & B. S. Muller leg.; Malaise trap, stream bed; Miombo woodland; (♂: BMSA (D) 92379; ♀: BMSA (D) 92374, 92375, 92377, 92378) (BMSA).
Holotype deposited in NMSA and paratypes deposited as per listed institutional codens in citations above: BMSA and NMSA.
Diagnosis.
An orange-yellow species (Figs 29, 30), without apparent dark substigmal markings on the wing (Fig. 50). The abdomen in most specimens has subtriangular markings on the majority of segments. It is most similar to S. milloti (Figs 25, 26), which is a Madagascan endemic. Apart from distribution, S. milloti differs from S. mulanjeensis Muller, sp. nov. in having its abdominal tergites more uniformly orange-yellow and a much more prominent dark substigmal mark.
Description.
Measurements (♂ n = 2, ♀ n = 2): Wing span: ♂ 7.3–7.6 mm (avg. 7.4 mm); ♀ 7.9–8.5 mm (avg. 8.2 mm); body length: ♂ 8.4–9.2 mm (avg. 8.8 mm); ♀ 7.6–10.0 mm (avg. 8.8 mm); wing span to body length ratio (avg.): ♂ 0.85; ♀ 0.94.
Male (Fig. 29).
Head (Fig. 5): Orange-brown ground colour, with silver-grey pruinosity on majority of head; eye bare; holoptic, some specimens’ eyes separated 0.5 × width of anterior ocellus; ommatidia on lower quarter of eye smaller than those on rest of eye; lateral edge of eye with indentation, and an apparent weak, dark tubercle just above indentation (more apparent in some specimens than others); ocellar tubercle clearly visible in profile, blackish-brown in colour with only slight grey pruinosity, with short dark setulae; vertex dark brown with greyish pruinosity and long dark setulose; anterior ocellus larger than posterior pair; ocellar tubercle in front of dorsal margin of eye, not placed as deeply towards middle of head as in ♀; dorsal inner edge of eye abutting ocellar tubercle; occiput with same silver-grey pruinosity as rest of head; paired very narrow subrectangular black markings with short dark setulae on upper occiput, abutting posterior margin of eyes, flanking vertex; upper occiput with short pale setulae; lower occiput with long pale setulae, these continue ventrally on head to premental area of mouthparts that have similar long ventral setulae; frons entirely bluish-grey pruinose when viewed dorsally, velvety-black from ocellar tubercle down to before antennal bases when viewed anteriorly; frons widening from where eyes touch down to antennal base; frons with short pale setulae up to two-thirds of frons towards ocellar tubercle; face and gena silver-grey, both with pale setulae; clypeus orange-brown with bluish-grey pruinosity, bare; face separated anteriorly from clypeus by a deep transverse suture, similar to lateral sutures; face not appearing to bulge laterally when viewed in profile; clypeus visible in profile, face not; antennal bases separated ca 0.5 × width of scape, with slight longitudinal groove running between; scape dark brown, pedicel orange-yellow to orange-brown, both with silvery pruinosity; 1 st flagellomere orange-yellow, with sparse silvery pruinosity; 2 nd flagellomere dark brown; scape slightly larger than pedicel; 1 st flagellomere reniform, ca 1.4 × size of pedicel; 2 nd flagellomere arista-like; pedicel with dark dorsal and ventral setulae, similar in size, scape with only pale dorsal setulae; palpus orange-brown with dense grey pruinosity or orange-yellow with only slight greyish pruinosity; palpus with dark setulae throughout, ca 0.5 × length of proboscis; proboscis slightly shorter than head height; proboscis orange-yellow to almost entirely dark brown in colour, specimens with orange-yellow proboscis with lateral and ventral margins dark brown; prementum orange-yellow, proboscis with long dark setulae except for those on prementum that are long pale.
Thorax (Fig. 5): Thorax predominantly orange-yellow, including majority of pleura and scutum; scutum with short dark setulae, with two feint dorsocentral brownish-grey pruinose vittae running from pronotum to before transverse suture; pronotum yellow with whitish pruinosity and pale setulae; postpronotal lobe with similar yellow colour and whitish pruinosity as pronotum; postpronotal lobe with a mix of pale and dark setulae; notopleuron brown with bluish-grey pruinosity, with a mix of long pale and dark setulae throughout; postalar wall and postalar callus orange-yellow with only slight whitish pruinosity, supra-alar area and postalar callus with short dark setulae; scutellum orange-yellow with dark setulae, prescutellar area with bluish-grey pruinosity; pleura with slight whitish pruinosity, especially evident on anepisternum, katepisternum and katatergite; majority of anepisternum dark brown and similar in appearance to notopleuron, contrasting with surrounding orange-yellow pleura; proepisternum and proepimeron, katatergite and anepisternum have long pale setulae, rest of pleura bare; anterior and posterior spiracles whitish-yellow, bare; postspiracular scale orange-yellow with brownish apical margins; postscutellum orange-yellow.
Legs: All coxae yellow to orange-yellow; fore coxal setulae entirely pale or at most with a couple of dark setulae apically; mid coxal setulae mixed pale and dark; hind coxal setulae pale with some dark setulae on anterior edge surrounding well-developed anterior apical point, lateral apical edges with long pale setulae; fore and hind trochanters yellow, mid trochanter brownish-yellow, all trochanters with short pale setulae; fore and mid femora almost entirely yellow, except for slightly brown apex in some specimens; hind femur yellow with brown to dark brown median band; fore tibia yellow except for apical third brownish, mid tibia yellow, hind tibia brown to dark brown with base and apex yellowish-brown; fore and hind tarsi brown to dark brown, mid basitarsus yellow on majority of segment except for yellowish-brown apex, with remaining mid tarsal segements brown; fore tarsal claws asymmetrical, outer claw much larger than inner claw, foreleg empodium ca 2 × size of inner pulvillus, outer pulvillus ca 2 × length of inner, approaching size of outer claw; fore femur overall with short pale setulae, with long pale setulae on posteroventral surface; mid femur with long pale setulae on ventral surface, otherwise with short pale setulae; hind femur with a mix of pale and dark setulae on dorsal and ventral surfaces, base of femur with pale setulae; fore tarsi covered with long sensory setulae along antero- and posteroventral surfaces, sensory setulae ca 2 × as long as tarsal segment is wide; hind leg overall stouter than remaining legs; hind tarsal length subequal to hind tibia; tibial spur formula 0: 2: 2.
Wing: Hyaline; darker brown stigma over area of veins R 1 and R 2 + 3 and cell r 1; apical third of wing with a brown suffused appearance, except for discal cell, and cells r 2 + 3, m 4 hyaline; cell br medially suffused; cells bm and cua hyaline apart from suffusion around surrounding veins CuA and CuP; veins dark brown; costa without distinct downward flexure over stigma; cell cua closed near wing margin, cell m 3 open, veins M 1, M 2, M 3 present; haltere stalk yellow, knob yellowish-brown, with a few short and dark setulae.
Abdomen: Overall brownish-yellow to yellow in colour; tergites 1 and 2 typically without any markings, some specimens each with a dorsal longitudinal subrectangular median dark brown marking; tergite 3 always with a dorsal subtriangular brown suffused marking, some specimens with an additional longitudinal subrectangular dark brown marking over suffused marking; tergites 4–6 each with brown to dark brown suffused dorsal marking, in some specimens this is much reduced and dorsal surface is mostly brownish-yellow; tergites 3–6 with grey pruinose band along posterior margin; tergites 2–6 with elongated dark lateral markings, some specimens these markings are very light and almost indistinguishable; tergite 1 medially without a longitudinal suture; tergites 1–5 with dark setulae dorsally, and long pale setulae on lateral margins; tergite 6 with dark lateral setulae; sternites yellowish, with some irregular dark markings on sternites 4 and 5; sternites with pale setulae.
Terminalia (Figs 71, 73): Epandrium and cercus dark brown with dark setulae; hypoproct and hypandrium with pale setulae, gonocoxite with dark lateral setulae and pale inner setulae; gonostylus almost parallel shaped with a truncated apex, outer edge of gonostylus with short setulae, inner edge with protrusion with 4 setulae, apical third of gonostylus sparsely covered in microtrichia; gonocoxite widening and appearing more rounded on apical half, apex somewhat flattened, gonocoxite outer and ventral medial surface with long setulae, inner and ventral surfaces of upper half with short setulae, lower ventral surface setulose; gonocoxite with microtrichia between setulae; parameral apodeme with truncated apex, not reaching base of gonocoxite in ventral view, parameral sheath including parameral apodeme ca 0.7 × length of gonocoxite; gonocoxal apodeme similar in length to gonocoxite and slightly longer than ejaculatory apodeme; aedeagal tine curvature barely extending down past gonocoxites, apex of tines not extending out past parameral sheath; endoaedeagal process apically truncated and widened.
Female (Fig. 30): Similar to ♂ except for the following:
Head: Dichoptic; ommatidia of similar size; lateral edge of eye without any indentation, but also with apparent tubercle as in ♂; anterior ocellus similar in size to posterior pair; ocellar tubercle placed deeper in front of dorsal margin of eye compared to ♂; dorsal inner edge of eye separated from ocellar tubercle by pair of silver-grey markings, appearing to extend down from vertex, which is more bluish-grey pruinose (more greyish in ♂); occiput with paired subrectangular black markings ca 2 × height of those on ♂ upper occiput; frons bluish-grey pruinose between lower half of eye down to antennal base, velvety-black from ocellar tubercle to lower half of eye when viewed dorsally, when viewed anteriorly entire frons appears blackish, although lower half is shinier than upper velvety-black half; frons widening only slightly from velvety-black patch towards antennal bases; frons with dark setulae on velvety-black upper half and pale setulae on bluish-grey lower half; face and gena silvery-grey pruinose, clypeus with bluish-grey pruinosity; face separated anteriorly from clypeus by transverse suture, (less prominent, and angle more obtuse than in ♂); antennal bases separated ca 0.4–0.6 × width of scape, with slight longitudinal groove running between; 1 st flagellomere ca 1.5 × size of pedicel; proboscis ca same length as head height.
Thorax: Similar to that of ♂, except whitish pruinosity is denser than in ♂.
Legs: Fore and mid coxae with a slight white pruinosity; fore coxal setulae entirely pale; all trochanters yellow; fore and mid femora entirely yellow; hind femur with similar dark median band as in ♂, but band is narrower than in ♂; rest of leg colouration similar to that of ♂; fore tarsal claws symmetrical; overall leg setation similar to ♂ except generally shorter.
Wing (Fig. 50): Similar to ♂.
Abdomen: Overall orange-yellow to yellow in colour; in some specimens tergites almost entirely unmarked except for some darker markings on tergite 7, in other specimens tergites 1–6 with subtriangular dark suffused markings, varying in intensity, tergite 7 with two dark markings and tergite 8 entirely dark; tergites 2 and 6 with elongated dark lateral markings, intensity differs between specimens; all sternites apparently yellow, some dark discolouration due to dried gut contents; tergite 1 with weak median longitudinal suture.
Terminalia (Fig. 85): Cercus yellowish-brown with pale setulae; genital fork with distal apodeme ending in a truncated broad knob; median lobe without a clear emargination; paired apical lobes with somewhat slender appearance, inner surface with inward projecting knob that has clustered microtrichia at apex; arms gradually rounded; three rounded and sclerotised spermathecae.
Etymology.
Named after the type locality, the Mulanje Massif, Malawi. Feminine adjective in the nominative singular case.
Distribution.
Malawi.
description: Published as part of Muller, Burgert S., Swart, Vaughn R. & Snyman, Louwrens P., 2024, Revision of Afrotropical Suragina Walker, 1859 (Diptera, Athericidae), pp. 247-327 in African Invertebrates 65 (2) on pages 247-327, DOI: 10.3897/afrinvertebr.65.140524