Platypalpus litoreus Raffone

Platypalpus litoreus Raffone

Platypalpus litoreus Raffone, 2010: 45.

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE Ƌ, labelled: “Casale Borsetti (Ravenna), Boschetto Sud, 15-IV-1978 / Paratypus ♀ [SIC!]/ Platypalpus litoreus n.sp. det. Raffone G. 2009” [genitalia dissected] (MSNV). PARATYPES: same data as holotype (2 ♀) (MSNV).

Notes on type material. The holotype is well preserved (only left hind leg missing) with genitalia in a plastic microvial. It is a specimen of P. flavicornis (Meigen). Genitalia agrees in all details with P. flavicornis including small subbasal incision on dorsal side of left epandrial lamella depicted by Chvála (1975, figs 480–482) but omitted by Raffone (2010, fig. 5). Ventral setae on left epandrial lamella illustrated as very short by Raffone (l.c., fig. 6) are in fact very long (almost as in fig. 482 in Chvála, 1975). However, Chvála´s (l.c.) figures (figs 481 and 482) differ slightly from several specimens we studied: right cercus depicted as broad at base is in fact narrow (broader appearance is given by dorsally slightly bulging part of subepandrial sclerite). The first paratype female (erroneously labelled as male) is well preserved and it is a specimen of P. pallidicornis (Collin). The second female paratype is well preserved (with only left mid leg missing) and it is P. pallidicornis.

Remarks. Characters of P. flavicornis beside those mentioned in several descriptions and specified here include: proepisternum with a single long pale downcurved seta; mid femur with pale anterior seta one third before tip (similar to P. pallidicornis). Width of frons (measured in middle) and distance between vertical setae are overlapping: the former character in P. pallidicornis being between 0.05–0.09 mm and 0.08–0.11 in P. flavicornis, the latter being between 0.14–0.18 mm in P. pallidicornis and 0.16–0.19 in P. flavicornis. In the holotype of P. litoreus, these measures are: 0.10 and 0.17 mm, respectively. Characters distinguishing both species are given in Table 2. Platypalpus litoreus is considered a new junior synonym of P. flavicornis.

P. pallidicornis P. flavicornis

Lustrous spot on katepisternum asymmetrical and broader Lustrous spot on katepisternum almost symmetrical and than microtrichose posterior margin narrower than microtrichose posterior margin Male: abdominal tergites 5–7 usually with narrow Male: abdominal tergites 5–7 usually broadly microtrichose microtrichose strip anteriorly laterally

Male: last segment of fore tarsi yellow to brownish yellow, Male: last segment of fore tarsi nearly entirely black with the with rounded black spot ventrally exception of yellowish basal 1/4–1/5

Male: midtibial spur shorter than tibial depth and blunt Male: midtibial spur longer than tibial depth and sharp Male: left epandrial lamella with conspicuous and sharp Male: left epandrial lamella with only shallow ventral bulge ventral tooth (exceeding lower margin of lamella by 0.06 (exceeding lower margin of lamella by 0.03 mm); right mm); right surstylus long and narrow, almost 4X longer than surstylus short and broader, about 2.5X longer than wide wide

Female: abdominal tergites 4–5 mostly lustrous Female: abdominal tergites 4–5 mostly microtrichose on sides