Lycoriella nivicola Menzel & Vilkamaa 2021, sp. n.

Lycoriella nivicola sp. n.

Figs 8A, 9B

Literature. Lycoriella (Lycoriella) sp. n.— Wirta et al. (2016): supporting information, table S1, fig. S1.

Material studied. Holotype male. CANADA, Quebec, Great Whale River, 4–9.VIII.1949, J. R. Vockeroth, 1 male (in CNC). Paratypes. CANADA, same data as holotype, 1 male (in MZH, http://id.luomus.fi/GE.1899); Nunavut, Ellesmere Island, ‘ Fosheim Pns. ’ [= Fosheim Peninsula], Hot Weather Creek, 79°58’N, 84°28’W, 22. VII.1990, F. Brodo (in MZH, http://id.luomus.fi/GE.1821); Nunavut, Ellesmere Island, Alert, 82.30.096°N, 62.20.902°W, 31. VII.1963, J. R. Vockeroth, 1 male (in CNC); Quebec, Payne Bay, 19. VII.1958, J. R. Vockeroth, 1 male (in CNC); N.E. GREENLAND, Kap Köbenhavn, 68°30’N, 22°30’W, VII.1986, J. Böcher (in ZMUC); same data but 68°30’N, 22°34’W 13. VII.1986, 1male (in ZMUC); Zackenberg Valley, Northeast Greenland National Park, 74°28’N, 20°34’W (UTM 8265758:05147529), 14 m, Malaise trap, 2–11. VII.2011, T. Roslin & G. Varkonyi, 1 male (hypopygium only) (in MZH, http://id.luomus.fi/GE.1819, BOLD sample ID GRPV15, sequence ID GRAFW2354-13); same data but UTM 82654758:0514752, 18–24. VI.2011, 1 male (in MZH, http://id.luomus.fi/GE.1825); same data but UTM 8264450:0512722, 35 m, 12–20. VII.2011, 1 male (in SDEI); same locality as previous but without date, J. Böcher, 1 male (in ZMUC); N. GREENLAND, ‘ Nedre Midsommer Sö’ [= Nedre Midsommer Sø], 82.0980°N, 35.9498°W, 10. VII.1966, Canadian Peary Land Expedition, 1 male (in MZH, http://id.luomus.fi/GE.1820); same data but 14. VII.1966, 1 male (in SDEI); E. GREENLAND, Jameson Land, Muslingeelvdal, 71°23’N, 24°38’W, 1994, J. Böcher, 1 male (in ZMUC); GREENLAND, ‘ Sydl. Zool. Station’ [= Sydlig Zoologisk Station], ‘597’, 28. VI.1974, collector unknown, 1 male (in ZMUC); RUSSIA, Arkhangelsk oblast, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, near Seyakh, 70.7788°N, 72.0750°E, nival meadow, Malaise trap, 13–29. VII.2014, N. Zubryi, 1 male (in MZH, http://id.luomus.fi/GE.1900).

Description. Male. Head. Face and antenna concolorous brown, maxillary palpus pale brown. Eye bridge 2–3 facets wide. Face with 32–45 setae. Clypeus with 1–2 setae or non-setose. Maxillary palpus with 3 segments, 1 st segment longer than 3 rd segment, 2 nd segment shortest; 1 st segment with 4–6 setae, with large dorsal pit with sensilla; surface of antennal flagellomeres smooth, body of 4 th antennal flagellomere 2.3–2.7x as long as wide, neck shorter than wide, longest setae as long as width of flagellomere. Thorax. Brown; setae pale. Anterior pronotum with 4–7 setae. Proepisternum with 6–13 setae. Scutellum with 2 moderate and some short and fine setae. Wing. Hyaline. Length 2.1–2.5 mm. Width/length 0.40. Anal lobe small. Veins distinct, except for stM. c/w 0.60–0.75. R1/R 0.6–1.0. stM longer than fork of M. bM and r-m subequal in length, stCuA shortest. bM and r-m non-setose. Halter yellow. Legs. Yellow. Fore tibial organ forming large distinct patch of fine setae in demarcated depression. Fore tibial spur shorter than apical width of tibia. Abdomen. Pale brown; setae pale and short. Hypopygium (Fig. 8A). Brown, like abdomen. Intergonocoxal area moderately long, with wide setose lobe. Gonocoxa wide, longer than gonostylus, with sparse setosity, shortest in apical quarter. Gonostylus (Fig. 9B) long and narrow, narrowed apically, impressed medially; with short setosity, densely setose apically, with strong apical tooth and 10–12 medial megasetae, megasetae straight, shorter than apical tooth; with well-differentiated whip-lash seta on basal third of gonostylus. Tegmen longer than wide, apically roundish, straight laterally, weakly sclerotized, with area of small aedeagal teeth. Aedeagal apodeme long and strong.

BIN. BOLD:AAL7874.

Remarks. The barcoded male of Lycoriella nivicola sp. n. from Greenland with the specimen ID GRPV15 (Wirta et al. 2016) was identified by us and is designated as a paratype (see above). However, 225 further barcoded specimens with the BIN BOLD:AAL7874 are found on BOLD, collected in N.E. Greenland (56), the United States (1) [Alaska] and Canada (168) [Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut Territory, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory].

Discussion. Lycoriella nivicola resembles L. suboptica Mohrig & Mamaev, 1990, described from one specimen from the European part of Russia, in having a similar structure of the eye bridge, maxillary palpus and antenna (narrow eye bridge with one or two rows of facets, a thickened 1 st palpal segment with a large, deep sensory pit, 2 nd and 3 rd palpal segments short, and rather long antennal flagellomeres). Lycoriella nivicola has a large, distinct intergonocoxal lobe with about 20 setae, whereas L. suboptica has the lobe short with 10–12 setae. In L. nivicola, the medial margin of the gonostylus is less impressed than that in L. suboptica (therefore in the former the gonostylus is broader, especially in its apical half). Lycoriella nivicola has seven to ten hyaline gonostylar megasetae (only four-five mentioned for the holotype of L. suboptica), those close to the apical tooth much much shorter than the others. Furthermore, the new species has a very variable C-w index (0.48–0.66; about 0.66 in L. suboptica), the halter is pale (brown in L. suboptica), and the colour of setae on mesonotum, scutellum and abdomen is pale (dark in L. suboptica).

Etymology. The name is derived from the Latin words nivis, snow, and - cola, inhabitant, referring to the cold habitats of the species.