Simulium (Hemicnetha) rubrithorax Lutz, 1909

HERNÁNDEZ, LUIS MIGUEL, SHELLEY, ANTHONY JOHN, DE LUNA DIAS, ANTONIO PAULINO ANDRADE & MAIA-HERZOG, MARILZA, 2007, New specific synonymies and taxonomic notes on Neotropical black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) belonging to the subgenera Chirostilbia Enderlein, Hemicnetha Enderlein, Inaequalium Coscarón & Wygodzinsky, Psaroniocompsa Enderlein and Psilopelmia Enderlein, Zootaxa 1506 (1), pp. 1-80 : 11-12

Simulium (Hemicnetha) rubrithorax Lutz

( Figs. 13, 14 )

Simulium rubrithorax Lutz, 1909: 132 . NEOTYPE ♀, BRAZIL: Minas Gerais State, Juiz de Fora, 21°47'S 43°22'W, 10.x.1909 (C. Chagas) (IOC) [Neotype designation by Maia-Herzog et al., 1984: 352.] [LECTOTYPE ♀ designation by Vulcano (1958: 236) invalid as not from syntype series (see Maia-Herzog et al., 1984).] [Examined.]

Simulium mutucuna Nunes de Mello & Vieira da Silva, 1974: 69 . HOLOTYPE ♀, BRAZIL: Roraima State, Campinho, Road BR 174 near Venezuela border, 73º, 10.00 hrs; 12.xii.1972, [Without collector’s name.] (INPA, no. 1002) [Examined.] New synonymy.

Simulium rubrithorax was described by Lutz (1909) from females collected in Serra da Bocaina at 1500 m and in Batatães [now Batatais], São Paulo State, Brazil. In a subsequent paper Lutz (1910) described the larvae and pupae of this species from specimens collected in the Rio das Velhas near Lassance, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The taxonomy of this species has been reviewed by Maia-Herzog et al. (1984), who also designated a pinned female from Juiz de Fora in Minas Gerais State, as a neotype. The pinned female is deposited in the IOC collection and is in relatively good condition, except that the antennae are missing. One wing and one hind leg are mounted on a slide (see Material Examined).

In 1987 Coscarón suggested the synonymy of S. mutucuna Nunes de Mello & Vieira da Silva [as Nunes & Silva], 1974 with S. paynei . Later, Crosskey and Howard (1997) listed S. mutucuna as a possible synonym of S. rubrithorax . Coscarón & Coscarón-Ariass (2007) placed S. mutucuna as a doubtful synonym of S. paynei Vargas. Simulium mutucuna was described by the original authors from a single black female “attacking man” in Roraima State. It is morphologically identical with both S. rubrithorax and S. paynei , but its black coloration puts it closer to S. paynei . Py-Daniel & Moreira Sampaio (1995) listed S. mutucuna as a valid species in the subgenus Hemicnetha [regarded by them as a genus]. The holotype in the INPA collection has been examined. It is in good condition with only the right antenna missing. The following parts have been removed from it and mounted on two slides numbered 5042A and 5042B: right wing, a basitarsus and one maxillary palp (see Material Examined). The brownish black coloration of the thorax ( Figs. 13, 14 ), leg coloration and wing setation fall within the morphological variation found in specimens of S. rubrithorax in Brazil. Hence, we consider S. mutucuna conspecific with S. rubrithorax and so it falls as its junior synonym.

In Brazil, S. rubrithorax is found in the states of São Paulo, Bahía, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Roraima, and Santa Catarina ( Crosskey & Howard, 2004; Material Examined). Simulium rubrithorax is commonly found in Brazil where it breeds in fast flowing water (waterfall); larvae and pupae are found in rapids attached to rocks often in large numbers. In the Amazonia onchocerciasis focus it is probably zoophilic where it bites horses and most probably cattle. Yanomami Indians use larvae of this species as a food source ( Shelley & Luna Dias, 1989). A full description of all life stages of S. rubrithorax can be found in Maia-Herzog et al. (1984).

Figures

PLATE 1. FIGURES 1–16. Colour patterns of the female thorax. For each species first figure is with anterior illumination and second figure with posterior illumination. 1, 2: Thyrsopelma striginotum holotype; 3, 4: S. pillosum holotype; 5, 6: S. pillosum paratype; 7, 8: S. dekeyseri holotype; 9, 10: S. guarani holotype; 11, 12: S. acarayense holotype; 13, 14: S. mutucuna holotype; 15, 16: S. inaequale neotype.