Bernardia xenomorpha, Pujol-Luz & Lamas, 2023

Pujol-Luz, José Roberto & Lamas, Carlos José Einicker, 2023, Alone in paradise: a new genus and species of Hirmoneurini tangle-veined flies (Diptera, Nemestrinidae) in South America, Zootaxa 5311 (1), pp. 123-134 : 129-132

Bernardia xenomorpha sp. nov.

( Figs. 3–27 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5F34654F-BD7C-4EE4-86CC-88859EDF9179

Type material. HOLOTYPE male. Labeled as: Brasília — Distrito Federal / Fazenda Água Limpa —UnB / Olho d’Água da Onça / 11–25/V/2017 / L. Flores col. [white label]; Holótipo [red label]; UNB244864 [white label]. The specimen is in excellent condition, although the head has acquired a conical shape after the drying process, as it was collected in a Malaise trap . PARATYPES: Males (6♁): Brazil — GO , Alto Paraíso de Goiás / P. N . Chapada dos Veadeiros / Cerrado queimado, 14°07′43″S 47°44′06″W / 17.vii.2018 / Malaise, Ponto 2/ Perioto & Lara cols ( MZ053466 ) (dissected); Brasília — Distrito Federal / Fazenda Água Limpa —UnB / 7. V .2011 ( UNB244869 ); Brasília — Distrito Federal / Fazenda Água Limpa —UnB / Olho d’Água da Onça / 11–25/ V /2017 / L . Flores col. ( MZ053457 , MZ053458 , MZ053459 , UNB244863 (dissected)). Females (3♀): Brasília — Distrito Federal / Fazenda Água Limpa —UnB / Olho d’Água da Onça / 11–25/ V /2017 / L . Flores col. ( MZ053460 , UNB244866 (dissected), UNB244868 ) .

Description. Male. Body length 10.0–16.0 mm; wing length 11.5–18.0 mm; proboscis length 4.0–5.0 mm. Female body length 12.5–13.5 mm; wing length 12.0–12.5 mm; proboscis length 3.0–3.5 mm. Head. Semispherical, projected slightly forward; brownish, except proboscis and face, colouring dark brown; occiput well developed, pale brown and densely haired ( Figs. 3 , 4 , 6, 7 ). Eyes dichoptic in both sexes, bare or with very short, soft pilosity. Three ocelli arranged in isosceles triangle, with anterior ocellus separated from posterior ocelli by transverse groove; ocellar plate black, covered by long black pile ( Figs. 6, 7 ). Frontal plate light brown with small whitish hairs, flat, with circular dark brown short area in anterior third ( Fig. 6 ). Antenna long, scape three times length of pedicel, first flagellomere conical, stylus 6-segmented ( Figs. 6–8 ). Face black, protruding forward, covered by pale brown pruinescence. Palpus with first segment hook-like, long and strongly curved upward, second segment digitiform, brownish. Proboscis long and well developed, distal end extending beyond fore coxae ( Fig. 8 ), labrum long, light brown, pruinescent, reaching or sometimes extending beyond margin of compound eyes; lacinia and hypopharynx stylet-like, shorter than labrum ( Figs. 3 , 4 , 6–8 ). Thorax. Scutum and scutellum brownish, covered with dense and elongate pile, brownish in dorsal view with brassy reflections and whitish in ventral view. Pleura whitish, covered by whitish to silvery dense pile. Legs. Coxae and trochanters whitish with elongate and dense white pile. Femora with proximal half whitish to pale brownish, covered with sparse whitish pile; apical half of femora, tibiae, and tarsi brownish and covered by short pile; pulvillus brownish yellow. Claws well developed, dark brown to black. Wings. Infuscate, dark brown ( Figs. 3–5 ); longer than body length ( Figs. 3 , 4 ), rounded at apex, with tangle of veins R 1, R 2+3, R 4, R 5, M 1 and M 2, reaching apical region. Diagonal vein (diag vn) well-defined, originating at Rs and ending at M 4. First marginal cell (r 1) and first submarginal cell (r 2+3) complete; discal cell (d) well-developed, trapezoidal; CuP and CuA reaching anal wing margin. Halter whitish and covered by tufts of elongate and thin whitish hairs. Abdomen. Entirely brownish in dorsal view, with whitish pruinescence in ventral view; stout, wider at base, tapering towards terminalia in both sexes; covered with dense elongate pile, brownish in dorsal view, with brassy reflections and whitish in ventral view. Male terminalia. Genital capsule semispherical, densely hairy ( Fig. 9 ). Epandrium (epand) hairy, sub-quadrangular, wider than long in median region ( Figs. 10, 11 ), with surface encircling around cercus ( Fig. 12 ), lateral margins folding outwards, keel-shaped ( Figs. 11, 12 ). Cercus (cerc) short, spoon-shaped, covered with short pile ( Figs. 9–12 ). Hypandrium (hypd) reduced ( Figs. 9 , 18, 21 ). Gonocoxite (goncx) and gonostylus densely haired ( Figs. 13, 14 , 18, 22 ). Gonocoxite well developed, longer than wide ( Fig. 18 ). Gonostylus more tapered and convoluted apically ( Figs. 13, 14 , 18, 19, 22 ), where turned inward and overlapped at rest ( Figs. 13–15 , 19–22 ). Inner gonocoxal process (igp) subcylindrical, bare, without pilosity ( Figs. 13, 14, 16 , 18–20 ), distal end tapered and imbricated with distal end of gonostylus ( Figs. 14–17 , 19, 20 ). Phallus extending beyond gonostylus ( Figs. 13, 14 , 19, 20 ), tubular, smoothly curved upwards ( Figs. 13–17 ), distal end with two upper hooks turning outward and two lower hooks turning inward to genital capsule ( Figs. 14–17 , 19 ). Female terminalia. Cercus bi-segmented, hairy; basal segment short, apical segment 2.5 to 3 times length of basal segment ( Fig. 23 ); genital opening located at end of wide and membranous eighth segment ( Fig. 23 ); sternite 9 (st9) modified into inverted U-shaped genital fork (gen fk), located on inner region of bursa copulatrix, formed by upper bridge and two long and sinuous arms ( Figs. 24, 25 ); spermathecae with three spermathecal ducts, reaching from sixth abdominal segment; three brownish elliptical capsules ( Fig. 26 ), more strongly sclerotized at base, with chitinous diagonal ridges extending around apical spermathecal ducts ( Fig. 27 ), with ovoid less sclerotized glandular extension (spcap gl) at upper end ( Figs. 26, 27 ).

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the Greek words xenos, m. (= stranger, guest) + morphe, f. (= form, figure, shape) ( Brown 1954). The name refers to the unique occurrence of this new species in the tribe Hirmoneurini in the Southern Hemisphere. Furthermore, due to the similarity of the shape of the phallus of Bernardia xenomorpha gen. et sp. nov. with the ‘inner jaw’ of the alien creature, the iconic science fiction character created by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger.

Geographical distribution. BRAZIL, Distrito Federal (Brasília) and State of Goiás (Alto Paraíso de Goiás).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Male holotype of Bernardia xenomorpha gen. et sp. nov., habitus (lateral view).

FIGURES 4, 5. Bernardia xenomorpha gen. et sp. nov. 4. Paratype habitus (male, dorsal view). 5. Right wing (dorsal view).

FIGURES 6–8. Male head of Bernardia xenomorpha gen. et sp. nov. 6. Dorsal view. 7. Lateral view. 8 Ventral view. (a = antenna; lab = labium; lbr = labrum; mx = maxilla; hyphar = hypopharynx; oc = ocellus; plp = palpus).

FIGURES 9–12. Male terminalia of Bernardia xenomorpha gen. et sp. nov. 9. Posterior view. 10. Epandrium, dorsal view (light microscopy). 11. Epandrium, dorsal view (SEM). 12. Epandrium and cerci (posterior view, SEM). (cerc = cercus; epand = epandrium; goncx = gonocoxite; gonst = gonostylus; hypd = hypandrium; ph = phallus).

FIGURES 13–17. Male terminaliaof Bernardia xenomorphagen. etsp. nov.13. Genital capsule (dorsal view, light microscopy). 14. Genital capsule (dorsal view, SEM). 15. Phallus morphology (posterior view). 16, 17. Phallus morphology (posterolateral view). (goncx = gonocoxite; goncx apod = gonocoxal apodeme; gonst = gonostylus; igp = inner gonocoxal processes; l-hook = lower aedeagal hook; ph = phallus; u-hook = upper aedeagal hook).

FIGURES 18–22. Male terminalia of Bernardia xenomorpha gen. et sp. nov. 18. Genital capsule (ventral view, light microscopy). 19, 20. Phallus morphology (ventral view). 21, 22. Genital capsule (ventral view, SEM). (cerc = cercus; epand = epandrium; goncx = gonocoxite; gonst = gonostylus; hypd = hypandrium; igp = inner gonocoxal processes; l-hook = lower aedeagal hook; ph = phallus; u-hook = upper aedeagal hook).

FIGURES 23–27. Female terminalia of Bernardia xenomorpha gen. et sp. nov. 23. Lateral view. 24. Genital fork. 25. Tip of arm of genital fork. 26. Spermathecae: ducts with capsules. 27. Spermathecal capsule. (cap dct = capsular duct; cerc = cercus; gen fk = genital fork; st8 = eight sternite; st9 = ninth sternite; spcap gl = supracapsular gland, spmth cap = spermathecal capsule).