Amiota nebojsa, Máca, 2003

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 : 98-99

THE NEBOJSA SPECIES GROUP (NEW GROUP)

DIAGNOSIS: Large to very large flies; thorax dark blackish brown, body with typical white markings; frons dark, mostly dull, anterior portion with faint bluish-silvery pollinosity; facial marking quite large; cheek deep; aristal branches short to medium length, confined to base in some species. Male genitalia: Uniform; epandrium with lateral projection on anterior margin; surstylus with lateral fingerlike lobe; subepandrial sclerite large, recurved; subepandrial appendage prominent, rather heart-shaped in posterior view; outer paraphyses heavily sclerotized, with 1–3 dorsal spines and preapical dorsal hook; inner paraphysis lost; hypandrium with large, bulging gonopod on lateral arm; ejaculatory apodeme large, nearly equal to or larger than depth of epandrium in most species.

NEARCTIC SPECIES: Amiota amputata , sp. nov., A. latilabrum , sp. nov., A. nebojsa Máca , A. occidentalis , sp. nov., A. oviraptor , sp. nov., and A. subnebojsa , sp. nov.

COMMENTS: This distinctive group is found in the western United States, British Columbia, and throughout Mexico. Members of this species group are difficult to identify through external morphology. Several species can be caught in a single series. Dissection of the male genitalia is critical for identification to the species level, with emphasis on lateral view of the outer paraphysis (fig. 60).