Seven new species of dance flies of the subgenus Polyblepharis Bezzi, 1909 (Diptera: Empididae) from Mongolia and East Siberia Author Shamshev, I. V. text Russian Entomological Journal 2024 33 3 496 512 journal article 10.15298/rusentj.33.4.13 0132-8069 Empis ( Polyblepharis ) subcurta Shamshev , sp.n. Figs 10–12 . TYPE MATERIAL . Holotype , ♂ , labelled [in Cyrillic, Russian]: Mongolia , G.-Alt. aym. [=Gobi-Altayskiy aymak, now Govi-Altai aymag (province)], / Khasagt-Khayrkhan Ridge / 15 km S Dzhargalan / 14.viii.[1]970 Kerzhner ( ZISP , INS _DIP_0000629). Paratypes . MONGOLIA , Govi-Altai aymag: same locality as holotype, 14.viii.970, Nartshuk ( 1 ♂ ) . Sükhbaatar aymag [=Sukhe-Batorskiy aymak (province)]: Shiliyn-Bogdo-Ula Mt., 10.vii.1971 , Kerzhner ( 1 ♂ ) . Uvs aymag (=Ubsunurskiy aymak (province)): 5 km N of Khyargas , 10.viii.1970 , Nartshuk ( 1 ♂ , dissected, all paratypes in ZISP ) . DIAGNOSIS. Mid-sized species (body length about 5.5 mm ); male eyes holoptic; palpus yellow; mesoscutum with 3 indistinct, brownish vittae; acrostichal and dorsocentral setae multiserial, pale, hair-like, strong setae usually yellow (notopleurals sometimes black), laterotergite with pale setae; legs brown; wing hyaline; abdominal tergites 1–5 densely brownish pruinose dorsally and grey pruinose laterally. DESCRIPTION.Body length about 5.5 mm , wing 5.5–5.6 mm . Male ( Fig. 10 ). Head capsule regions mostly densely greyish pruinose; face on lower margin and entire clypeus shiny; entirely pale setose (sometimes occiput with 2–3 moderately long, fine, brownish yellow to black setae dorsally). Eyes holoptic, upper ommatidia enlarged. Frons represented by very small subtriangular space just below ocellar triangle and larger space above antennae; bare. Face broad, bare. Ocellar triangle with several moderately long, hair-like setae; ocellars undifferentiated. Occiput and postgena covered with numerous, long, hair-like setae; postoculars moderately long on upper part and very short laterally. Antenna with scape and pedicel brown, postpedicel and stylus black; scape slightly longer than subglobular pedicel, both with very short setulae; postpedicel nearly 2X as long as basal width, with straight margins; stylus nearly as long as postpedicel basal width. Proboscis with labrum brownish yellow, nearly 1.5X longer than eye height; palpus short, pale yellow, with rather numerous pale setulae. Thorax black in ground-colour, mostly densely greyish pruinose; mesoscutum with 3 indistinct, brownish vittae along acrostichal and dorsocentral setae; almost entirely pale setose, strong setae yellow (some notopleural setae often black).Antepronotum with stronger setae dorsally and long, hair-like setae laterally on each side. Postpronotal lobe with long, dense, hair-like setae. Proepisternum with tuft of numerous pale, hair-like setae on low- er part. Prosternum bare. Mesonotal setae: acrostichals arranged in 4–5 irregular rows, lacking on prescutellar depression, long, dense, hair-like; dorsocentral setae separated from acrostichals by narrow bare space, presutural dorsocentrals multiserial, similar to acrostichals, postsuturals 1–3-serial, 2 long prescutellars; presutural supra-alar space entirely covered with dense, long, hair-like setae not separated by bare space from dorsocentrals; 3–4 notopleurals (posterior seta sometimes finer); 1 postsutural supra-alar; 1 long and 1 minute postalars, 4 scutellars (lateral setae only slightly shorter than apicals). Laterotergite with numerous pale to pale yellow setae. Anterior and posterior spiracles pale. Legs with coxae densely greyish pruinose, remaining podomeres subshiny; mostly black setose. Leg colour: entirely brown (in one paratype hind tibia and femur somewhat paler close to base). Fore coxa covered with pale, long, dense, hair-like setae anteriorly. All femora without whitish pilosity ventrally. Fore femur with row of mostly minute, fine anteroventral setae; covered with hair-like, moderately long, pale setae posteroventrally and posteriorly. Fore tibia with 3–5 short, anterodorsal setae (position and robustness variable). Mid femur with complete rows of sparse, mostly very short, anteroventral and posteroventral setae (slightly longer close to base). Mid tibia slender; with row of 7–9 moderately long, rather fine, anterodorsal and 2–3 similar posterodorsal setae; 2–3 hardly prominent setae ventrally; setae of subapical circlet long. Hind femur slender; with row of 3–4 short anterodorsal setae in about apical third; complete row of rather short and scattered, anteroventral setae; fine, short setae posteroventrally (longer close to base); pale, long, hair-like setae near base posteriorly. Hind tibia slightly, gently thickened towards apex; with 6–7 moderately long, anterodorsal and 3–4 similar posterodorsal setae; simple setulae ventrally; 1 short seta in posteroapical comb. Tarsomeres of fore and mid legs slender, hind basitarsus slightly thickened at base and narrowed towards apex; basitarsi with circlet of moderately long, fine, subapical setae, bearing several spine-like setae ventrally; in addition, hind basitarsus with 2–3 moderately long, fine setae dorsally. Wing membrane hyaline; entirely covered with microtrichia; veins mostly yellowish (costa between anterior margin of pterostigma and R 5 as well as apical portion of radial veins brownish to brownish yellow), well-sclerotized. Veins R 5 and M 1 divergent towards wing margin; radial fork acute; R 5 meeting costa before wing apex; CuA+CuP complete (slightly weakened beyond middle). Cell dm moderately large, with strongly elongate apex; apical portion of M 4 nearly 3X long- er than its middle portion. Pterostigma inconspicuous. Basal costal seta absent. Anal lobe well-developed; axillary incision very acute. Squama yellow, pale fringed. Halter yellow. Figs 10–12. Empis ( Polyblepharis ) subcurta Shamshev , sp.n. , male: 10 — habitus, holotype, lateral view; 11 — hypopygium, lateral view; 12 — phallus, lateral view. Abbreviations: cerc — cercus; ej apod — ejaculatory apodeme; epand — epandrium; hypd — hypandrium; ph — phallus. Scale bar is 0.1 mm. Рис. 10–12. Empis ( Polyblepharis ) subcurta Shamshev , sp.n. , самец: 10 — габитус, голотип, вид сбоку; 11 — гипопигий, вид сбоку; 12 — фаллус, вид сбоку. СокращениЯ: cerc — церк; ej apod — ЭЯкулЯторнаЯ аподема; epand — Эпандрий; hypd — гипандрий; ph — фаллус. Масштаб 0,1 мм. Abdomen entirely black in ground colour. Pruinescence: tergites 1–5 densely brownish pruinose dorsally and grey pruinose laterally (in dorsal view abdomen with broad brownish stripe); tergites 6–7 with yellowish brown iridescent spot dorsally, grey laterally (lateral view); sternites 1–7 densely grey pruinose; sternite 8 faintly pruinose, with shiny upper antero-lateral projection. Chaetotaxy: abdomen covered with only pale setae; tergites almost bare dorsally (with scattered minute setulae), covered with numerous long fine setae laterally (including slightly stronger posteromarginals); sternite 1 bare, remaining sternites with numerous long setae. Pregenital segments: segment 6 unmodified; tergite 7 slightly concave posteriorly, sternite 7 with slightly produced postero-lateral corner, pleuron of segment 7 slightly sclerotised posteriorly; segment 8 with separated tergite and sternite; tergite 8 somewhat flattened, represented by two subtriangular sclerites separated mid-dorsally, with several short setae posteriorly; sternite 8 large, scoop-shaped, somewhat constricted anteriorly, with 2 small, antero-lateral projections separated by depression and larger, broad projection on posterior margin of depression. Hypopygium ( Figs 11, 12 ) moderately large; epandrium and basal half of phallus brown, apical half of phallus and cerci brownish yellow; epandrial lamella shiny on middle part, with sparse, short, pale setae along lower margin and at apex; cercus with black setulae denser towards apex. Epandrium entirely broadly divided (epandrial bridge absent); epandrial lamella ( Fig. 11 ) subtriangular (lateral view). Hypandrium separated from epandrium; mostly membranous, undivided, narrowly sclerotized along margin, subrectangular in ventral view; bare; gonocoxal apodeme small. Cerci separated with each other and from epandrium; cercus elongate ovate (lateral view), with apex extending to level of epandrial lamella apex, without dorsolateral, lobe-like projection in basal part (dorsal view), with serrate inner margin. Phallus ( Fig. 12 ) almost entirely hidden; zigzag bent, strongly constricted beyond middle; its basal portion gently curved, thick at base and becoming slightly narrower towards constriction; apical bend portion broadly semicircular (its tip pointing to rear), long, almost uniformly slender (except slightly thickened extreme base). Ejaculatory apodeme moderately large, extended far beyond basal curvature of phallus, with lateral wings. Female. Unknown. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS. The new species is very similar to E . curta Loew, 1869 known only from the type locality (“Sarepta”, Volgograd , Russia ). Empis subcurta sp.n. differs from E . curta primarily by mostly yellow to pale mesonotal setae and densely pruinose tergites 2–5 (versus shiny). In addition, the new species could be compared with E . indigirca Chvála, 1999 (known from Eastern Siberia). The latter species has entirely black acrostichal and dorsocentral setae, partly brownish yellow legs and black posteromarginal setae on abdominal tergites 1–5 [ Chvála, 1999 ]. ETYMOLOGY. The epithet of the new species refers to its similarity to E . curta . DISTRIBUTION. Mongolia .