Pseudogaurax alvinae Carvalho-Filho, Monteiro & Kloss, 2024

Carvalho-Filho, Fernando S., Cruz, Vanessa C., Monteiro, Nilton J. S. & Kloss, Thiago G., 2024, Description of new species of Pseudogaurax Malloch (Diptera: Chloropidae) from Brazil, with notes on natural history, Zootaxa 5433 (2), pp. 207-230 : 208-212

Pseudogaurax alvinae Carvalho-Filho, Monteiro & Kloss , sp. nov.

( Figs 1–3 , 14B )

Material examined. Holotype male labeled as follow: Reserva [= nature preserve] Santa Teresa, ES [= Espírito Santo], Brasil [= Brazil] / Mata Atlântica [= Atlantic Forest], altitude: 550m / Flor. ombrófila densa montana [= dense ombrophilous montane forest] / 23.X.2014 / T. G. Kloss [collector] // criado de ooteca de/ Cryptachaea migrans [= reared from egg sac of Cryptachaea migrans ].

Paratypes. 4 males and 5 females labelled as holotype.

Diagnosis. Scutum with a widened dark brown mesal longitudinal stripe extending below the postpronotum anteriorly and a small intra-alar dark brown stripe ( Figs 1B , 14B ); scutellum about as long as wide, with a complete dark brown longitudinal stripe ( Fig. 1B ); anepisternum and katepisternum with a large dark brown spot on anterior half ( Fig. 1A ); all legs yellow.

Description. Body length 3.2–3.4 mm; wing length 2.6–2.8 mm. Head ( Figs 1B, 1D ) Yellow; ocellar triangle dark brown, reaching about halfway to apex of frons; frons with yellow setae; fronto-orbital setae yellow; occiput dark brown mesally; ocellar setae reclinate and convergent; postocellar as long as the outer vertical setae, cruciate; a row of interfrontal setulae curved inwards; vibrissa slightly distinct, yellowish, as long as the genal pilosity; antenna yellow; first flagellomere rounded; 1st aristomere yellow, remaining arista dark, with short and dense pilosity; palpus yellow with yellow setae; proboscis dark yellow and with yellow setae.

Thorax ( Figs 1A–B , 14B ). Scutum yellow covered with pale yellow setae, with a widened dark brown mesal longitudinal stripe extending below the postpronotum anteriorly, forming anchor-shaped pattern, and a small dark brown post-sutural dorsocentral stripe, with yellow setulae and setae, intra-alar stripe absent; postpronotum entirely yellow; scutellum yellow with a complete dark brown longitudinal stripe, as long as wide dorsally, with yellow setulae; subscutellum yellow with a dark brown mesal longitudinal stripe; pleuron yellow, anepisternum and katepisternum each with a large dark brown mark on anterior half, large dark mark in the area behind the wing insertion; 1+2 notopleural setae; legs yellow; tibial organ whitish, about ¼ of the length of hind tibia. Wing. Hyaline; tegula with yellowish setulae; halter yellow.

Abdomen ( Figs 1A, 1C ). Syntergite 1+2 yellow with brown mark in the posterolateral corner, remaining tergites dark brown dorsally; sternites yellow. Male terminalia ( Figs 2A– C ): Epandrium rounded, wider than long posteriorly; cerci about twice as long as wide in dorsal view diverging apically and separated by deep U-shaped ventral cleft, each cercus with quadrate apex with about three small setulae dorsally and a long slender setulae apically; surstylus well-developed, tongue-shaped in dorsal view, with rounded apex, with some small setulae, slight arched upward; hypandrium elongate and narrowed in lateral view; distiphallus long, membranous; postgonite well-sclerotized, broad and rounded, with one seta basally and one seta distally; phallapodeme elongate and entire apically. Female terminalia ( Figs 2D– E ): Fully yellow; segments 6 to 8 narrow; epiproct almost wider than long, gradually tapering distally, bare, with a pair of setae on distal half; hypoproct wider than long, with convex posterior margin, with distal half bearing many short setae; cercus elongate and widened, with angulate posterior margin, bearing many elongate and fine setae.

Puparium ( Fig. 3 ). Reddish brown. Elongated, cylindrical, parallel-sided, slightly dorsoventrally flattened, apically and posteriorly truncate. Dorsal surface with many long transverse wrinkles, without spinules and setae, except in the anterior region of puparial cap, that has many flattened spinules. Prothoracic spiracle fan-type with 7 processes. Posterior spiracle reduced, represented by a small nipple-shaped projection.

Etymology. This species is named to honour the last author’s grandmother, Alvina Tressmann Kloss, who deeply inspired him to study biological science.

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL – Brazil (Espírito Santo).

Natural history. The specimens of P. alvinae sp. nov. were obtained from the spider egg sacs of Cryptachaea migrans (Keyserling) ( Araneae : Theridiidae ) collected in a montane ombrophilous Atlantic Forest at an altitude of 550 m ( Fig. 16B ). The egg mass was completely consumed by the fly larvae. The only genera of the family Theridiidae that have been recorded as hosts of Pseudogaurax larvae are Latrodectus Walckenaer and Parasteatoda Archer , both in U.S. A ( Kaston & Jenks 1937; Vetter et al. 2012; Gillung & Borkent 2017).

Remarks. In the last published key to the New World species of Pseudogaurax ( Sabrosky1966) this species runs to couplet 11 that includes the species Pseudogaurax latimaculatus Hall from Panama and Pseudogaurax tectus (Becker) from Peru. Pseudogaurax alvinae sp. nov. differs from these species mainly by the scutal color pattern. In P. latimaculatus and P. tectus the intra-alar stripe is not present and the anterior region of scutum does not have the characteristic anchor-shaped pattern as observed in Pseudogaurax alvinae sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Pseudogaurax alvinae sp. nov., holotype male. A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head and thorax, dorsal view. C. Abdomen, dorsal view. D. Head, frontal view. E. Hind tibia, posterior view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 2. Pseudogaurax alvinae sp. nov. A–C. Holotype male terminalia. A. Posterodorsal view (setation omitted on the left side). B. Lateral view. C. Ventral view. D–E. Paratype female terminalia, distal portion. D. Dorsal view. E. Ventral view. Abbreviations: cer = cercus; ep = epandrium; epi = epiproct; hyp = hypandrium; hypo = hypoproct; phal = phallus; phap = phallapodeme; pgt = postgonite; sur = surstylus. Scale bars: 100 µm.

FIGURE 3. Pseudogaurax alvinae sp. nov., puparium. A. Anterior half, dorsal view. B. Puparial cap, dorsal view. C. Detail of tegument, dorsal view. D. Anterior spiracle, dorsal view. E. Posterior end, dorsal view. F. Flattened spinules of the anterior region of puparial cap highlighted with a dotted white square in the figure 3B. Scale bars: A = 500 µm; B = 200 µm; C, E = 100 µm; D = 50 µm; F = 20 µm.

FIGURE 14. Pseudogaurax species. A. Pseudogaurax flaviscutellatus Marques, Riccardi & Ale-Rocha, 2022, head, lateral view. B–F. Thorax, dorsal view. B. Pseudogaurax alvinae sp. nov. C. Pseudogaurax amazonica sp. nov. D. Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. nov. and Pseudogaurax braoculatus sp. nov. E. Pseudogaurax primavera sp. nov. F. Pseudogaurax wheeleri sp. nov.

FIGURE 16. A. Web of Cyclosa sp., black arrow showing Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. nov. puparium and gray arrow showing the camouflaged Cyclosa spider. B. Adult female spider Cryptachaea migrans (Keyserling) with egg sac. C. Cocoon with many pupae of Hylesia Hübner moth on the wall of an abandoned building. D. Larval case of Cicinnus sp. (Mimallonidae) containing a dead pupa infected with an entomophagous fungi.