Nilotanypus prieuri Published 2007, n. sp.
Creators: name: Published, First
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2007
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Chironomidae
Nilotanypus
Nilotanypus prieuri

description: Nilotanypus prieuri n. sp.   
(Figs. 16 –18)  
 Etymology: This species is named for Abel Prieur, a friend of the first author.   
 Diagnosis: No R 2+3; rather reduced venation with main veins ending well basal to wing apex; 1 mid and hind tibial spur, both long and curved, with no or very reduced lateral teeth; dorsomedial extension of eye with 5 ommatidia at apex; no weavy setae in apical third of terminal flagellomere.   
(scale bar = 0.1 mm).  
 Description: Male head deformed, 0.37 mm long; ocelli absent; antenna 0.63 mm long, much longer than head, distinctly hairy, with 14 flagellomeres with long setae (shortest 0.01 mm long, longest 0.28mm long), pedicel broad and short, with 2 setae; 13 th flagellomere very long, 0.31 mm long, 14 th with distinctly apical nipple, with subapical seta; eye bare but deformed, with strong apically expanded dorsomedial exptention, with 5 ommatidia at apex; all palpomeres with few setae, no frontal setae, 2 postocular setae, inner vertical and outer vertical setae not visible, probably absent. Thorax 0.52 mm long, 0.4 mm wide, more than 0.7 mm high; scutellum, postnotum and scutal tubercle not visible; supraalar and prealar setae not visible; few anterior acrostichal and dorsocentral setae, preepisternum bare. Wing macropterous, 1.07 mm long, 0.27 mm wide, hyaline, without macrotrichia; anal vein An 2 absent; radius with 2 branches R 1 and R 4+5, R 2+3 absent; costa not produced after last branch of radius and ending before apex of wing; only M 1+2 and M 3+4 present; cross­vein MCu present. Halter 0.17 mm long. Fore femur 0.42 mm long, tibia 0.47 mm long, tarsus 0.91 mm long, mid femur 0.45 mm long, tibia 0.43 mm long; tarsus 0.8 mm long, hind femur 0.36 mm long, tibia 0.46 mm long, tarsus 0.93 mm long; only 1 mid and hind tibial spur, both very long and curved, with no or very reduced lateral teeth; ta4 cylindriform; hind tibial comb of 1 row. Abdomen 1.23 mm long, 0.66 mm wide; gonostylus elongate and narrow, 0.06 mm long, 0.008 mm wide; gonocoxite with long setae on outer surface, 0.08 mm long, 0.06 mm wide; anal point broad and conical, 0.04 mm long, 0.06 mm wide at base.   
 Discussion: In the key to dipteran families of McAlpine (1981), this fossil falls in the Tanypodinae. In the keys to Nearctic tanypodine tribes and genera of Fittkau (1962) and Oliver (1981) and the key to Holarctic genera of Murray & Fittkau (1989), Nilotanypus prieuri n. sp. falls in the Pentaneurini because of the following characters: tarsomere 4 of all tarsi cylindrical; FCu proximal to or opposite MCu; costa not produced after the last branch of the radius; no posterior anepisternals or preepisternals, and posnotum always bare. Nilotanypus prieuri is in a group of recent genera having a wing without R 2+3 and with a rather reduced venation with the main veins ending well basal of the wing apex, i.e., Nilotanypus Kieffer, 1923, Monopelopia Fittkau, 1962, Schineriella Murray & Fittkau, 1988, and Labrundinia Fittkau, 1962. Labrundinia has very reduced tibial spurs, unlike N. prieuri. Schineriella has two mid­tibial spurs instead of one, as in N. prieuri. The tibial spurs of N. prieuri are similar to those of Nilotanypus and Monopelopia. The dorsomedial extension of the eye of Monopelopia is slightly tapered with only two ommatidia at the apex, instead of five, as in N. prieuri and Nilotanypus. Also, N. prieuri has no wavy setae on the apical third of the terminal flagellomere, unlike Nilotanypus. We provisionally place N. prieuri in Nilotanypus.   
 Material: Holotype PA 428 1/2, (male).
description: Published as part of Published, First, 2007, Chironomid midges from early Eocene amber of France (Diptera: Chironomidae), pp. 1-66 in Zootaxa 1404 on pages 20-22