Opportunity in our Ignorance: Urban Biodiversity Study Reveals 30 New Species and One New Nearctic Record for Megaselia (Diptera: Phoridae) in Los Angeles (California, USA)
Author
Hartop, Emily A.
Author
Brown, Brian V.
Author
Disney, R. Henry L.
text
Zootaxa
2015
3941
4
451
484
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3941.4.1
4a423dfe-e6dc-48fc-8149-d17562f026b3
1175-5326
242977
0282A923-893A-45BC-941A-6CDECBE36618
Megaselia defibaughorum
new species
(
Figs. 7
,
39
,
69
,
99
)
Diagnosis.
Male. In the group VIII key of
Borgmeier (1966)
,
M. defibaughorum
keys to couplet 9, where its CI of 0.36–0.38 makes it too long to be
M. pygmaeoides
[now considered to be
M. berndseni
(
Schmitz 1919
)
], but not long enough to continue in the key. Taking the upper end of the CI range and continuing to couplet 10,
M.
defibaughorum
keys to
M. bovista
Gimmersthal
[now considered to be
M. agarici
(
Lintner 1895
)
] from which it can immediately be distinguished by its lack of the clear posterior epandrial processes that make
M. agarici
so easily identifiable.
M. defibaughorum
superficially appears quite similar to
M. folliculorum
Disney (Disney, Taylor et al. 2011)
, but in addition to differences in the structure and setation of the epandrium (the epandrium of
M. defibaughorum
is more pronounced behind, under the anal tube and has longer and more plentiful setae),
M. defibaughorum
lacks the 1–1.5 rows of reduced, spinose rows of setae on the fore basitarsus (foretarsomere 1).
Description.
See
Table 3
.
Distribution.
Los Angeles, California (
USA
).
Etymology.
Named in honor of the Defibaugh family, hosts of BioSCAN site 15.
Biology.
Unknown.
Holotype
.
♂,
USA
: CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles, Mid-City,
28.XII.2013
–
4.I.2014
, Oxborough, Malaise trap (
LACM
329769).
Paratypes
.
1 ♂
,
USA
: CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles, Highland Park,
1–8.II.2014
, Franco, Malaise Trap (
LACM
329770),
3 ♂
,
USA
: CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles, Mid-City,
28.XII.2013
–
4.I.2014
, Oxborough, Malaise trap (
LACM
329771, 2
CUMZ
).
Additional Material Examined.
USA
: CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles: Glendale, Gardena,
3 ♂
,
II–III.2014
, Malaise traps (
LACM
,
MCZC
,
USNM
).