New Dicerurini from Europe, mostly Sweden (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae, Porricondylinae)
Author
Jaschhof, Mathias
Author
Jaschhof, Catrin
text
Zootaxa
2019
2019-02-20
4559
2
245
264
journal article
27451
10.11646/zootaxa.4559.2.2
2845efb7-0c6c-4842-a407-a995f2e77002
1175-5326
2626958
175EB654-85D7-4472-BF78-9C62BCBCA228
Gardenforsia
gen. nov.
The genus
Gardenforsia
is founded here for
G. oelandica
, a new species discovered recently in Malaise catches from Öland. Two specimens in our collection from Uppland, too poorly preserved for taxonomic description at this stage, give evidence of even another species of
Gardenforsia
in
Sweden
.
Gardenforsia
is another example of regressive morphology in
Dicerurini
(see
Jaschhof & Jaschhof 2013
: 108). Characters of males (females are unknown) suggest
G. oelandica
to be close to
Desertepidosis
or
Neurepidosis
, but the definitions of those genera would require undue extension in order to absorb the new species. It is therefore placed in a genus of its own, with the following characters.
Diagnosis.
Characters such as circumfila with posterior extensions (
Fig. 11
) and parameral apodemes forming wide, single-branched crescents (
Fig. 9
) place
Gardenforsia
in the tribe
Dicerurini
where it belongs to the group of genera with spineless basitarsi (
Jaschhof & Jaschhof 2013: 108ff.
). The extent of morphological regression in
Gardenforsia
and
Desertepidosis
is similar, manifested by the following characters: the eye bridge lacks dorsal ommatidia; flagellomeres number 13; circumfila are present on the first to eighth flagellomeres only; and the narrow wings lack M
1+2
, while M
4
is vestigial. A peculiarity found in
Gardenforsia
is that the distitarsus of the foreleg has a double row of short, blunt-ending bristles ventrally (
Fig. 10
), which to our knowledge are present in no other dicerurines. The genitalic structures of male
Gardenforsia
are as simple as in
Desertepidosis
, but, unlike in that genus, the gonostylus is broad and flattened (
Fig. 9
, ↓
7
), not subcylindrical (
Figs 1–2
), and the tegmen is a broad plate (
Fig. 9
, ↓
8
) rather than a slender tube (
Figs 1–2
).
Etymology.
In naming this new genus
Gardenforsia
, we honor Ulf Gärdenfors, emeritus professor of conservation biology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences,
Uppsala
, for his relentless commitment for the exploration and preservation of biodiversity, both in
Sweden
and beyond. We particularly acknowledge his merits as co-founder of
Svenska artprojektet
, The Swedish Taxonomy Initiative, and, for many years, deputy director of ArtDatabanken, The Swedish Species Information Centre.