Pityocera (Pseudelaphella) ecuadorensis Buestán & Krolow, 2015

Krolow, Tiago Kütter, Henriques, Augusto Loureiro, Gorayeb, Inocêncio De Sousa, Limeira-De-Oliveira, Francisco & Buestán, Jaime, 2015, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Pityocera Giglio-Tos, 1896 (Diptera: Tabanidae: Scionini), Zootaxa 3904 (3), pp. 301-333 : 327-330

Pityocera (Pseudelaphella) ecuadorensis Buestán & Krolow sp. nov.

(figures 15A–F, 16A–F)

Type locality. Ecuador, Guayas, Prosperina.

Diagnosis. Size small to medium (9.0– 11.1 mm), yellowish brown; Eyes green with light green median band; gena and parafacial pruinose; face and clypeus smooth and shiny, dark brown; beard with white and yellowish hairs; antennal flagellum light yellow, with five to six free flagellomeres; legs yellow, with tibiae dorsally covered with black hairs.

Description, Holotype ♀. based on a specimen from Prosperina, Ecuador. Body length 12.1 mm (fig. 15A); wing length 10.5 mm.

Head: eyes dark green with a light green median band, densely pilose (fig. 15B, paratype). Occiput with yellowish white hair. Frons parallel, D.I. 1.0; F.I. 2.6; with yellowish brown pruinosity and black pilosity. Subcallus glabrous, with pruinosity identical to frons. Face smooth and shiny (dark brown to black) with some sparse black hair; clypeus smooth and shiny, dark brown; parafacial and gena yellowish brown with whitish pruinosity and yellowish white beard. Antenna (fig. 15C, Paratype), scape and pedicel with yellowish brown pruinosity and black hairs; flagellum yellow; flagellomeres 1–2 fused, 3–8 free (slightly darkened); first flagellomere longer than high and with a tuft of dorsal hairs, although difficult to see due to the partial or total fusion with the second flagellomere; apical flagellomere with tuft of long black hairs. Palpus with first segment tubular and short, approximately half of the second; second segment yellow with basal and median enlargements occupying more than half of its length, hairs only on external margins, central area pale yellow and bare remainder (apex) narrow and completely pilose; proboscis slender and very long, over twice the length of the head.

Thorax: scutum brown, with yellowish brown pruinosity and black and yellow hairs; post-pronotal lobe, notopleura, post-alar callus and scutellum apex with greyish brown pruinosity. Notopleura with tuft of black hairs (dorso-lateral view). Pleura with brown integument covered by yellowish grey pruinosity and by predominantly greyish white hair. Legs slender, light yellow; coxae with pruinosity and pilosity similar to pleura; trochanters yellowish with sparse black pilosity; femora yellow with sparse white and yellow hair; tibiae and tarsi yellow, darkened due to black pilosity in dorsal view. Wing infuscated; venation light brown; without appendix on R4; r5 closed with very long petiole.

Abdomen: tergites 1–2 light yellow; tergites 3–5 with proximal transverse bands of pruinosity and dark hairs (almost black), and distal transverse bands with yellow pruinosity and lighter hairs; tergites 6–7 with distal transverse bands and greyish yellow pruinosity and bright hairs. Sternites concolorous with tergites.

Terminalia (paratype). Tergites IX and X, cercus and hypoproct as in figure (fig. 15D). Tergite IX fused, a little shorter than tergite X. Tergite X rectangular, divided into two pieces. Cercus rounded; Hypoproct rounded, exceeding the first third of the cercus length. Hypogynium + hypogynial valve (fig. 15E). Hypogynium subtriangular with lateral margins slightly rounded; apex slightly acuminate with a v-shaped slit reaching the hipoginal valve. Genital fork (fig. 15F) with arms slender, but with distal expansions slightly sclerotized; anterior margin straight with lateral extremities pointed; spermathecal ducts long and little sclerotized; spermatheca (fig. 15F) heavily pigmented, slender with apex narrowed.

Paratypes variation. body length 9.0– 12.1 mm (fig. 15A); wing length 8.5–10.7 mm. D.I. 1.0; F.I. 2.5–2.8; seven or eight visible flagellomeres; flagellomeres 1–2 or 1–3 fused, 3–8 or 4–8 free (slightly darkened); appendix of R4 usually absent, when present very short.

Male (figs. 16A–F): head holoptic, upper ommatidia apparently larger than lower ones (fig. 16A); Antenna very similar to the female (fig. 16B); palpus porrect, with the first segment a little shorter than the second; second segment of the palpus with proximal half tubular, distal half widened and slightly narrowed at the apex, with central area bare; pruinosity and pilosity dorsally similar to the female; pleura with denser and longer hair, predominantly brown; face and clypeus smooth and shiny brownish yellow.

Terminalia (paratype, figs. 16C–F). Epandrium, cercus and hypoproct as in figures 16E–F. Epandrium fused with lateral margins slightly rounded; excavated at the apex (dorsal view). Cercus subrectangular with lateral margins ventrally curved. Hypoproct very long and acuminate, almost twice the cercus length. Hypandrium + gonocoxite, gonostylus and aedeagus as in figures 16C–D. Hypandrium + gonocoxite robust with anterior margin straight; gonocoxite hollow (dorsal view) developed, reaching approximately half of the length. Gonostylus elongated, with apex pointed (beak shaped). Aedeagus slender without anterior enlargement; slightly more robust than the gonocoxal apodemes a little longer than the gonocoxal apodemes.

Distribution. Ecuador (Manabí, Guayas, Santa Elena, Loja).

Type material. Holotype ♀. “[ ECUADOR] Prosperina\ 10 may 2012 \J. Buestán” (CJB). Paratypes 92♀, 6♂.“ Ecuador Loja\ Sta. Rufina 550 m. \ 3° 50.51S. 79°\ 43.47’W.\ Jun. 26 1986 J.\ Buestán” (1♀, ♂2 CJB 1709, 1737, 1738); “ Ecuador Loja\ Sta. Rufina 550 m. \ 3° 50.51S. 79°\ 43.47’W.\ May.16 1987 ” (26♀ CJB 1710-1735, 1♂ CJB 1739); “ Ecuador Loja\ Sta. Rufina 550 m. \ 3° 50.51S. 79°\ 43.47’W.\ Jul. 2 1988 (1♂ CJB - 1740); “ Ecuador \ Manabí\Julcuy 50 m. \1° 30.00S. 80° 37.30W \ May. 28–29 2005 J. Buestán” (48♀ CJB 7206-7253); “ Ecuador \ Sta. Elena\ Zapotal 46 m. \ 2°19600S. 80°32522W\ Abr. 2009 J. Buestán” (6♀ CJB 10190-10195); “ Ecuador \ Guayas\ Prosperina 210 m. \2° 09.24S. 79° 57.53W \ May. 29 2012 J. Buestán” (4♀ CJB); “Prosperina\ 5 may 2012 \J. Buestán” (♀ INPA); “ Ecuador, Manabi\Julcuy\ 28–29 Mayo 2005 -09-\28 J.Buestán” (CJB —7242 ♂, 7250 ♀, 7251 ♀); “ Ecuador Sta\Elena\Zapotal 46 m. \2° 19.600S. 80°\32.522’W\Abr. 0 9 J.\Buestán” (CJB—10190 ♀, CZMA 10192 ♀); “Sta. Rufina 550 m. \Loja Prov.\ 16.v.1987 J. Buestán” ( MPEG 1717 ♀, CEUFT 1716 ♀); “Chipiango 550 m. \Sta. Rufina —Loja Prov. J. Buestán, col. 26.vi.1986 ” “CJB – 1737” ( INPA ♂).

Etymology. the specific epithet refers to the country where this species was collected.

Discussion. with the exclusion of the P. nana records for Ecuador, this species becomes the only representative of Pseudelaphella for this country. This species is found in areas of shrubby savannah, and dry tropical woods. It can be easily differentiated from the others due to its dark, smooth shiny face, and the dark green eye with a light green band.