Revision of early taxa of Australian gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)
Author
Kolesik, Peter
Author
Gagné, Raymond J.
text
Zootaxa
2016
4205
4
301
338
journal article
37404
10.11646/zootaxa.4205.4.1
eb5dfbad-e024-4318-b58e-6d9b9e19eac3
1175-5326
208241
BAC8F107-21D6-49FE-BAC7-BF4EE6C3E6A4
Brachineura australis
(
Skuse, 1890
)
[
Fig. 4
]
Spaniocera australis
Skuse, 1890
: 385
.
Brachineura australis
,
new combination
by
Gagné (1989b: 156)
.
FIGURE 4
.
Brachineura australis
(Skuse)
. Male. (
a
) wing (part missing), (
b
) second flagellomere, (
c
) last tarsomere of foreleg with claws and empodium, (
d
) terminalia in dorsolateral view (substantially compressed, mediobasal lobes not recognisable). Figure a from Kolesik (2014).
Material studied.
Holotype
male
holotype
(
ANIC
29-38480
), “
Hogan’s Brush
,
Narara Creek
, near
Gosford, N.S.W.
(Skuse).
One
specimen in
August
, in dense bush”.
The
mounted has retained most of one wing, the first two and three flagellomeres [remaining ones missing originally (
Skuse 1890
)], a shrivelled head with missing palpi, thorax with parts of legs including one entire foreleg, its claws partially obscured, and the substantially compressed abdomen and terminalia.
Description.
Wing
1.4 mm
long,
0.6 mm
wide, R4+5 4/5 wing length, Cu simple, fading apically, wingfold not apparent. Antennal flagellomeres cylindrical, second
3x
longer than wide, with short necks; circumfila appressed, consisting of a continuous sinuous band along length of flagellomere and a separate, apical transverse band. Claws on foreleg apparently simple, thin, curved near midlength, empodium shorter than claws. Last abdominal segments with scales, the sclerites obscured on mount. Terminalia: gonocoxite with acute apicoventral process; gonostylus wide and microtrichose on basal half, narrow and carinate on distal half, with comb-like tooth apically; aedeagus long, strongly recurved, tapering apically; cerci large, elliptical; hypoproct broad, slightly shorter than cerci, shallowly concave distally, with apical seta on each resulting lobe.
Remarks.
The terminalia are distorted on the slide mount but are nevertheless tantalizingly odd. The curved, acute apex of the gonocoxite is reminiscent of the shape of the ventrodistal lobe in
Epimyia
. A generally similar, greatly recurved aedeagus is also found in
Epimyia
, but the cerci and hypoproct in the present species are shaped as in
Brachineura
. The bizarre shape of the terminalia in this species insures a species identification should another specimen become available. The tarsal claws appear to lack the basal tooth, but the acromere of the only available leg is not well displayed and partially obscured on the mount. If the claws are truly simple, this species will be the first to lack toothed claws in the genus.