Nephochaetopteryx pallidifacies Lopes

Carvalho-Filho, Fernando Da Silva, Esposito, Maria Cristina & Mello-Patiu, Cátia Antunes De, 2021, Revision of Nephochaetopteryx Townsend, 1934 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), Zootaxa 4928 (1), pp. 1-83 : 51-54

Nephochaetopteryx pallidifacies Lopes

( Fig. 24 )

Nephochaetopteryx pallidifacies Lopes, 1975a: 280 (description of male). Type locality: Brazil, Ceará, Pacatuba. Other references: Pape (1996: 261; catalog).

Nephochaetopteryx linharensis Tibana & Santos, 1997: 1 (description of male). Type locality: Brazil, Espírito Santo, Linhares. Other references: Pape (1996: 260; catalog). Syn. nov.

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE ♁ ( MNRJ): PACATUBA / CEARA, 350 m / BRASIL [rectangular white label with printed data] // H.S. LOPES / 23.1 .73 [printed and handwritten on rectangular white label] // Nephochaetopteryx / pallidifacies, n.sp. / ♁ holotypus / Det. H.S. Lopes [handwritten on rectangular white label bordered with black] // MNRJ / 2204 [printed and handwritten on rectangular white label]. [Holotype in good condition, with cleared terminalia preserved in glycerin in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen; distiphallus broken.]

HOLOTYPE ♁ of N. linharensis (MNRJ) : LINHARES E. SANTO / BRASIL [printed on rectangular white label] // P.C. Elias / VII. 72 [printed and handwritten on rectangular white label] // Holotype [printed on rectangular red label] // Nephochaetopteryx / linharensis / Sp.n. / DET: R. Tibana / e J.M. Santos [handwritten on rectangular white label bordered with black] // MNRJ / 2200 [printed and handwritten on rectangular white label]. [Holotype in good condition, with left wing broken and cleared terminalia preserved in glycerin in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen.]

Additional material examined. Brazil. Amazonas: km 81, Embrapa , 20.II.1991, Shannon trap baited with fruit, leg. L.P. Albuquerque & E. Binda (2 ♁♁, INPA) ; Manaus , C. Univers. [= University Campus], 24. VI.1982, Malaise trap, leg. J.A. Rafael (1 ♁, INPA) ; Reserva Ducke [= Ducke Reserve], 28.IX.1981, leg. J.A. Rafael (1 ♁, INPA) . Minas Gerais: Paraopeba , 10.IX.1969, leg. H. Ebert (1 ♁, MNRJ) . Pará: Benevides , 22.III.1993, suspended trap placed at a height of 1.6 m, leg. J. Dias (1 ♁, MPEG) .

Redescription. Male. Length = 5.5–6.0 mm (n = 10).

Head. Fronto-orbital, parafacial plates, postocular strip, gena and postgena with golden microtomentum. Frontal vitta black, with basal half or entirely reddish-brown. Five frontal setae. Palpus yellow.

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: dorsocentrals 2+4 (first two weak); intra-alars 2+2; supra-alars 2+3, notopleurals 2 subprimaries, anepisternals 5; merals 5. Ctenidium consisting of four spines. Mid femur with two median setae and without a differentiated posteroventral seta. Wing hyaline; vein R 4+5 setulose dorsally to crossvein r-m.

Abdomen. Tergites brown with a band of grayish microtomentum on anterior 4/5 of dorsal and lateral surfaces. Sternites 1 to 4 yellow with yellowish setulae and with marginal setae.

Terminalia. Sternite 5 brown; cleft very deep, reaching middle of sternite; lobe rounded and small; arms divergents, short, with rounded apex ( Fig. 24E ). Cercus elongate, tapering distally, with long and thick setae restricted to cercal base ( Fig. 24A ). Cercal prongs with rounded and divergent tips in dorsal view ( Fig. 24B ). Surstylus rounded with a patch of setulae on anterior margin of basal half and with small and fine setae on apex ( Fig. 24A ). Pregonite elongate, longer than postgonite, widened basally, tapering distally with some small and pointed setae on posterior margin ( Fig. 24C ). Postgonite elongate, with conical apex, some small and pointed setae on distal half and with a long seta on anterior margin ( Fig. 24D ). Basiphallus elongate and straight, longer than distiphallus ( Fig. 24F ). Distiphallus short, with dorsal margin sinuous and apical margin with a conspicuous pointed projection anteriorly ( Fig. 24F ). Ventral margin of distiphallus with an elongate plate-like projection bearing a short triangular projection and with a long and narrowed pointed projection ( Fig. 24F ). Vesica twisted basally, with a strong middle pointed projection and with claw-shaped distal half ( Fig. 24F ). Inner process of vesica absent ( Fig. 24F ). Lateral and median styli short, of about one-third of width of widest portion of lateral wall of distiphallus, and both inserted close to base of vesica ( Fig. 24F ).

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL—Brazil (Amazonas, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Pará).

Remarks. This species differs from the other species in the genus in having ventroapical margin of distiphallus with a pointed projection, ventral margin of distiphallus with a prominent pointed projection and by the shape of vesica. The distiphallus of Nephochaetopteryx angustifrons also shows some these features and the differences between these two species are mentioned in the remarks under N. angustifrons .

The terminalia of the holotype of N. linharensis are very similar to those of N. pallidifacies , differing only in the presence of an “apophysis” on apical surface of the distiphallus, the presence of a preapical protuberance on apical surface of the cercus, and in the number of spines forming the ctenidium (three in N. linharensis , five in N. pallidifacies ) ( Tibana & Santos 1997).

The difference between the distiphallic apophyses of N. linharensis and N. pallidifacies is subtle and the number of spines forming the ctenidium is a highly variable feature. We examined some specimens of N. linharensis and N. pallidifacies with a ctenidium composed of three spines (a feature of N. linharensis ), but without a protuberance on the cercus (a feature of N. pallidifacies ). Tibana & Santos (1997) pointed out that the cercus of N. pallidifacies has no preapical protuberance. However, the cercus of the holotype of N. pallidifacies has a very small protuberance that is not as conspicuous as the protuberance of N. linharensis . Therefore, the apical protuberance seems to be subject to intraspecific variation. Hence, N. linharensis is treated as a junior synonym of N. pallidifacies .

This species is recorded for the first time from the Brazilian Amazon (Amazonas, Pará).

Figures

FIGURE 24. Nephochaetopteryx pallidifacies Lopes, 1975, male terminalia. Specimen from Benevides, Pará, Brazil (MPEG). A. Epandrium, surstylus and cercus, left lateral view. B. Cerci, dorsal view (setation omitted on the right side). C. Pregonite, left lateral view. D. Postgonite, left lateral view. E. Sternite 5, ventral view (setation omitted on the right side). F. Distiphallus, left lateral view; black arrow showing pointed projection of ventroapical margin of distiphallus and red arrow showing pointed projection of ventral margin of distiphallus. Abbreviations: ls = lateral stylus; ms = median stylus; ve = vesica. Scale bars:A, B, E = 0.1 mm; C, D, F = 0.05 mm.