Amiota barretti ( Johnson, 1921 )

Jones, Lance E. & Grimaldi, David A., 2022, Revision Of The Nearctic Species Of The Genus Amiota Loew (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2022 (458), pp. 1-181 : 125-129

Amiota barretti ( Johnson, 1921)

Figures 68A–B , 72A , 73 , 94B

Stegana barretti Johnson, 1921: 59 (original description).

Amiota barretti (Johnson) : Wheeler, 1952: 172 (comb. nov. by Wheeler); Brake and Bächli, 2008: 250 (world catalog).

DIAGNOSIS: Very large fly (ThL 1.87–2.26 mm); shiny black with bluish highlights; frons entirely dark, dull; facial marking wide, 0.75× length; cheek very deep (EL/CW 7.08–90), medium to light brown; arista with very short plumosity; femora and tibiae dark brown, tarsi yellow; epandrium heavily sclerotized; outer paraphysis heavily sclerotized, long, linear, bowing outward at midpoint in dorsal/ventral views, with apical hook; left outer paraphysis with spine near midpoint arising medially; inner paraphyses heavily sclerotized, small, right one with 2 and left with 3 spines.

DESCRIPTION: Very large fly (ThL 1.87–2.26 mm), black, bluish from certain angles; thorax and abdomen very glossy. Femora and tibiae dark brown, tarsi dark yellow. Frons broad, nearly black. Facial marking wide, width 0.75× length. Cheek very deep (EL/CW 7.08–90), medium to light brown. Palp brown. Arista: Very short, plumose; longest branch D2; A.R. 0.17; 3 dorsal, 0 ventral branches; no branch pointed mediad or laterad; arista trunk with short microtrichia to apex. Male genitalia: Epandrium heavily sclerotized; crescentic in posterior view, narrow in lateral view; margins discrete (not graded into membrane), dorsal incomplete. Cercus distinct from surrounding membrane, fairly long; ventral setae distinctly longer than others. Surstylus with only a small cluster of setae along mostly the distal margin; 11 long prensisetae, tips slightly narrowed, closely spaced, comblike. Subepandrial sclerite well developed and sclerotized; C-shaped in lateral view; subepandrial appendage not extending past epandrium, heart shaped in full ventral view. Outer paraphysis long, linear, well sclerotized, bowing outward past midpoint (as seen in full ventral view); distal end with apical claw; left outer paraphysis with spine near midpoint that arises on medial surface. Inner paraphyses small, heavily sclerotized, projecting dorsally, half the length of the outer paraphysis, terminating in 2 and 3 spines. Aedeagal apodeme bent nearly 90°, roughly heart shaped, with a shallow emargination; base and surrounding margins heavily sclerotized, dark. Hypandrium thin at apex; with small lateral, slightly wrinkled wings flanking apex; lateral arms greatly thickening, with large posteriorly pointing gonopod. Ejaculatory apodeme 0.60× length of epandrium, slightly curved. Head and thorax measurements: (n = 4; Am 432, 1423, 1489, 1499) FL/FW 0.60 (0.56–0.63), EL/EW 1.33 (1.20–1.49), EL/CW 8.24 (7.08–9), FML/ FMW 0.43 (0.37–0.47), PR /RR 0.57 (0.40–0.66), ThL 2.20 (1.87–2.26 mm).

TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype: Amecameca, “IX” 190”0” [year partially handwritten], Mex., Collected by O.W. Barrett, HOLOTYPE No., Type “7855,” Collection C.W. Johnson, “ Phortica ,” “ S. barretti Johns ” [cited as female], [barcode] MCZ-ENT 00007855, [not examined, only photomicrographs reviewed]. Deposited in the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge ( MCZC).

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED: Mexico: Chiapas: El Triunfo (49 km S. Jaltenango), 1985-05-13 through 1985-05-15, 2000 m, leg. A. Freidberg, 1♂ (Am 432*, AMNH) ; 10 mi. NE San Cristobal , 7500′, 1969-05-05, leg. H.J. Teskey, 1♂ (Am 1423*, CNC) . Durango: Buenos Aires , 10 mi W La Ciudad, 9000′, 1964-06-16, leg. J.F. McAlpine, 1♂ (Am 1499*, CNC) ; 3 mi. W El Salto , 9000′, 1964-06-19, leg. J.F. McAlpine, 1♀ (Am 1490, CNC) ; 14 mi. SW El Salto , 8000′, 1964-06-09, leg. J.F. McAlpine, attracted to man, 1♂ (Am 1489*, CNC) ; 1964-06- 26 leg. J.F. McAlpine, attracted to man 1♀ (Am 1531, CNC) .

DISTRIBUTION: The holotype of A. barretti was collected just outside of Mexico City in the southern highlands of the country, but newly identified material from the AMNH and CNC shows a wider distribution into Durango and Chiapas.

COMMENTS: This distinctive species has not been mentioned since Johnson’s description in 1921. Males are now known for this species, originally described from a female. Amiota barretti is immediately identifiable by its very large size, deep cheek, dark brown femora and tibiae, and short plumosity on the aristae. While found within the boundaries of the Nearctic, this species was left out of Wheeler’s catalog of Nearctic Drosophilidae (1965) since it covered species occurring north of Mexico. This species exhibits the characteristic behavior of attraction to the eyes and face common to many Amiota .

Figures

FIG. 68. Heads and lateral views, ungrouped species. A–B. A. barretti (Johnson) (Am 1490). C–D. A. buccata Wheeler (Am 14, paratype). E–F. A. didens, sp. nov. (Am 444, holotype, lateral image flipped).

FIG. 72. Aristae, ungrouped species. A. A. barretti (Johnson). B. A. buccata Wheeler. C. A. didens. D. A. humeralis Loew. E. A. floridiensis. F. A. imperator. G. A. laevifurca. H–I. A. sinaloensis. Not to the same scale.

FIG. 73. Male terminalia, A. barretti (Johnson). A. Epandrium and cerci. B. Ejaculatory apodeme. C. Lateral view. D. Ventral view. E. Inner paraphyses. F. Surstylus. (Am 1423).

FIG. 94. Distribution maps, A. nagatai species group. A. A. raripennis. Ungrouped species. B. A. barretti (Johnson). C. A. buccata Wheeler.