Neosphaeniscus Norrbom, 2010

Norrbom, Allen L., Sutton, Bruce D., Steck, Gary J. & Monzón, José, 2010, New genera, species and host plant records of Nearctic and Neotropical Tephritidae (Diptera) 2398, Zootaxa 2398, pp. 1-65 : 24-28

Neosphaeniscus Norrbom , new genus

Type species: Euribia m-nigrum Hendel 1914: 68 .

Diagnosis. This genus includes N. m-nigrum (Hendel) , new combination, N. flexuosus (Bigot) , new combination, and two or three other, probably undescribed species. Malloch (1933: 265) placed the species originally described as Urophora flexuosa Bigot (1857: 305) in Metasphenisca , but that genus belongs in the tribe Tephrellini , which does not occur in the New World. Neosphaeniscus species do not have extremely narrow aculei as in Metasphenisca and most other Tephrellini . They superficially resemble Pseudoedaspis in wing pattern, but are easily distinguished by the number of scutellar and frontal bristles and the much different male genitalia (they do not have elongate, strongly curved surstyli as in Pseudoedaspis ). Neosphaeniscus differs from Lewinsohnia , Homoeothrix , and Neotephritis , other New World genera of Tephritini with three frontal setae and two scutellar setae, by its wing pattern, which is banded or nearly so ( Figs. 48–49), and its abdominal vestiture. In Neosphaeniscus at least male tergite 5 or female tergite 6 has a large shiny nonmicrotrichose area, whereas in the other genera the abdominal tergites are entirely microtrichose, matte.

Description. Setae yellow to pale brown, setulae, especially on thorax and abdomen, mostly whitish lanceolate.

Head: Higher than long, yellow. Frons 1.5–2.0 times as wide as eye, setulose medially, with 3 frontal and 2 orbital setae. Ocellar seta well developed. Posterior orbital, postocellar, postvertical, and lateral vertical setae whitish, lanceolate. Postocular setae mixed small and large whitish lancelolate. Proboscis capitate, palpus slender. Antenna short, arista minutely pubescent.

Thorax: Mostly to entirely dark brown, densely grayish to yellowish microtrichose. Scutum, scutellum, anepisternum, anepimeron, and katepisternum setulose. Postpronotal, 2 notopleural, pre- and postsutural supra-alar, intra-alar, postalar, acrostichal, dorsocentral, 2 scutellar, 1–2 anepisternal, 1 anepimeral, and 1 katepisternal setae present. Dorsocentral seta midway between transverse suture and postsutural supra-alar seta or closer to suture. Apical scutellar seta slightly more than half as long as basal scutellar seta.

Legs: Yellow, femora sometimes partially or mostly dark brown. Hind femur with preapical anterodorsal and posterodorsal setae.

Wing ( Figs. 48–49): With dark brown bands, including: small band on crossvein h; band from pterostigma to vein Cu 2, connected in pterostigma and cell R 2+3 to posteriorly forked band covering r-m, apex of vein Cu 1, and middle of cell cu 1; subapical band (covering dm-cu), connected anteriorly with marginal band from apex of cell r 1 to apex of vein M, and sometimes with 1–2 bands or marks across cells r 4+5 and m. Vein R 2+3 nonsetulose dorsally and ventrally; vein R 4+5 nonsetulose or at most with 1–2 dorsal setulae proximal to r-m.

Abdomen: Dark brown, densely microtrichose except terminal (male 5th, female 6th) tergite partly shiny, nonmicrotrichose.

Male terminalia: Lateral surstylus short, strongly medially curved ( Figs. 43–44). Medial surstylus short, with 2 stout prensisetae. Phallus without spinules proximal to glans; glans ( Figs. 45–46) short, mostly sclerotized, with slightly curved acrophallus.

Female terminalia: Oviscape shiny, nonmicrotrichose. Aculeus gradually tapering to simple apex.

Distribution. Neosphaeniscus is known from Argentina and Chile.

Etymology. The name of this genus is derived from the genus Sphaeniscus , which has a superficially similar wing pattern, and the prefix Neo -, referring to its Neotropical distribution. It is masculine in gender.