Cardiacephala podagrica Rondani, 1848

Ferro, Gustavo Borges & Marshall, Stephen A., 2018, A revision of the Neotropical ant-like genus Cardiacephala Macquart, including Plocoscelus Enderlein syn. nov. (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae), Zootaxa 4429 (3), pp. 401-458: 442-444

Cardiacephala podagrica Rondani, 1848  Edit

( Figs. 70–73)

Cardiacephala podagrica Rondani, 1848: 86  Edit .

Cardiacephala elegans Hendel 1936: 64  Edit , Hennig 1938: 14 –15.

Plocoscelus townsendi Cresson, 1930: 335  Edit . New synonym

Description: Body length 8 mm, wing 5 mm. Palpus mostly dark brown, white on outer face. Clypeus dark brown, shiny. First flagellomere black with pale microsetulae. Fronto-orbital plates and frontal vitta brown. Epicephalon black with white pruinosity. Paracephalon dark brown, shiny. Row of katepisternal setae brownish, some of them shiny gold. Fore tibia black. Mid and hind femora white in basal third, apical third brown and the medial third dark brown. Fore tarsomere one white, 2–5 dark brown. Oviscape shiny dark brown, apex yellow. Epandrium yellow.

Head: Palpus broadened basally and gradually tapering to apex. Clypeus short, length less than half of width. Two frontal setae. Frontal vitta with a narrowed depression centrally, reaching ocellar triangle. Inner vertical seta insertion flat, without tubercle. Paracephalon swollen and rounded, extending beyond the vertex. Vertex flattened. Supracervical black setae sparse, weak.

Thorax: Mesonotum black with white pruinosity. Posterior notopleural seta inserted in a small tubercle. Scutellum upturned, triangular. Femora with sparse black setulae. Mid and hind tibia flattened, but sulcus on outer face weak. Wing apex clear with three preapical black spots. Crossvein r-m with dark spot. R4+5 and M1+2 ending separately in wing margin. A1+CuA2 as long as CuA2. Female cervical sclerite with a nipple like swelling at the posterior end.

Abdomen: Tergites with brownish setulae. Female abdomen: Single spermathecal duct uniformly thick, spermatheca vestigial. Paired spermathecal duct uniformly thick. Paired spermathecal duct stems with a small basal rounded swelling, apical half broad and striate before the spermathecae ( Fig. 71). Paired spermathecae striate and oval, deeply invaginated from apex to base. Male abdomen: Ejaculatory apodeme bigger than epandrium and with a broad blade, wider than sperm pump ( Fig. 73). Phallapodeme extending to anterior limit of hypandrium. Distiphallus long, longer than epandrium, ending in a phallic bulb, phallic bulb subequal in length and width.

Type material: Holotype of Cardiacephala podagrica Rondani  Edit (sex unknown, probably lost, not examined): BRAZIL. No information about collector and date. Cardiacephala elegans Hendel  Edit (1 ♀, NMW, not examined): BRAZIL. Pará, Belém. 11–26.V.1928, H. Zerny coll.; Plocoscelus townsendi Cresson  Edit (1 ♀, USNM): PERU. Rio Charape, 13.IX. coll. CHT Townsend (white label). USNMENT 0 0 677016 (white label).

Material examined: BOLIVIA. La Paz, Heath River Wildlife Centre, ~ 21km SSW Puerto Heath, 12º40’S 68º42’W, 29.IV–12.V.2007, S. A. Marshall (2 ♀, 2 ♂, DEBU 00282202, DEBU 00282221, DEBU 00282247, DEBU 00282248); La Paz, Heath River Wildlife Centre, ~ 21km SSW Puerto Heath, 12º40’S 68º42’W, 29.IV– 12.V.2007, S. M. Paiero (2 ♀, 2 ♂, DEBU 00281758, DEBU 00281759); ECUADOR. Napo, vic. Misahualli ca., 1º2’ S 77º40’ W, 450 m, 27–31.X.2002, E. M. Fisher (1 ♀, 1♂, DEBU); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 77º37’ W, 450 m, 1–2.V.2002, Buck & Lonsdale (1 ♀, DEBU 00195447); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 77º37’ W, 450 m, 2.V.2002, M. Buck (1 ♀, DEBU 00177294); Napo. Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 77º37’ W, 450 m, 2.V.2002, M. Buck (1 ♀, DEBU 00177946, sequence MYCRO 246–16); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 70º36’ W, 450 m, 29.IV–8.V.2002, P. Careless (1 ♂, DEBU); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 70º36’ W, 450 m, 29.IV–8.V.2002, J. Boone (1 ♂, DEBU); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 77º37’ W, 450 m, 3.V.2002, O. Lonsdale (4 ♂, DEBU 00179625); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 77º37’ W, 450 m, 3.V.2002, M. Buck (3 ♀, 4 ♂, DEBU 00177994, DEBU 00177995, DEBU 00177996, DEBU 00177997,

DEBU 00177998, DEBU 00177999, DEBU 00178001); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 77º37’ W, 450 m, 30.IV–8.V.2002, S. A. Marshall (11 ♀, 14 ♂, DEBU 00178375, DEBU 00178812, DEBU 00178817, DEBU 00178903, DEBU 00178917, DEBU 00178918, DEBU 00179002, DEBU 00178907, DEBU 00179011, DEBU 00179034, DEBU 00179035, DEBU 00179048, DEBU 00179049, DEBU 00179050, DEBU 00179051, DEBU 00179052, DEBU 00179053, DEBU 00179054, DEBU 00179055, DEBU 00179056, DEBU 00179057, DEBU 00179058, DEBU 00179059, DEBU 00179060, DEBU 00196233); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 77º37’ W, 450 m, 30.IV–8.V.2002, S. A. Marshall (1 ♂, DEBU 00179061, sequence MYCRO 247–16); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 77º37’ W, 450 m, 30.IV– 8.V.2002, S. M. Paiero (1 ♀, DEBU 00178432); Napo, Jatun Sacha, 5.V.2002, S. A. Marshall (1 ♀, 1 ♂, DEBU); Napo, Jatun Sacha, 29.IV–8.V.2002, S. A. Marshall (3 ♀, DEBU); Napo, Jatun Sacha Biol. Res. 6 km E Misahualli, 1º4’ S 77º37’ W, 450 m, 1.V.2002, O. Lonsdale (1 ♂, DEBU 00186961); Napo, lya. R. Pastaza, 12– 22.V.1965, L. Pena (1 ♀, CNC 503334); Napo Prov, Tena, II.1983, M. J. Sharkey (4 ♂, DEBU); Pompeya, Napo, R. Pastaza, 250 m, 14–22.IV.1965, L. Pena (1 ♀, CNC 503442); PERU. Madre De Dios, Sandoval Lk. Ecolodge, ~ 16.5km E Puerto Maldenado, 12º36’S 69º3’W, 28.IV.2007, S. A. Marshall (1 ♀, DEBU 00282623).

Distribution: Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru. Comments: Reference to Rondani’s type was not possible, as it is not in La Specola Zoology Museum (where most of his collection is) and we have no other clues to its location. However, evidence strongly suggests the

conspecificity of C. podagrica  Edit and P. townsendi  Edit . First, Cresson does not mention P. podagricus  Edit when describing P. townsendi  Edit , suggesting that they were not compared. Also, the paracephalon of P. townsendi  Edit is conspicuously swollen and cannot be used as a differential character as in Hennig (1935). Furthermore, Hennig (1937:49) suggests that P. townsendi  Edit is probably a synonym of C. elegans Hendel  Edit (a synonym of C. podagrica  Edit ). Thus, we here treat P. townsendi  Edit as a synonym of C. podagrica  Edit .

Figures

FIGURES 70–73. Cardiacephala podagrica. 70, male and female, Bolivia, Heath River; 71, female genitalia, ventral view; 72, male, dorsolateral view; 73, male genitalia, lateral view.