Lamachella undetermined

Lamachella sp.

(Fig. 6 A–B)

Material examined. Morocco. 1♀, Rif, Maison forestière, Jbel Talassemtane, NPTL, 1696 m, 14.vii.2021, Sweep net, leg. K. Kettani.

Comments. The present specimen accounts for the first record of the genus Lamachella in the Mediterranean Region, and the second record of the genus in the Palaearctic Region after its record in Germany by the species L. germanica, which was unexpectedly discovered there by Chvála & Stark (1997), after being considered an exclusively Afrotropical genus (Smith 1969; Sinclair & Cumming 2017). In Africa, the genus has been recorded from Cameroon, Uganda and South Africa. As previous African records are from the West, East and South parts of the continent, our specimen is considered to be the first citation of the genus for North Africa.

It is important to mention that the specimen is distinguished by an arista longer than the postpedicel, like in L. germanica, L. maculata Smith, L. marginalis Smith and L. namwamba Garrett Jones. The legs are yellow except for the fore and hind tibiae, more than half of hind femora and all fore tarsi and last three tarsal segments of posterior legs blackish. It is similar to L. marginalis in the blackish part of hind femora, and to L. germanica by having the mid tibiae and basal two segments on the mid and hind tarsi yellow. The wings in this specimen have the apical portion slightly brownish tinged contrary to L. germanica, L. marginalis and L. namwamba, where the wings are uniformly brownish tinged.

Female description. Black species (Body: 4 mm; Wing: 3.8 mm).

Head black in ground color. Eyes dichoptic, eyes broadly separated on face and more broadly separated on frons. Occiput shiny black, covered with black, short bristly hairs. Ocellar triangle not very prominent. Antenna brown with pedicel and postpedicel paler than scape, inserted at middle of head in profile; pedicel with ring of short brown bristles; postpedicel broad and almost spherical; arista-like stylus very much longer than postpedicel. Proboscis longer, brownish and pointing forwards. Palpus slightly long, brownish, with bristle below and another at tip.

Thorax entirely shiny black.All thorax hairs and setae black, acrostichals biserial, dorsocentrals uniserial ending by prescutellar pair longer and dark; 1 postpronotal seta; scutellum with pair of long, strong apical setae with weak outer pair of hairs and two similar inner pairs.

Wing (Fig. 6B) with apical portion slightly brownish tinged, covered with microtrichia except base of costal cell (C), most of base cells, base of anal cell devoid of microtrichia. Veins brownish except vein M separating basal cells, anal vein CuA+CuP and vein Rs faint. Small costal bristle present. Vein Rs very short and curved, making basal cell br broader than cell bm. Pterostigma dark brown, elongate, separated from R 2+3. Squama and halter black.

Legs yellow except for fore and hind tibiae, more than half of hind femur; all fore tarsi and last three tarsal segments of posterior legs blackish; fore and mid femora with distinct brownish patch at tip above. Fore and mid legs slender, covered with short black hairs, without distinct bristles. Hind leg longer than anterior legs. Hind femur thickened with numerous black, short spine-like bristles, arranged in four ventral rows; lateral rows including some larger spines. Hind tibia straight with rows of strong, short ventral bristles. Tarsi with short hairs everywhere.

Abdomen black to blackish brown, with 8 segments covered with paler hairs (last apical sternites with black hairs); segments 7 and 8 narrowed; cercus small.