Exphora robusta Junkiert & Walczak, 2021

Exphora robusta Junkiert & Walczak View in CoL sp. nov.

( Figs 1D View Fig , 2D View Fig , 3D View Fig , 12–13 View Fig View Fig )

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Material examined

Holotype

1 ♂ / Exphora robusta sp. nov. / Junkiert & Walczak det. 2018 [red label]; Coll. Mus. Tervuren / Madagascar: Tamata / ve: Foul pointe XI- / 1995 A. Pauly [white label] ( RMCA).

Paratypes

1 ♂, 2 ♀♀ / Exphora robusta sp. nov. / Junkiert & Walczak det. 2018 [red label]; Coll. Mus. Tervuren / Madagascar: Tamata / ve: Foul pointe XI- / 1995 A. Pauly [white label] ( RMCA) .

Description

Body length 9.5–10.25 mm.

Head. Metope twice as long as wide, lateral margins slightly arched and extended laterally at level 3/ 4 in its lower part, then narrowing to metopoclypeal suture. Dorsal margin of metope very weakly arcuately concave (almost straight). Median keel distinct, running through metope and metopoclypeal suture ( Fig. 2D View Fig ). Metopoclypeal suture elongate, equal to 3/4 of the metope length, triangular. Lateral keels present and distinct. In lateral view, the metope is distinctly convex, whereas the metopoclypeal suture is almost straight. Median keel gently arches over surface of metopoclypeal suture and protrudes slightly above surface of the metope, bottom part is hidden by gently protruding lateral keels. The eyes rather round (hind edge of the eye almost straight). Coryphe almost 1.5 times as wide as long, with anterior margin convex and distinctly angular and posterior margin distinctly arcuately concave.

Pronotum and mesonotum. Pronotum bluntly rounded anteriorly, distinctly concave posteriorly. Mesonotum weakly convex, with three parallel keels: median keel is in its anterior part joined to two slanting lines converging to each other almost at right angle and thus forming an arrow-shaped structure. Both edges of arrow are joined to two lateral keels.

Fore wings. Clavus elongate, reaching almost 2/3 the length of the whole wing, of hyperpterism type. Costal area well developed with 13–14 cells between CA and Pc+CP; ScP+R short, separating; RA two-branched; RP with at least 8 terminals; MP separating before nodal line; MP1+2 separating before nodal line, 3–5 terminals (mostly 3), after the last terminal, clearly forked at the same level as stigma; MP3+4 separating, before nodal line; with 2–3 terminals (sometimes 1); MP4 single, MP3 short, with 1–2 terminals, separating before nodal line, after the last terminal. CuA forking before nodal line and before MP; two or three transverse veins connecting CuP and PCu+A1 (one vein connecting CuP and PCu before joining with A1 and one or two connecting CuP and PCu+A1). A1 running parallel to posterior margin of clavus. Cubital cell twice as long, or even more, than postcostal cell, radial cell and median cell. Radial cell separated by a transvers vein. C1 based well before C2- C5; C2 and C 4 in contact sharing MP margin. C1 longer than C2, C3 and C4, C5 about 2 times longer than C2, C3 and C4. Nineteen to twenty one apical cells. Stigma well visible, includes cell created by disjunction of ScP+RA (with dark brown spot within cell) and 4 short veins running to edge of wing (slightly paler cells) ( Fig. 3D View Fig ).

Hind wings. Well developed, 4/5 of the fore wings’ length. Hyaline with brown veins. Almost twice long as wide in midline (ratio length to width: 2.2–2.4). Thirteen apical cells ( Fig. 3D View Fig ).

Legs. Prothoracic and mesothoracic legs: Femur about 2/3 of tibia length, irregular in cross-section, margins of femur covered with small bristles, inner margin bear small spines. Tibiae long and thin, trapezoidal in cross-section, margins covered with small bristles, lateral margins with double row of bristles.

Metathoracic legs. Metafemur margins covered with small bristles. Metatibia twice as long as metafemur, triangular in cross-section with concave ventral side. Margins of metatibia covered with small, barely visible bristles. Lateral margin with four lateral spines, three of which are distinct and one is weakly visible. Metatibiotarsal formula 8/8/2.

Colouration. General colouration brown, metope with keels distinctly red, between lateral and median keels red-brown thin stripes passing along the metope. Eyes darker than background, almost black, ocelli darker than background, without rim. The hind edge of the pronotum and mesonotum is contoured by a distinct dark line, similar like all dark marked convex keels on the mesonotum. Lateral margins of tergites of abdomen brown. Wings hyaline with brown veins. Legs brown like the rest of the body. Metatibial spines dark brown with black tip.

Genitalia. Male. Pygofer with hind margin convex. Aedeagus s.l. falcate in lateral view. Ventral phallobase overreaching half-length of aedeagus. Each dorso-lateral phallobase lobe with one long apical finger-shaped process bearing very small denticles. Subapical process smaller and slightly curved. Inner part of ventral process (aedeagus s.s.) short and robust, duck-head shaped, outer part finger-shaped with apical process and smaller triangular subapical well visible process ( Fig. 12A View Fig ). Anal tube rather robust, weakly narrowed basally and enlarged apically in dorsal view with two horn-like edges. Anal column elongated, about 0.5 times anal tube length ( Fig. 12B View Fig ). The dorsal and lateral margins of gonostyle form a right angle, ventral margin oval; capitulum folded, bearing subapical spiralling tooth on inner side ( Fig.12C View Fig ).

Female. Endogonocoxal process, well sclerotized with slightly rounded apex. Gonoplac (third valvula) semi-circular in lateral view ( Fig. 13A View Fig ). Median part of sternite VII with distinct, wide triangular incision in the middle. Genitalia with anal tube relatively short, broadly rounded in dorsal view ( Fig. 13B View Fig ). Gonapophyses VIII (first valvula) rather short, almost trapezoidal, strongly sclerotized and bearing three short teeth on dorsal margin and one relatively large tooth, bearing smaller subapical tooth ( Fig. 13C View Fig ). Gonapophyses VIII not visible externally, covered by gonoplacs. Gonapophyses IX (second valvular) sclerotized, confluent with endogonocoxal processes, forming bell-mouthed immersion ( Fig. 13D View Fig ).

Measurements (in mm, females in parentheses). Body length: 9.48 (10.04–10.24); head width (with eyes): 1.73 (1.66–1.77); metope length: 1.90 (1.86–1.90); metope width: 0.98 (1.09–1.24); metope length/metope width ratio: 1.94 (1.50–1.74); coryphe length: 0.43 (0.44– 0.49); coryphe width: 0.85 (0.82–0.92); coryphe length/ coryphe width ratio: 0.50 (0.53–0.54); fore wing length: 8.52 (8.41–8.63); fore wing width: 4.26 (3.92–4.41); mesonotum length: 1.81 (1.96–2.02); mesonotum width: 2.17 (2.10–2.12).

Diagnosis. Exphora robusta sp. nov. can be distinguished by its size (it is smaller and more robust than other species of this genus), brown rounded stigma which includes four short veins running to edge of wing (colouration is slightly paler on those cells), metope with wide brown stripes, horned anal tube, shape of style, aedeagus and its processes.

Etymology. The name is given according to the robust appearance of the body of this species.

Distribution. Madagascar, Toamasina, Tamatava [ 18°08’05.0” S, 49°22’00.9” E] ( Fig. 7 View Fig ).