Chvalaea australis Barros & Soares & Freitas-Silva & Ale-Rocha 2022, sp. nov.

Chvalaea australis sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 294C321B-63CD-4381-A47C-662636FF7146

Figs 1–4

Diagnosis

Frons short (approximately 1 /5 length of face), wide (as wide as ocellar triangle), with a shallow concavity at mid-length; occiput black with gray pruinosity, except central upper postcranium region with yellow pruinosity. Coxae yellow with white pruinosity, except basal half of fore coxa brown and bare; hind tibia black, except base brown; fore and mid tarsi brown, hind tarsus black; hind tarsomeres 3–5 with short, blunt and black spine-like ventral setae. Wing with cell cua slightly longer than half length of cell bm, veins M 1 and M 4 not reaching the wing margin, cell r 1 slightly broadened at apex.

Etymology

From Latin ‘ auster ’ meaning ‘south’, referring to Australia.

Material examined

Holotype AUSTRALIA • ♂; “NSW” [New South Wales]; “ Barrington Tops SF ”; [ca 32°4′2.982″ S, 151°39′47.495″ E]; [alt] “ 1000 m ”; “Feb.11.1984” [11 Febr. 1984]; “ L. Masner, S.S.” [leg.] [white label]; “ HOLOTYPE, Chvalaea australis Barros, Soares, Freitas-Silva & Ale-Rocha ” [red label]; condition: good, terminalia dissected; AMS.

Paratypes AUSTRALIA • 5 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀; same collection data as for holotype; AMS • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; MNH • 2 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; INPA • 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; CNC.

Additional material

AUSTRALIA • 2 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀; same collection data as for holotype; ZMUT • 2 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀; same collection data as for holotype; MNH • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same state as for holotype; “Monga State Forest” [Monga National Park]; [ca 35°37′21.0″ S, 149°54′22.2″ E]; 19–24 Jan. 1984; L. Masner leg.; AMS • 4 ♂♂; same state as for holotype; “Toloom Scrub” [Toloom National Park]; [ca 28°27′23.9″ S, 152°26′43.0″ E]; alt. 1000 m; 14 Feb. 1984; L. Masner leg.; AMS • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; CNC • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; INPA • 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀; same state as for holotype; New England National Park; [ca 30°30′21.6″ S, 152°24′36.3″ E]; alt. 1300–1500 m; 13 Feb. 1984; L. Masner leg.; INPA • 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀; “ Wiangaree N.P. ″ [Border Ranges National Park], Brindle Creek; [ca 28°23′01.0″ S, 153°05′45.9″ E]; 14 Feb.1984; INPA • 3 ♂♂; same state as for holotype; Dorrigo National Park; [ca 30°22′15.0″ S, 152°44′40.4″ E]; alt. 1000 m; 13 Feb.1984; Peck leg.; CNC • 3 ♂♂; Queensland, Mount Glorious National Park; [ca 27°19′49″ S, 152°45′35″ E]; alt. 630 m; 28 Feb. 1984; L. Masner leg.; CNC • 1 ♀; same state as for preceding; [Landsborough], Landsborough Shire; [ca 26°49′19.4″ S, 152°58′02.5″ E]; alt. 200 m; 8 Mar. 1984; L. Masner leg.; CNC • 1 ♀; Victoria, 10 km North of Warburton Archeron Gap; [ca 37°40′37.8″ S, 145°44′27.7″ E]; alt. 750 m; 7 May.1978; S. and J. Peck leg.; CNC • 1 ♂; Tasmania, 10 km South of Hellyer River; [ca 41°20′42.4″ S, 145°37′54.7″ E]; 10 Jan. 1984; L. Masner leg.; CNC.

Description

Male (Fig. 1A)

MEASUREMENTS. Holotype body length 3.5 mm. Wing length 3.8 mm.

HEAD. Frons short, brown, covered with dense yellow pruinosity, approximately 1 /5 length of face, as wide as ocellar triangle, with a shallow concavity at mid-length (Fig. 1C); 1 pair of proclinate ocellar setae, 1 pair of postocellar setae long and strong, about 2 × as long as ocellar setae [observed in paratypes]. Antenna ground color brown (Fig. 1D), except anterior spot on pedicel yellowish; postpedicel long, triangular, about 1.3 × as long as scape and pedicel combined, covered with yellow microtrichia, 1 short dorsal seta on basal third, about ¼ length of postpedicel; arista-like stylus apical, bare, about 3 × as long as postpedicel. Proboscis brown (Fig. 1D), very short; palpus brown, with fine and short yellow setae, and 1 long apical seta, about 3 × as long as palpus. Occiput black (Fig. 1C), covered with gray pruinosity, except central portion of upper postcranium with yellow pruinosity.

THORAX. Shining, covered with yellow pruinosity. Antepronotum dark brown (Fig. 1D). Scutum dark brown, except posterior margin of postpronotal lobe yellow and postalar callus pale yellow. Scutellum shining brown, with yellow pruinosity on lateral margin. Mesopleuron extensively brown, except laterotergite light brown, covered with yellow pruinosity. Mediotergite shining brown, with sparse yellow pruinosity. Acrostichals biserial; dorsocentrals uniserial, short, fine and sparse, 2 prescutellar setae longer; 1 long and strong notopleural seta; 1 short and fine anterior postalar seta, and 1 posterior postalar seta [lost in holotype, but apparently strong]. Scutellum with 1 pair of long and strong apical setae [observed in paratypes] and 1 pair of short and thin lateral setae [observed in paratypes].

WING (Fig. 3). Light brown; cell cua slightly longer than half length of cell bm; veins M 1, M 4 and CuA+CuP not reaching wing margin; cell dm slightly shorter than br and bm cells; pterostigma slightly darker than rest of wing membrane; cell r 1 somewhat broadened at apex; halter dark brown, except stem yellow.

LEGS. All coxae yellow, covered with white pruinosity, except basal half of fore coxa brown and bare; femora pale brown, except middle dorsal surface of hind femur and apexes of all femora darker; fore and mid tibiae brown, hind tibia black except base brown (Fig. 1E); fore and mid tarsi brown, hind tarsus black. Chaetotaxy: mid femur with 2 long anterior setae on apical half and 1 apical seta stronger; hind femur with 3 long setae near apex (1 dorsal and 1 anteroventral fine, 1 anterior strong), and 1 long ventral seta at mid-length; fore tibia with 1 long and strong ventral seta at mid-length; mid tibia with 1 strong dorsal seta near base, 3 long and strong anterodorsal setae (1 seta on basal ⅓, 1 at mid-length, 1 near apex) and 1 long and strong ventral seta at mid-length of mid tibia; hind femur with 2 long and fine anteroventral setae (1 on basal half and 1 at mid-length), and 1 long and fine posteroventral on basal half. Fore basitarsus with 1 long and strong ventral seta near base; mid basitarsomere with 1 posteroventral long and strong seta near base; hind tarsomeres (Fig. 1F) 1–2 with 1 anteroventral and 1 posteroventral rows of long strong black spine-like setae, hind tarsomere 3 with 3 anteroventral and 2 posteroventral short and blunt spine-like setae, hind tarsomere 4 with 1 short and blunt spine-like ventral seta, 1 anteroventral and 1 posteroventral spine-like setae at apex, hind tarsomere 5 with 1 short and blunt spine-like ventral setae.

ABDOMEN. Black, slender, slightly curved downwards, covered with short and thin pale setae. Segment 8 about as long as wide, with 1 row of long and fine setae near the apex.

TERMINALIA. Cerci (Fig. 2C) (lateral view): left cercus short, slender at apex; right cercus slightly longer than left cercus, broader at base. Left epandrial lamella (Fig. 2C) as long as wide; right epandrial lamella (Fig. 2D) 1.4 × as long as wide, rounded apex. Surstyli long, of subequal length, narrowing at apex; phallus elongate, phallic shaft gradually arched, cylindrical, without protuberances. Hypandrium (Fig. 2A) narrow, elongate and oval, 2 × as long as wide, apical margin convex with 4 setae arranged in trapezoidal pattern; subepandrial sclerite with basal margin sinuate and apical margin truncate (Fig. 2B); hypoproct (Fig. 2B) about as long as wide, apex slightly sinuate at mid-width, lateral margins round, basal margin concave in middle.

Female (Fig. 1B)

Similar to male, except by abdominal segment 8 less sclerotized. Female terminalia (Fig. 2E). Sternite 8 large, about as long as wide, suboval, a narrow concave on distal margin; sternite 10 short, kidneyshaped; cercus short, slender.

Variation

In some specimens the scutum has a denser pruinosity. The number of short and blunt spine-like setae may vary in hind tarsomere 3 (4–7), hind tarsomere 4 (2–5) and hind tarsomere 5 (1–2).

Remarks

Chvalaea australis sp. nov. is similar to C. ecuadoriensis, by frons broad, as wide as ocellar triangle. The new species may be distinguished from the latter by the color of the hind tibia, which is brown in C. ecuadoriensis, but black with a brown base in C. australis, and by the cell r 1 which is wide at the apex in C. australis but narrow in C. ecuadoriensis.

Distribution (Fig. 4)

Chvalaea australis sp. nov. is known to occur only in the temperate broadleaf forests (Olson et al. 2001) of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.