Ophiomyia falcifera, Monteiro & Barbosa & Esposito, 2019

Monteiro, Nilton Juvencio Santiago, Barbosa, Rodrigo Rendeiro & Esposito, Maria Cristina, 2019, Agromyzidae (Diptera: Schizophora) in the state of Pará: new species and new records in Brazil, Zootaxa 4624 (2), pp. 151-182 : 158

Ophiomyia falcifera sp. nov.

Figures 11–19

Description (Fig. 11–14). Fronto-orbital plate with four setae, three upper reclinate setae and one lower inclinate seta; orbital setulae reclinate; ocellar triangle long, glossy, extended to level of lower reclinate seta; facial keel narrow, slightly evident; antenna slightly separated at base; single vibrissa forming a slender seta; clypeus truncate at apex; dorsocentrals 0+2; acrostichal setulae in six or seven irregular rows; wing length 1.8 mm; costa extending to M 1+2; R 2+3 and R 4+5 divergent, the latter ending near the apex of the wing; vein r-m situated at 2 / 3 of discal cell.

Coloration. Fronto-orbital plate black; frons dull black; face and lunule slightly silvery; palpus black; antenna and arista black; mesonotum shining black; katepisternum, anepisternum, anepimeron and others thoracic sclerites black, sometimes dark-brown at border; legs black; calypter white with margin black; fringe black; halter black; abdomen shining-brown.

Male genitalia (Fig. 15–18). Epandrium bearing a stout spine at hind corner; surstylus with a spine and a seta basally and two spines apically; cercus slender; hypandrium Y-shaped, with apodeme (Fig. 15); aedeagus (Fig. 15– 17): basiphallus U-shaped, enlarged distally; distiphallus asymmetric, falciform and fused to mesophallus; ejaculatory apodeme forming a slender blade (Fig. 18).

Host-plant (Fig. 19). Meliaceae— Guarea guidonia (L.) Sleumer.

Distribution. Brazil.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the sickle-like (Latin: falcem) distiphallus.

Type material. Holotype: Brazil, Pará state, Belém: Avenida Perimetral , 1º26′31.7″S, 48º26′49.7″W, 18- XII-2017, R.R. Barbosa [collector], ex leaf of Guarea guidona (♂) . Paratype: Brazil, Pará state, Belém: Avenida Perimetral , 1º26′31.7″S, 48º26′49.7″W, 18-XII-2017, R.R. Barbosa [collector], ex leaf of Guarea guidona (♂) ; same location, 18-XII-2017, R.R. Barbosa [collector], ex leaf of Guarea guidona (7 ♀) ; Universidade Federal do Pará ( UFPA), 1º28′17.2″S, 48º26′44.7″W, 20-VI-2018, N. Monteiro [collector], ex leaf of Guarea guidona (♀) ; same location, 20-VI-2018, N. Monteiro [collector], ex leaf of Guarea guidona (♀) ; Parque Zoobotânico do Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi ( MPEG), 1º27′09.9″S, 48º28′35.6″W, 09-II-1993, M.C. Esposito [collector], ex leaf of Guarea guidona (♂) ; same location, 09-II-1993, M.C. Esposito [collector], ex leaf of Guarea guidona (2 ♀) ; same location, 29-VI-1993, M.C. Esposito [collector], ex leaf of Guarea guidona (♀) ; same location, 26-VI-1993, M.C. Esposito [collector], ex leaf of Guarea guidona (6 ♀) .

Comments. Ophiomyia falcifera sp. nov. is quite similar to other species of this genus without a vibrissal fascicus and a slightly evident facial keel, similar to O. pulicaria (Meigen) . Usually, Ophiomyia species have a strong facial keel accompanied by a medial bulb, but many have only a slightly evident keel without the bulb. As in other Ophiomyia , the clypeus is truncated and the aedeagus is asymmetric ( Lonsdale 2014). The lunule in O. falcifera is slightly bent inward, similar to some other species of Ophiomyia and the ocellar triangle is similar to O. arabica (Deeming) . The unique shape of the distiphallus is essential to differentiate O. falcifera from other species of this genus. The polyphagous species Topicomyia polyphyta (Kleinschmidt) is the only agromyzid previously recorded from host-plants of the family Meliaceae ( Benavent-Corai et al. 2005) . Larvae of O. falcifera form linear mines on leaf surface. Pupation takes place inside mines.