Puliciphora venata (Aldrich)

Disney, R. Henry L., 2003, Seven new species of New World Puliciphora Dahl (Diptera: Phoridae) with a new key to the Neotropical species, Zootaxa 162, pp. 1-22 : 16-17

Puliciphora venata (Aldrich)

(Fig. 8)

Phora venata Aldrich, 1896: 436 .

Pachyneurella venata (Aldrich) . Brues, 1903: 382. Puliciphora venata (Aldrich) . Brues, 1906: 15.

Puliciphora rata Borgmeier, 1960: 334 . Syn. nov. Puliciphora tambopata Disney in Disney and Kistner, 1989: 83. Syn. nov.

This species was originally described from the male sex only, the type locality being St Vincent (West Indies). The male hypopygium was subsequently figured by Borgmeier (1969a, figures 141­142, Borgmeier & Prado, 1975, Figs 109­110). The female figured by Borgmeier (1960, Fig. 97) as this species is in fact P. b i c o l o r Borgmeier & Schmitz (1923) ( Borgmeier, 1969a). In his (1960) key P. b i c o l o r females run out at couplet 20 lead 1 (as P. v e n a t a). Lead 2 of this couplet runs to P. r a t a Borgmeier, whose type locality is Costa Rica, San José. However, it is evident that this species is in fact the true P. venata , and that Borgmeier’s confusion of P. b i c o l o r with this species prevented him recognising this. Furthermore, when he transferred P. bicolor and P. v e n a t a to the resurrected genus Pachyneurella ( Borgmeier, 1969a) he not only failed to transfer P. r a t a also, probably because this was one of the few species he had not figured in his 1960 paper, but he then proceeded to describe the female of P. venata also without any figures. This description, however, is consistent with his shorter description of P. r a t a. Accordingly I formally propose that P. rata is a synonym of P. venata .

It is now recognised that P. venata closely resembles P. cubensis Brues (1932) , which was redescribed under the name P. amoena Borgmeier (1960) before being subsequently synonymised with P. cubensis ( Borgmeier, 1968) . This group of species all share the laterally directed apodemes of the anterior flap of abdominal tergite 5 referred to above. This feature was overlooked by Borgmeier (1960) in his description of P. b i c o l o r (under the name P. venata ) and also in his subsequent description of the true P. venata ( Borgmeier, 1969a) . Having examined a series of females from Jamaica, Mexico and Brazil, along with the holotype of the Peruvian P. tambopata Disney (in Disney & Kistner, 1989) I now conclude that it is also a synonym of P. venata , as it is now properly understood. The related P. jacobsonorum Disney also belongs to this cluster of species but is distinguished in the key below.

Material

1 female, Peru and 6 Females, Jamaica, ex termite nests (as P. tambopata, Disney & Kistner, 1989, 1997 ). 4 females, 1 male, Brazil, Rondônia, near Cacaulandia, Fazenda Rancho Grande, 25­28 December 1995, D. H. & A. C. Kistner (5278, 5288) ( CUMZ ­ 31­ 5). 1 female, Mexico, Chiapas, Laranjá, 300 m, July 1977, Hojurasia De selva ( CUMZ ­ 4­49).

FIGURES 35­40. Puliciphora females: (35) P. imbecilla ; (36) P. placida ; (37) P. papillata ; (38) P. lunaris ; (39) P. gracilis ; (40) P. profana . (After Borgmeier, 1960).