Melaleuca peruviana Brèthes, 1920

Santis, Marcelo Domingos De, O’Hara, James E. & Couri, Márcia Souto, 2024, Partial revision of the exclusively Neotropical species of Zelia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Tachinidae: Dexiinae: Dexiini), with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 5419 (1), pp. 1-52 : 49

Melaleuca peruviana Brèthes, 1920

peruviana Brèthes, 1920: 31 . Unplaced species of Tachininae . Zelia peruviana ( Brèthes, 1920) . References: Guimarães (1971: 102, new combination, as an unrecognized species of Zelia ); Mulieri et al. (2013: 168, syntype data); O’Hara et al. (2020: 85, checklist of World Tachinidae ). Type locality: Peru, Lima (MACN).

Type material examined. One female, considered as syntype by Mulieri et al. (2013). Labeled as: “ Lima / E. Martínez / II-1919 [handwritten]”; “type! [handwritten]”; “ Melaleuca / peruviana Brèthes [handwritten]”

Remarks. Guimarães (1971: 102) listed Zelia peruviana as an unrecognized species of Zelia . Herein, it is confirmed that this species does not belong to Zelia , and it is moved to “Unplaced species of Tachininae ”. The presence of a setulose parafacial, blackish head, wing with costal spine, abdomen without pruinosity dorsally and scutum with pruinosity only on presutural region immediately removes M. peruviana from Zelia . Although there are some superficial similarities with the myiophasiine genus Cholomyia Bigot, 1884 ( Tachininae ), it cannot be conclusively placed in this genus as diagnosed by Santis & Nihei (2016). Hence, until additional evidence becomes available (e.g., data from male terminalia), Melaleuca peruviana Brèthes, 1920 is moved from its placement in Zelia to an unplaced species of Tachininae .