Metopia fofo sp. nov.

(Figs 22–26)

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂ (MPEG), labeled as follows: BRASIL-PARÁ, BR-422 / Km 11, sul de Cametá [=

south of Cametá City], Campina [= white-sand vegetation] / 2°15’12”S 49°36’12”W / Arm. Suspensa [= suspended trap], 0 5 a [= to] 20.vii.2015 [printed on white label] // BRASIL-PARÁ, Cametá/ Cols: [= collectors] F.S. Carvalho Fh., B.F. dos Anjos, L./ A. Quaresma, D.R. Guimarães/ 0 5 a [= to] 20.xi.2015 [printed on white label; holotype with left fore leg and right mid leg missing, and with segment 5 of abdomen and terminalia cleared and placed in glycerin in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen].

Diagnosis. Palpus black and reduced to stubs. Male fore tarsomeres 3–5 with elongate hair-like setae dorsally (Fig. 22). Veins R 1 and CuA 1 bare. Pregonite elongate and narrow, with pointed apex (Fig. 25). Phallus elongate and gently curved ventrally (Fig. 26). Acrophallus elongate and without spines (Fig. 26).

Description. Male. Body length: 4.6 mm (n = 1).

Head. Frons distinctly protruding giving the head a trapezoidal profile. Fronto-orbital and parafacial plates covered with silver microtrichia. Fronto-orbital plate with some small scattered setulae in addition to 9 frontal setae continuing on to parafacial plate to below level of aristal insertion in lateral view. Frontal vitta black, narrowing towards lunule. Inner vertical setae differentiated, outer vertical setae developed [but both broken]. Ocellar setae of about the same length as frontal setae; 2 reclinate and 2 proclinate fronto-orbital setae arranged in partly overlapping rows with anterior reclinate orbital seta positioned anterior to posterior proclinate seta (see Pape & Dahlem 2010: fig. 6). Antenna dark brown, first flagellomere with gray microtrichia; arista thickened in proximal half and as long as first flagellomere. Palpus black, reduced to a rudimentary stub.

Thorax. Black, with silvery microtrichia. Chaetotaxy: acrostichals 0+1, dorsocentrals 2+3, intra-alars 1+2, supra-alars 2+3, postpronotals 2, postalars 2, notopleurals 2, anepisternals 4–5, katepisternals 3, merals 10, scutellum with 1 pair of basal setae, 1 pair of lateral setae, 1 pair of apical setae and no discal setae. Legs. Fore femur with row of setae on posterodorsal and posteroventral surfaces. Fore tarsomere 3 with two long, hair-like setae dorsally (Fig. 22). Fore tarsomere 4 with one long, hair-like seta dorsally (Fig. 22). Fore tarsomere 5 with one long dorsally seta (Fig. 22). Mid tibia without anterodorsal and anteroventral setae. Hind femur with row of setae on posterodorsal and posteroventral surfaces. Wing. Hyaline. Tegula dark brown. Basicosta yellowish. Vein R 1 bare. Vein R 4+5 with setae dorsally. Vein CuA 1 bare. Costal spine not differentiated. Third costal section without ventral setae.

Abdomen. Black with silvery-gray microtrichia in about anterior half of each tergite. Microtrichia on tergites 3 and 4 interrupted by a median black stripe. Syntergite 1+2 without marginal setae. Tergites 3 and 4 with a pair of median marginal setae. Tergite 5 with a row of marginal setae. Terminalia. Tergite 6, syntergosternite 7+8 and epandrium brown. Cercus dark brown, shorter than epandrium in lateral view, with distal portion abruptly narrowing towards apex in lateral view (Fig. 23). Basal portion of cercus covered with many long setae (Fig. 24). Ventral margin of cercal prong slightly curved; cercal apex rounded (Fig. 23). Cercal prongs, in dorsal view, narrow and parallel (Fig. 24). Surstylus dark brown, about half the length of cercus, with distal half narrowing toward apex and curved dorsally; with microtrichia restricted to basal half (Fig. 23). Pregonite elongate, longer than postgonite, narrowed and curved ventrally (Fig. 25). Postgonite longer than wide, with a long pre-apical seta and a row of small setae along ventral margin (Fig. 25). Phallus elongate, gently curved ventrally, with ventral and dorsal plates well developed (Fig. 26). Distiphallus with a distinct ventral swelling, with many membranous cuticular spines (Fig. 26). Acrophallus elongate and rounded apically, with some wrinkles and without cuticular spines (Fig. 26).

Female. Unknown.

Remarks. Metopia fofo sp. nov. runs to Metopia krombeini Sabrosky in the most recent key to the American species of Metopia Meigen (Pape 1987a), but differs from this species in having phallus gently curved ventrally (Fig. 26), acrophallus without spines and rounded apically (Fig. 26), and cercal prong narrowed in dorsal view (Fig. 24). In M. krombeini the phallus is almost straight, the acrophallus has small cuticular spines and is subrectangular apically, and the cercal prong has an enlarged base and narrow tip (Pape 1987a: figs 27, 30, 33). The phallus of M. fofo sp. nov. is very similar to that of M. lateropili Allen, since both share a distinct ventral swelling with many membranous cuticular spines. Metopia lateropili differs from M. fofo sp. nov. in having palpus elongate, not reduced to a stub.

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL—Brazil (Pará).

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the word “fofó”, which is a famous popular festival that takes place before the carnival in the streets of Cametá (the type-locality).