Billaea carinata Zhang et Shima, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zhang, Chun-Tian
name: Shima, Hiroshi
name: Wang, Qiang
name: Tschorsnig, Hans-Peter
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tachinidae
Billaea
Billaea carinata

description: Billaea carinata Zhang et Shima sp. nov.
Figs. 9–11, 66, 75
Diagnosis. Vertex about 0.23 of head width, facial carina distinctly developed, long and high; male fore claws shorter than 5th tarsomere, fore tibia with 2 posterior setae, tergites 3 to 5 each with a pair of triangular dark markings on posterior 2/3–1/2.
Description. Body length 11.5 mm.
Male. Head (Figs. 66, 75). Frontal vitta dark brown, fronto-orbital plate, parafacial and occiput with gray whitish pruinosity, gena reddish brown, sparely with grayish white pruinosity; lunule reddish yellow; antenna reddish brown except apical flagellomere 1 dark brown; palpus reddish yellow except base dark. Vertex about 0.23 of head width; frontal vitta strongly widened anteriorly, slightly wider than fronto-orbital plate; fronto-orbital plate with dense short black hairs; parafacial bare, nearly parallel-sided, about 3 times as wide as flagellomere 1; face rather well concave, facial carina developed, long and high; lower margin of face rather weakly protruding forward; genal height about 0.43 of eye height; occiput flattened, with a row black hairs behind postocular setae. Inner vertical seta about as long as 0.4 of eye height; ocellar setae proclinate, stronger than frontal setae; 15–16 pairs of inclinate frontal setae, lowest frontal seta nearly level with base of antenna; vibrissa inserted above level of lower margin of face, slightly longer than antenna. Flagellomere 1 2.0–2.2 times as long as pedicel; arista plumose, total width including plumosity about twice as wide as flagellomere 1. Palpus slender, slightly longer than antenna. Prementum 3–4 times as long as wide.
Thorax. Black with dense gray pruinosity; dorsum with 2 broad outer and 2 narrow inner dark brown longitudinal vittae on presutural scutum, inner vitta about 1/3 as wide as pruinose distance between inner and outer vittae on presutural scutum; and 3 longitudinal vittae (1 brown median and 2 dark brown lateral vittae) on postsutural scutum, which extending to anterior 3/5 of postsutural scutum; scutellum black in ground color, with grayish white pruinosity on apical 2/3. Prosternum about 2.2 times as long as wide; postpronotal lobe with 4 setae, nearly standing in a straight line; 2 presutural and 1–2 postsutural acrostichal setae; 3 presutural and 4 postsutural dorsocentral setae, 2 postsutural intra-alar setae; prealar seta short, 3 supra-alar setae, middle one about as long as prealar seta; 2 katepisternal setae; 2 pairs of short discal scutellar setae and 3 piars of scutellar marginal setae. Wing. Hyaline, tinged with brownish; tegula and basicosta dark brown; halter yellow. Relative lengths of 2nd, 3rd and 4th costal sectors approximately as 1.3:1.8:1; bend of vein M about right-angled, with short appendage, about 2 times distance closer to wing hind margin than to dm-cu crossvein; cell r4+5 nearly merged. Lower calypter pale yellowish white, with short fringe on outer margin. Legs. Black, pulvilli pale yellowish. Fore tarsi subequal in length to head height; claws and pulvilli slightly shorter than 5th tarsomere, fore tibia with a row of short anterodorsal setae, 1 posterodorsal and 2 posterior setae; mid tibia with 3–4 anterodorsal, 2–3 posterodorsal and 1 ventral setae; hind tibia with 3–4 posterodorsal and 2 ventral setae and a row of rather closely set anterodorsal setae.
Abdomen. Ovate. Dark brown in ground color, densely covered with grayish white pruinosity on tergites, with a pair of triangular dark brown markings on posterior 2/3 of tergite 3, 1/2 of 4 and 1/2 of 5. Syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 each with a pair of lateral marginal setae, without median marginal seta, tergites 4 and 5 each with a row of marginal setae, dense fine and recumbent hairs on tergites 3 and 4, suberect hairs on tergite 5, sparser on venter. Male terminalia (Figs. 9–11). Cerci short and distinctly narrowed at apical half and surstyli long and bluntly round at apex in caudal view; and apex of cerci bent posteriorly, surstylus broad and slightly bent posteriorly in lateral view; postgonite shorter than basiphallus; distiphallus long, membranous apical part about twice as long as sclerotized basal part.
Type material. Holotype ♂, CHINA, Tiecha Mountain (124°19′E, 41°17′N), 550–950 m, Benxi, Liaoning, 30.v.2008, J. Hao (SYNU).
Etymology. The specific name is taken from a character of this species, developed facial carina, it is from Latin adjective carinata (= facial carina).
Distribution. China (Liaoning).
Remarks. This species is distributed in Liaoning, NE China and closely similar to B. malayana with developed facial carina, plumose arista, but it may be distinguished from the latter in having dark brown abdomen, densely covered with gray pruinosity, tergites 3 to 5 each with a pair of dark triangular markings on posterior 2/3 to 1/2.
description: Published as part of Zhang, Chun-Tian, Shima, Hiroshi, Wang, Qiang & Tschorsnig, Hans-Peter, 2015, A review of Billaea Robineau-Desvoidy of the eastern Palearctic and Oriental regions (Diptera: Tachinidae), pp. 1-40 in Zootaxa 3949 (1) on pages 7-8, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3949.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/288389