Monohelea cornuta Felippe-Bauer & Trindade, 2017

Felippe-Bauer, Maria Luiza, Cardoso, Erick Aragão & Trindade, Rosimeire Lopes Da, 2017, New species and new records of Monohelea Kieffer from eastern Amazon, Brazil (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Zootaxa 4358 (1) : -

Monohelea cornuta Felippe-Bauer & Trindade sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 ; 3 A–G; 9 C–D)

Diagnosis. The only Neotropical species of Monohelea in which the males have yellowish legs, hind femur with infuscated base, mid leg without distinct mesal brown marks, paramere with a sclerotized mesal hook-shaped process, and distal portion of paramere truncated and overlapped. Female unknown.

Male. Head: eyes widely separated ( Fig. 3 C ). Antenna missing. Palpus ( Fig. 3 D ) yellowish brown; 3rd segment nearly oval with small, shallow, sensory organ on apical 1/3; lengths of segments 15- 25- 30- 23- 38; palpal ratio 1.3-1.9 (1.6, n=2).

Thorax. Brown; scutum without definite pattern on slide mounted specimens; scutellum yellowish laterally, with 4 bristles. Legs ( Fig. 3 F ) yellow; coxae and trochanters brown; fore femur with basal and mesal pale brown bands, mid femur with basal pale brown band, hind femur with infuscated basal band, two brown stripes in middle and a subapical ventral brown spot; apices of tibiae brown; hind tibia with additional dark irregular brown band on 1/2 subbasal; hind tibial comb with 6 bristles. Tarsi: pale; fore-, hind tarsomere 1 with one basal and one apical spine; midtarsomere 1 with 2 basal, 2 apical spines; apical spines of fore-, mid-, hind tarsomeres 2–4: 1-1-1 or 1-2- 2, 2-2-2, 1-1-1 or 1-1-2, basal spines absent; fore-, mid-, hind tarsal ratios 2.08–2.23 (2.17, n=4), 2.39–2.56 (2.47, n=4), 2.00 (n=3); claws small, paired, equal-sized, 0.3 to 0.5X as long as 5th tarsomeres. Wing ( Fig. 3 A ): macrotrichia restricted to vein costa; microtrichia absent; 2nd radial cell nearly 2.1X longer than 1st; wing length 0.78–0.85 (0.82, n= 5) mm, width 0.28–0.31 (0.30, n=5) mm; costal ratio 0.73–0.77 (0.75, n=5). Halter stem pale; knob pale brown in distal 1/2 a pale brown spot laterally ( Fig. 3 B ).

Abdomen. Yellowish brown ( Fig. 3 E ). Genitalia ( Figs. 3 G ; 9 C–D): sternite IX spiculate except on basal portion, posterior margin with a short, convex, median lobe with 4 long setae; tergite IX tapering with a pair of apicolateral processes. Gonocoxite moderately stout, nearly 2X longer than basal width; gonostylus curved distally, 0.62–0.70 (0.66, n= 5)X as long as gonocoxite, moderately pilose on basal 3/4. Parameres ( Fig. 9 C ) 1.19–1.78 (1.44, n= 5)X as long as aedeagus, fused at base; each with an external curved, strongly sclerotized, mesal hornshaped process, 0.48–0.56 (0.52, n=5)X as long as distal portion of the paramere, that tapering to blunt apex, laterally truncated and overlapped. Aedeagus ( Fig. 9 D ) triangular, composed of 2 pointed ventral plates, with slightly sclerotized dorsal structure, which arises in the middle way to aedeagus base and produced beyond the apices of ventral plates, ending as an apical projection; basal arms slender, not expanded laterally.

Female. Unknown

Distribution. Brazil, Pará State.

Types. Holotype male, on microscope slide labeled “ Vila de Curupaiti ” (01°25’56”S 46°28’16”W), Viseu, Pará, BRASIL, 20–21.VI.2007, CDC light trap, Trindade R.L. & Guimarães, D. cols. ( MPEG) . Paratypes 4 males: 3 males same data as holotype (2 CCER; 1 MPEG) , 1 male same data as holotype except 22–23.VI.2007 ( MPEG) .

Etymology. The specific epithet is from the Latin: cornu =horn, referring the mesal horn-shaped process on the parameres of males of this species.

Taxonomic discussion. Monohelea cornuta most closely resembles M. aguirrei Tavares & Souza , M. archibaldoi Tavares & Souza , M. ema sp. nov., M. hieroglyphica Kieffer , M. maculipennis (Coquillett) , M. poncai Lane & Wirth and M. uruguayensis Felippe-Bauer & Spinelli by the presence of a sclerotized mesal hook-shaped process. The new species can be easily separated by the infuscated base of the hind femur (hind femur with brown base in M. aguirrei , M. ema , M. poncai and M. uruguayensis ; hind femur with pale base in M. archibaldoi and M. hieroglyphica ), by the mid leg without distinct mesal brown marks as in M. archibaldoi (mid leg with mesal brown bands and spots in the other species), by the distal portion of the paramere, tapering to blunt apex, laterally truncated and overlapped (distal portion of the paramere progressively narrowing distally to rounded apex in M. aguirrei , M. archibaldoi , M. ema , M. maculipennis ; distal portion of the paramere swollen, tapering and abruptly curved internally in M. hieroglyphica , M. poncai and M. uruguayensis ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution of Monohelea species in the Municipalities of Capitão Poço, Ourém, Tracuateua and Viseu from Northeast Mesoregion, and in the municipality of Santa Bárbara do Pará from Metropolitan Belém Mesoregion, Para State, Brazil.

FIGURE 3. Monohelea cornuta Felippe-Bauer & Trindade sp. nov., male. A. Wing; B. Thorax showing halter; C. Head, anterior view; D. Palpus, lateral view; E. Abdomen, ventral view; F. Legs (left to right) of fore, mid-, hindlegs, lateral view; G. Genitalia, ventral view.’=

FIGURE9. Parameres and aedeagus. A–B.Monohelea barbara Felippe-Bauer& Trindade sp. nov.; C–D.Monohelea cornuta Felippe-Bauer & Trindade sp. nov.; E–F. Monohelea ema Felippe-Bauer & Trindade sp. nov.; G–H. Monohelea forceps Felippe-Bauer & Trindade sp. nov.