Arthropeina

Fachin, Diego Aguilar & Amorim, Dalton De Souza, 2014, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Arthropeina Lindner, 1949 (Diptera: Xylomyidae), Zootaxa 3827 (2), pp. 231-257 : 231-232

The genus Arthropeina

The genus Arthropeina is endemic to the Neotropical Region and before now included a single described species, Arthropeina fulva Lindner, 1949 . The real diversity of the genus, however, is pretty large, as predicted by Woodley (2009, 2011).

Besides the original description of A. fulva by Lindner (1949), subsequent papers have addressed the genus. Papavero & Artigas (1991) illustrated the female genitalia, including the spermatheca morphology. Woodley (1999) made lectotype and paralectotype designations for the type material, while Woodley (2009, 2011) commented on the diagnosis of the genus within a phylogenetic discussion of the family ( Woodley, 2011).

The recognition of the genus was largely based on body color—primarily yellow, sometimes with shining black maculae—and the shape of the two apical flagellomeres, which form a stylus. The shape of the stylus was considered autapomorphic for the genus ( Papavero & Artigas, 1991; Woodley, 2011). Furthermore, Papavero & Artigas (1991) proposed that a helicoid spermathecae with three “layers” or coils was autapomorphic for Arthropeina . This, however, was criticized by Woodley (2011), who commented that the blind duct illustrated by the former authors could be a sac ruptured during the preparation, not a derived condition, as proposed. A possible additional apomorphy mentioned by Woodley (2011) are the valves of the spermathecal ducts, illustrated by Papavero & Artigas (1991).

This paper reviews the genus Arthropeina , describing five new Neotropical species and redescribing A. fulva , including illustrations of the antenna, palpus, thorax, spermatheca, genital fork, and male genitalia. The paper also adds some comments on the issue of the relationships within the genus and provides an identification key for the known species of Arthropeina .