Two new species and one newly recorded species of Elaphropeza Macquart from Taiwan (Diptera, Empididae, Tachydromiinae)

Abstract Previously 11 Elaphropeza species were known from Taiwan. The following two species of the genus Elaphropeza are described: Elaphropeza flaviscutum sp. n. and Elaphropeza trimacula sp. n. One species, Elaphropeza plumata Yang, Merz & Grootaert, is newly recorded from Taiwan. A key to 14 known species of Elaphropeza from Taiwan is presented.


Introduction
Elaphropeza Macquart is a large genus in the subfamily Tachydromiinae traditionally placed in the family Empididae (Melander 1928;Steyskal and Knutson 1981;Woodley 1989;Yang et al. 2007;Cumming and Sinclair 2009) or assigned to the family Hybotidae (Chvála 1983;Sinclair and Cumming 2006;Chvála and Kovalev 1989;Shamshev and Grootaert 2007). Elaphropeza is very similar to Drapetis Meigen and was originally considered as a subgenus of the latter genus. It can be separated from Drapetis by the following features: occiput more convex; antenna not upturned; first flagellomere conical with lower margin as straight as upper margin; mesopleuron bare; hind tibia usually with 1-2 antero-dorsal setae (Collin 1961;Chvála 1975;Yang and Gaimari 2005;Shamshev and Grootaert 2007;Cumming and Sinclair 2009). It is distributed worldwide with 212 known species (Yang et al. 2007;Shamshev and Grootaert 2007;Grootaert and Shamshev 2012). The species from the Chinese mainland were reviewed by Yang and Gaimari (2005), and the Oriental species were reviewed by Shamshev and Grootaert (2007). Eleven species of the genus were known from Taiwan (Yang et al. 2007;Shamshev and Grootaert 2007). In this study three species including two new species of Elaphropeza are added to the fauna of Taiwan. A key to 14 known species of Elaphropeza from Taiwan is presented.
Thorax mostly yellow with thin pale gray pollinosity; mesoscutum lacking dark spots; scutellum and postnotum blackish, laterotergite yellow; hypopleuron black except lower portion, metapleuron without spot. Setulae and setae on thorax blackish; mesoscutum with sparse setulae; h absent, 2 npl (posterior npl longer), 1 sa, 1 psa, biseriate acr, uniseriate dc and 1 long strong posteriormost dc; scutellum with two pairs of sc (basal pair very short, about ¼ as long as apical pair). Legs yellow. Setulae and setae on legs blackish; fore coxa with 2 anterior setae at base, apically with 2 anterior setae; mid coxa apically with 3 anterior setae; hind coxa with 1 outer seta at apical margin. Fore femur 1.1 times as thick as mid femur, mid and hind femora subequal in thickness. Fore and mid femora each with 1 long thin pv at extreme base; mid femur with 1 preapical anterior seta; hind femur with 3 weak ad at base. Fore tibia apically with 1 av and 1 pv; mid tibia with row of short spinelike brown ventral setae, apically with 1 av and 1 pv; hind tibia with 2 ad, apically with 1 av. Hind tarsomere 1 without distinct ventral setae. Wing hyaline, veins dark brown, crossvein m-cu nearly vertical. Calypter brown with blackish setulae. Halter brown.
Male genitalia (Figs 5-7): Left epandrial lobe rather narrow in dorsal view, with surstylus large and broad in lateral view. Right epandrial lobe rather large in dorsal view, fused with apically narrowed surstylus. Left cercus long with swollen apex; right cercus rather short, about 1/3 as long left cercus.
Distribution. China (Taiwan). Etymology. The specific name refers to the yellow scutum.
Remarks. This new species belongs to E. ephippiata group, and is similar to E. scutellaris Bezzi from Taiwan of China, but may be separated from the latter by the scutum entirely yellow, scutellum and postnotum entirely blackish, hypopleuron black except narrow lower portion and metapleuron without spot. In E. scutellaris, the scutum usually has the indistinct vittae; the scutellum and postnotum are yellow with brownish spot in middle; the hypopleuron has no spot, the metapleuron is brownish at the upper part (Bezzi 1912;Shamshev and Grootaert 2007).
Diagnosis. Arista thick with plumose pubescence. Mesoscutum with two small lateral spots and one large mid-posterior spot. Abdominal tergites 3-5 without short squamiform setae. Remarks. This can be easily distinguished from other known species of the genus by the thick arista and unique marking pattern of the mesoscutum.
Thorax mostly yellow with thin pale gray pollinosity; mesoscutum with three blackish spots, median spot running through entire scutum and wider anteriorly; scutellum and postnotum black; pleuron with posterior portion (including hypopleuron, metapleuron and posterior portion of pteropleuron) black, mesopleuron and sternopleuron each with a blackish spot. Setulae on thorax yellow, setae brownish yellow; mesoscutum with short dense setulae; h absent, 2 npl (posterior npl longer), 1 prsc, 1 sa, 1 psa, acr and dc multiseriate and uniformly short; scutellum with two pairs of sc (basal pair very short, about ¼ as long as apical pair). Legs yellow except fore tibia and tarsus brown, mid tarsus and hind tarsomere 5 brownish yellow. Setulae and setae on legs blackish; fore coxa with 2 anterior setae at base, apically with 2 anterior setae; mid coxa apically with 3 anterior setae; hind coxa with 1 outer seta at apical margin. Fore femur 1.1 times as thick as mid femur, fore and hind femora subequal in thickness. Fore and mid femora each with row of short thin pv, and 1 long thin pv at extreme base; mid femur with 1 preapical anterior seta; hind femur with 3 weak ad at base. Fore tibia apically with 1 av and 1 pv; mid tibia with row of short spine-like black ventral setae, apically with 1 short av and 1 long pv; hind tibia without ad, apically with 1 av. Hind tarsomere 1 with 4-5 very short, irregular av. Wing hyaline, slightly uniformly tinged grayish; veins dark brown, crossvein m-cu oblique. Calypter brown with blackish setulae. Halter brown.
Abdomen dark brown with thin pale gray pollinosity; tergites complete except tergite 1 linear; tergite 3 relatively board, blackish; hypopygium blackish. Setulae and setae on abdomen blackish except tergites 3-5 each with group of short squamiform black setae laterally, tergite 7 with row of long setae at posterior margin.
Male genitalia (Figs 8-10): Left epandrial lobe rather narrow, with surstylus finger-like and apically curved inward in dorsal view. Right epandrial lobe rather large and broad, fused with surstylus of complicated shape. Left cercus rather long and large with 7 long strong apical setae. Right cercus very small (about 1/10 as long as left cercus), short finger-like.

Distribution. China (Taiwan).
Etymology. The specific name refers to the mesoscutum with three spots. Remarks. This new species belongs to E. biuncinata group. In the key of Shamshev and Grootaert (2007), this species runs to E. acanthi Shamshev & Grootaert from Singapore, but may be separated from the latter by the mesoscutum with three spots, the first flagellomere relatively long (2.4 times longer than wide), and arista with the distinct pubescence. In E. acanthi, the mesoscutum has only one middle spot, the first flagellomere is relatively short (2.0 times longer than wide), and the arista is clothed in very short pubescence (Shamshev and Grootaert 2007).