A new species of Leptarthrus from China
(Diptera: Asilidae)

[Orginally published: Eine neue Leptarthrus-Art aus China (Diptera: Asilidae)]

Milan HRADSKÝ & Fritz GELLER-GRIMM

(1997)

[Published in: Mitteilungen des Internationalen Vereins 22(1/2): 11-14; Frankfurt a.M.]

Abstract

Leptarthrus krali spec. n. is described from China and illustrated. It is compared with the two other known species of the genus, and a key is given. It is the first record of the genus for the East Palaearctic region.

Key words: Diptera, Asilidae, Leptarthrus, spec. n., key, Palaearctic, China

Introduction

Among some Asilidae from China recently sent from Mr. Král, we found an undescribed species of Leptarthrus. Up to now there are 2 species and one subspecies known from the Palaearctic region. The new species is the the first record for the Eastern Palaearctic region (Fig. 1).

Description

Leptarthrus krali spec. n. (Fig. 1, 2)

Material: Holotype female (Coll. HRADSKÝ): China: Prov. Yunnan, Yulong Berge, Baishui, 27°08'N 100°14'E, 2900 - 3500 m, 7.-12.VII.1990, D. Král leg.; it is intended to deposit the type in a museum later.

Female. Body length = 12 mm, wings = 10 mm.
Head: black. Face flat, knob not visible in profile (like L. vitripennis); mystax composed of few black bristles; postocellar setae black; proboscis with black hair basely and white hair apically; palpi and cheek beard with black hair. Antenna black, ratio of segments: 1 to 1.2 to 2.8 to 2.4; arista composed of 2 segments.
Thorax: black. pronotum densely covered with yellow hair. Mesonotum with some acrostichal between the yellow and black dorsocentral setae, the latter reach the level of the transverse suture; all erect hairs on disc yellow, as long as combined length of antennal segmants 1 + 2; pleurswith yellow hair; meropleurite with yellow bristles in front of haltere. Legs black; clothing hairs and bristles yellow and black; tibiae posterio-ventrally with black bristles; fore tibial spure bistle-like, sigmoid, not situated on a process; apical sporn of mid tibia straight and visible; tarsi with black hair and bristles; hind metatarsi as long as the combined length of the following two segments (Fig. 2a). Wings with dark venation; costa with white hair.
Abdomen: black. Tergites with yellow hair; without discal setae missing, only some bristle-like hair on sides of the 1st tergite. Sternites with pale yellow hair, longer at the base. Ovipositor without spines on acanthophorites.
Male: unknown.
Derivatio nominis: The species is named after its collector, Mr. D. Král.
Additional comment: Unfortunately the tomentum of the holotype is unrecognizable by oily degeneration.

Fig. 1: Distribution of the genus Leptarthrus Stephens, 1828 in the Palaearctic region.

Key to the species of Leptarthrus Stephens, 1829

1	Hind legs completely black (Fig. 2a); hind metatarsi as long as the combined length of the following two segments; face flat, knob not visible in profile). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L. krali spec. n.
-	Hind legs black and yellowish-red (Fig. 2b, c); hind metatarsi as long as or longer than the combined length of the following three segments; face flat or convex, knob visible or not in profile). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2	Hind tibiae yellowish-red with black tips (Fig. 2b); hind metatarsi usually yellowish-red and as long as the combined length of the following three segments; face flat, knob not visible in profile). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L. vitripennis (Meigen, 1820)
-	Hind tibiae only yellowish-red in the basal half (Fig. 2c); hind metatarsi black and longer than the combined length of the following three segments; face convex, knob raising beyond anterior margin of eyes for length about equal to 1st segment of antenna). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3	Wings infuscated brownish). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L. brevirostris (Meigen, 1804)
-	Base of wings infuscated blackish). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leptarthurs brevirostris adamovici Hradský, 1982

Fig. 2: Hind leg of a. L. krali sp. n.; b. L. vitripennis; c. L. brevirostris.

Additional comments

Leptarthrus krali sp. n. differs from the other known species by the colour and shape of hind legs. Leptarthurs is the only member of the tribe Isopogonini without spines on acanthophorites in females. The new species is the first record of the south-eastern Palaearctic region. Also known are two other Isopogonini (Theurgus kerzneri Lehr, 1974 und T. zimini Richter, 1966) from this region up to now. We find the highest diversity of the tribe Isopogonini in the Nearctic (61 taxa) and the Neotropical region (29 taxa). Only 7 taxa are known from the Palaearctic region, 5 from the Australian and none from the Oriental region. The new proof helps to clarify the zoogeographical distribution of the tribe. We can expect further new description from this region in future because our knowledge is superficial up to now. PARMENTER (1952) and STUBBS (1970) report on the biology of Leptarthrus brevirostris, which lives in the highlands and high mountains.

Literature

HRADSKÝ, M. (1982): Zur Kenntnis der Asilidae der Balkanhalbinsel, insbesondere Griechenlands (Insecta, Diptera). - Faunistische Abhandlungen. Staatliches Museum für Tierkunde Dresden 9(16): 179-184; Dresden.
PARMENTER, L. (1952): The pupa of Isopogon brevirostris Meigen (Diptera, Asilidae). - Proceedings of the Royal entomological Society of London 27: 43-44; London.
STUBBS, A.E. (1970): Observations on the oviposition of Leptarthrus brevirostris (Mg.) (Diptera: Asilidae). - The Entomologist 103: 289-293; London.

Author´s addresses

Milan HRADSKÝ, Mlékovice 40, CS-28144 Zásmuky.
Fritz GELLER-GRIMM, Spielmannstr. 20, D-65934 Frankfurt a.M.

A new species of Leptarthrus from China (Diptera: Asilidae)