Senopterina flavifemoris, Rodrigues & Carvalho & Mello, 2024

Rodrigues, João Paulo Vinicios, Carvalho, Claudio José Barros De & Mello, Ramon Luciano, 2024, Review of Senopterina Macquart (Diptera, Platystomatidae) from Brazil, with description of two new species, Zootaxa 5448 (4), pp. 482-498 : 490-491

Senopterina flavifemoris sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:977FEB79-FB7B-4254-88D3-CB3312E1C700

( Figs. 31–42 )

Diagnosis: The external morphology of S. flavifemoris sp. nov. is similar to that of S. canina sp. nov. and S. brevipes . However, the frons and face of S. flavifemoris sp.nov. are dark brown to black, and the upper half of the mid and hind femora are yellow. In S. canina sp. nov. the frons is brown on the anterior half, the posterior half is light brown, the face is yellowish, and all legs are dark brown. In S. brevipes the frons is half brown posterior half yellowish brown, face yellowish, and femora with metallic lustre blue to violet, upper half yellowish, lower half brownish.

Body: ( Figs. 31–32 ) ground colour black, with metallic lustre blue; thorax slender; Measurements: body length 9–10mm.

Head: ( Figs. 34–35 ) frons rectangular, dark brown, some specimens with slightly light brown medial line; ocellar tubercle dark brown; two orbital setae, anterior regular, posterior reduced, reclined; postocellar setae reduced and parallels; frons sparsely covered by yellow setulae; inner vertical seta reclinate to inclinate; outer vertical seta reclined to lateroclinate; lunule brown; face, in profile, angulated, black; fronto-orbital plate extending parafacial and gena yellowish brown; gena small; postgena dark brown; clypeus black; prementum yellow; palpus yellow.

Measurements: eye height 1.6–1.8 mm; eye length 0.9–1.0 mm; head height 1.6–2.0 mm; head length 1.5–1.7 mm; postpedicel height 0.8–1.0 mm; postpedicel length 0.2; gena height 0.2–0.3 mm; frons posterior width 0.8–1.0 mm; frons anterior width 0.8–1.0 mm; frons length 0.8–1.1 mm; ocellar triangle length 0.1 mm.

Thorax: ( Fig. 32 ) brown to black, with metallic lustre blue, covered with whitish yellow microtrichosity; with a pollinose on posterior border of anepisternum, katepsternum, merom and anepimerom; one basal postpronotal seta; one notopleural seta; one supra-allar seta; one acrostichal seta, reduced; one dorsocentral seta; one postallar; scutellum bare, with two reclined setae. Measurements: thorax length 3.0– 3.6 mm; thorax width 1.9–2.5 mm; thorax height 2.5–3.0 mm.

Legs: ( Fig. 31 ) dark brown, fore femur with slightly metallic lustre, covered with black, with a row of small setae at the dorsal surface; Mid and hind femora, basal half, yellow covered with whitish setulae, distal half dark brown; hind femur with a row of small distal setae on dorsal surface; tibiae with one black fascia at the posterodorsal surface.

Wings: ( Fig. 36 ) hyaline with fasciae dark brown on br cell; C, extending to R 4+5; one band in dm-m; dm-m straight; halters gray. Measurements: wing length 6.8–8.1 mm; wing width 1.9–2.3 mm.

Abdomen: tergites brown to black, with metallic lustre blue to violet, sparsely covered by whitish setulae, except systernite 1+2; pleura gray; ♂: ( Figs. 37–38, 41 ) epandrium, lateral view straight, posterior half surface covered with setulae; cerci straight; surstylus same size of cerci; glans ovoid, length about 3x the width; terminal filaments long, shorter than distiphallus but longer than glans; ♀: ( Figs. 39–40, 42 ) spermathecae 2+1, spherical, surface smooth with protuberances, apical bulge conical, internal structure cylindric. Measurements: abdomen length 4.1 – 4.6mm; distiphallus length 6.9mm; preglans length 0.23 mm width 0.08 mm; glans length 0.31mm width 0.13 mm; terminal filaments length 1.4 mm.

Distribution: Brazil (Maranhão, Tocantins, and Rondônia).

Material: Holotype: ( Fig. 33 ) 1♂, Brasil, To [cantins], Monte do Carmo , 10°46’21.49”S 48°5’19.80W, Fazenda Dona Maria, 04–05. iv.2019, Lençol Iluminado ( DZUP 563071 ).

Paratypes: Brasil: Maranhão: 1♀ ( INPA), Carolina ( Serra Grande platô), 070428S–472412W, 13.xii.2001, Malaise ; Tocantins: 1♀ ( UFT) , 1 ♂ ( DZUP 563072 ), Monte do Carmo , 10°46’21.49”S 48°5’19.80W, Fazenda Dona Maria, 04–05. Iv.2019, Lençol Iluminado ; 1 ♀ ( INPA), Palmas, Parque Estadual do Lajeado, Lago da Onça , 10°06’44”S 48°15’31”W, Malaise ; Rondônia: 1 ♂ ( MZUSP), Cacaulândia, Sitio do Cabeça , S10°17 ”21.4” W63°20’45.5”, Malaise 25, 15.x–04.xi.2011, Nihei & eq. col .; 1 ♀ ( MZUSP), Porto Velho, Rio Madeira , S09°38’03.3” W65°26’23.9”, Malaise, 28.iv–12.v.2013, Fernandes, F. col. ; 1 ♀ ( MZUSP), Monte Negro, Setor Chacareiro S10°16’21.4” W63°20’45.4”, Mcphaill, 26.v.2012, Savaris, M & eq. col..

Etymology: flavus L. a. yellow or golden; and femoris L. n. thigh giving “ flavifemoris ” meaning yellow femur. The name is given based on the remarkable colour of the basal half of mid and posterior femora.

Biology: The specimens hosted at the MZUSP came from the project SISBIOTA-Diptera ( Lamas et al. 2023), and were sampled using Malaise traps, Shannon traps, and Van Someren traps baited with sugar, banana, sardine, and beer. Most specimens were sampled from November to Mach and June to August—mid-spring to summer, and autumn to mid-winter, in the southern hemisphere.

Figures

FIGURES 31–36. S. flavifemoris sp. nov., external morphology. 31. Habitus, lateral view; 32. Habitus, dorsal view; 33. Label; 34. Head, frontal view; 35. Head, dorsal view; 36. Wing.

FIGURES 37–42. S. flavifemoris sp. nov., terminalia morphology. 37. Male cercus, lateral view; 38. Aedeagus; 39: Aculeus; 40. Female cercus, dorsal view; 41. Glans; 42. Spermathecae.