Mesoconius filipes ( Enderlein, 1922 )

Marshall, Stephen A., 2019, A revision of the genus Mesoconius Enderlein (Diptera, Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae), European Journal of Taxonomy 548, pp. 1-126 : 103-104

Mesoconius filipes ( Enderlein, 1922)

Fig. 40 D–E

Zelatractodes filipes Enderlein, 1922: 169 .

Aristobata melini Frey, 1927: 69 . syn. nov.

Zelatractodes filipes – Hennig 1935: 38 . — Steyskal 1968: 20.

Diagnosis

Length 13 mm. Head and prothorax black; mesothorax orange-brown; palpus orange. Mid and hind femora orange on basal ⅔, black on distal ⅓. Fore tarsus white-yellow, except for pale brown apex; hind tarsus with tarsomere 1 white-yellow, except apex, other tarsomeres black. Abdomen orange basally, metallic blue-black distally. Frontal vitta slightly raised. Dorsocentral bristle small (shorter than scutellum) but distinct. Wing very lightly infuscated, with no apparent pattern. Abdominal segments 1–2 strongly petiolate; T1+2 slightly more than twice as long as T2.

Material examined

Holotype of Zelatractodes filipes

PERU • ♀; Pozuzo ; 800 m a.s.l.; May 1903; S.B. Hoffmanns leg.; MNBG.

Syntypes of Aristobata melini

PERU • 2 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂; Eastern Andes , Roque; 1925; Douglas Melin leg.; ZMUH .

Other material

ECUADOR • 1 ♂ (photograph only); Eastern Andes , near Loreto, Narupayacu Biological Station; 00°43ʹ30ʺ S, 77°46ʹ2.8ʺ W; 1138 m a.s.l.; 10 May 2019 .

Remarks

Mesoconius filipes is based on a single type specimen that S.B. Hoffmanns collected in Peru at the unusually low (for Mesoconius ) altitude of 800 m. The specimen is in poor condition, greasy and with no antennae, but the colours seem distinctive and the same as those of Aristobata melini . The type locality of Aristobata melini , also in Peru, is similar to that of Mesoconius filipes and at the same altitude (800 m).

Note added in proof: The male photographed in Equador (subsequent to the acceptance of this paper) was collected, but remains at Yanayacu Biological Station. It has not been available for detailed study due to delays in obtaining the permits necessary for transport and export of the specimen.

Figures

Fig. 40. Mesoconius oblitus group species known only from original type specimens. A. Mesoconius afurcatus (Hennig, 1935), holotype, ♂, MLUH, Venezuela. B. M. braueri (Hennig, 1935), paratype, ♂, NHMW, Venezuela. C. M. cyclops (Hennig, 1935), holotype, ♂, SMTCk, Bolivia. D. M. filipes Enderlein, 1922, holotype, ♀, MNBG, Peru. E. Aristobata melini Frey, 1927 (junior synonym of M. filipes), syntype, ZMUH, Peru. F. M. rufiventris (Enderlein, 1922), holotype, ♀, MNBG, Colombia. G. M. versicolorus (Enderlein, 1922), holotype, ♀, MNBG, Colombia.