Oxysarcodexia avuncula ( Lopes, 1933 )

Souza, Carina Mara De, Pape, Thomas & Thyssen, Patricia Jacqueline, 2020, Oxysarcodexia Townsend, 1917 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) - a centennial conspectus, Zootaxa 4841 (1), pp. 1-126 : 29-30

Oxysarcodexia avuncula ( Lopes, 1933)

( Figs 42–44 )

Sarcophaga avuncula Lopes, 1933: 156 ; Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Manguinhos. Holotype male in MNRJ (not examined).

Oxysarcodexia avuncular: Souza et al. (2016: 76) ; incorrect subsequent spelling of avuncula Lopes, 1933 .

Sarcophaga avunculus: Blanchard (1935: 508) ; incorrect subsequent spelling of avuncula Lopes, 1933 .

Diagnosis. Male. Length 7.0–9.0 mm. Postocular plate with silvery pollinosity. Ocellar bristles well developed. Thorax with pale golden pollinosity, more evident on humeral part. Two well-differentiated posterior and 1–3 smaller anterior post-sutural dorsocentrals. Apical scutellar bristles present. Legs blackish. Abdomen grayish with golden pollinosity more intense at the lateral portion of T3 and full extension of T4, T5 with silvery pollinosity only. T3 with 3 pairs of lateral marginal bristles, T4 with 1 pair of median marginal and 2 pairs of lateral marginal bristles. ST5 with deep median cleft with margins almost parallel and with pilosity and bristles at apex of arms. Cercus sinuous in lateral view, with pointed apex and concave margin. Cercus with bristles ventrally only in distal third. Cerci with distal third with the same width as middle part in posterior view; diverging. Pregonite with expanded base, gradually narrowing to apex; unicolorous. Postgonite like pregonite, except for a darker apex. Distiphallus with smooth ventroapical margin, rounded apex and straight dorsal outline. Vesica symmetrical, with angular median projection of main branch; distal lobes well developed, rounded, membranous in distal half, with membranous spines distally and sclerotized spines proximally only along margins.

Remarks. A detailed comparison of the male terminalia of the very similar (and easily misidentified) sympatric species O. avuncula , O. confusa , O. diana and O. parva is given by Silva & Mello-Patiu (2008) (see also remarks under O. admixta ). The female of O. avuncula has an undivided T7 ( Tibana & Mello 1985). The first larval instar of this species was described by Leite & Lopes (1987) and Lopes & Leite (1986, 1987). The mitochondrial genome of this species has been completely sequenced ( Carmo et al. 2019).

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL. Argentina (Misiones), Bolivia, Brazil (Ceará, Distrito Federal, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerias, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina , São Paulo, Pernambuco), Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico (Oaxaca), Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago ( Trinidad).

Biology. This species has been collected and reared from cattle dung ( Mendes & Linhares 2002) as well as from human feces, chicken viscera, mouse and pig carcasses, dead marine animals (sardines, squids), cow lung, minced meat, bovine liver, and rotten bananas mixed with yeast or brown sugar ( Lopes 1973b, 1975a; Dias et al. 1984c; Mendes & Linhares 1993; Rosa et al. 2011; Ramírez-Mora et al. 2012; Yepes-Gaurisas et al. 2013; Dufek et al. 2016; Sousa et al. 2015, 2016; Souza & Von Zuben 2016; Vasconcelos et al. 2016; Valverde-Castro et al. 2017; Faria et al. 2018; Paseto et al. 2019). It has been collected in urban areas ( Barbosa et al. 2009; Souza, unpublished), pasture fields ( Ries & Blochtein 2015; Dufek et al. 2016; Souza & Von Zuben 2016; Paseto et al. 2019), palm grove areas ( Sousa et al. 2016), wild areas ( Dufek et al. 2016), forest areas ( Valverde-Castro et al. 2017), semi-deciduous mesophytic forest ( Carvalho & Linhares 2001; Paseto et al. 2019), Brazilian Caatinga ( Vasconcelos & Araujo 2012; Alves et al. 2014; Vasconcelos et al. 2016), and Brazilian Cerrado ( Rosa et al. 2011; Sousa et al. 2016; Souza & Von Zuben 2016; Faria et al. 2018). A preference for forested areas is indicated by Souza & Von Zuben (2016), by Faria et al. (2018) and by Paseto et al. (2019); these last authors also point out this species’ preference for dry season. Oxysarcodexia avuncula is considered an early visitor in forensic cases ( Vasconcelos et al. 2013). This species has also been found in association with gum exudates of Terminalia argentea (Combretaceae) , probably attracted by the high concentration of complex carbohydrates present in this resource ( Boff et al. 2008). Oxysarcodexia avuncula has been reported as a floral visitor of Triplaris gardneriana Wedd. (Polygonaceae) ( Custodio et al. 2017). In the Brazilian states of Maranhão and Rio Grande do Sul, O. avuncula was classified as accidental and rare ( Sousa et al. 2015; Ries & Blochtein 2015). Dufek et al. (2016) considered this species to be hemi- or non-synanthropic in Argentinean wetlands.

Material examined. [♂] BRAZIL: São Paulo, Campinas, Sousas, 13.IV.2011; C. M. Souza, D. L. Brancoli, F. Rezende / O. avuncula [ LIE] // [♂] BRAZIL: Minas Gerais, Extrema, Serra do Lopo, Pedra das Flores, 27.II.2012; A. G. Savino, M. P. Nassu, M. D. Grella / Oxysarcodexia B, Extrema-MG; 27/02/2012; 3 [ LIE] // [♂] Oxysarcodexia admixta ; Lopes, 1933 / Brasil: Minas Gerais, Uberlândia, Faz. Glória, Mata, 26.VII.2012; Paseto et al. [ LIE] // [♂] [ Brazil] INS. OSW. CRUZ N.-10.331 / Typus / Rio de Janeiro H. Souza Lopes / [on reverse side of the label] Manguinhos 30-1-931 / Sarcophaga avuncula Lopes H. S. Lopes-Det 4-933 [ MNRJ] // [♂] Biota Diptera Fluminense [typed vertically on right side of the label] Brasil. RJ. S. Fco. Itapoana E. E. E. Guaxindiba Trilha Renata/Bruno (atrás charco)—Malaise Junho—Julho 2013 Eq. Col. / Oxysarcodexia avuncula Det. C. A. Mello [ MNRJ].

Figures

FIGURES 42–50. Oxysarcodexia spp., males. 42–44. Oxysarcodexia avuncula (Lopes) (Brazil, Minas Gerais, Extrema, LIE). 42. Habitus, lateral view. 43. Terminalia, lateral view. 44. Terminalia, posterior view. 45–47. Oxysarcodexia bakeri (Aldrich) (Colombia, Antioquia, CE-TdeA). 45. Habitus, lateral view. 46. Terminalia, lateral view. 47. Terminalia, posterior view. 48–50. Oxysarcodexia berlai Lopes (Peru, Avispas, Madre de Dios, NRM). 48. Habitus, lateral view. 49. Terminalia, lateral view. 50. Terminalia, posterior view.