Nephochaetopteryx affinis 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 : 9-11

Nephochaetopteryx affinis Lopes

( Fig. 1 )

Nephochaetopteryx affinis Lopes, 1936: 88 (description of male). Type locality: Brazil, S„o Paulo, Birigui. Other references: Dodge (1968a: 281; key); Lopes (1969: 28; catalog); Pape (1996: 259; catalog); Mello-Patiu & Santos (2001: 304; description of female).

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE ♁ ( MNRJ) : Holotypus [printed on rectangular red label] // São Paulo / Birigui / 559 [handwritten on rectangular white label] // Nephochaetopte / ryx affinis/ Lopes / V. 9. 36 / Det. H.S. Lopes [printed and handwritten on rectangular white label] // MNRJ / 2194 [printed and handwritten on rectangular white label]. [Holotype lacking all legs and abdomen; terminalia (including sternite 5) and some tergites in glycerin in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen.]

Redescription. Male (holotype). Length = 6.5 mm [obtained from Lopes (1936)].

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

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: dorsocentrals 2+4 (first two weak); intra-alars 2+3; supra-alars 1+3; anepisternals 4; merals 5. Mid femur with two median setae and without a differentiated posteroventral seta. Ctenidium consisting of four spines. Wing hyaline, with a faded dark spot beginning in the terminal portion of vein R 1, filling the distal third of cell r 1 and the upper half of the distal half of cell r 2+3; vein R 4+5 setulose dorsally to crossvein r-m.

[Abdomen. The only specimen examined, the holotype, is lacking its abdomen.]

Terminalia. Sternite 5 with a deep cleft, nearly reaching middle of sternite; lobe rounded and with a tuft of short setulae; arm short, tapering distally ( Fig. 1E ). Cercus elongate and arched in lateral view, with a rectangular apex ( Fig. 1A ). Cercal prongs widely separated, with divergent tips ( Fig. 1B ). Cercus with small spines on distal portion and setulae restricted to a narrow strip in proximal region ( Fig. 1A ). Surstylus almost triangular, with rounded apex, with setae at apex and anterior margin and without setulae on apex and along posterior margin ( Fig. 1A ). Pregonite shorter than postgonite, with pointed apex and with distal half perpendicular to base; posterior margin with small pointed setae ( Fig. 1C ). Postgonite hook-like, slightly curved anteriorly, with a thick seta on anterior margin ( Fig. 1D ). Basiphallus short, longer than wide, about half as long as distiphallus ( Fig. 1F ). Distiphallus with dorsal margin angled and apical margin rounded ( Fig. 1F ). Ventral margin of distiphallus sinuous, with a small, twisted projection ( Fig. 1F ). Vesica elongate, about the same length as distiphallus, gently arched, with distal portion widened ( Fig. 1F ). Inner process of vesica rectangular in lateral view ( Fig. 1F ). Median and lateral styli very long and slender, of about the same width as widest portion of lateral wall of distiphallus, and both inserted medially on distiphallus ( Fig. 1F ).

Female. Terminalia as described by Mello-Patiu & Santos (2001, figs 1–2, 29).

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL—Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, S„o Paulo).

Remarks. Nephochaetopteryx affinis , N. cyaneiventris , N. orbitalis , N. subaurata , N. psittacocercus sp. nov. and N. coendu sp. nov are the only species with cercus bearing spines. However, Nephochaetopteryx affinis differs from these species by the shape of the cerci, with the prongs widely separated in dorsal view.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Nephochaetopteryx affinis Lopes, 1936, male terminalia of holotype (MNRJ). A. Cercus and surstylus, left lateral view. B. Cerci, dorsal view (spines and setation omitted on the left side). C. Pregonite, left lateral view. D. Postgonite, left lateral view. E. Sternite 5, ventral view (setation omitted on the left side). F. Phallus, left lateral view.Abbreviations: bp = basiphallus; dp = distiphallus; ip = inner process of vesica; ls = lateral stylus; ms = median stylus; ve = vesica. Scale bars:A, B, E = 0.1 mm; C, D, F = 0.05 mm.