Leucotabanus fairchildi, Henriques & Krolow, 2019

Henriques, Augusto L. & Krolow, Tiago K., 2019, The genus Leucotabanus Lutz (Diptera: Tabanidae) in the Amazon region, with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 4651 (2), pp. 366-378 : 370-372

Leucotabanus fairchildi n. sp.

( Figs. 3 A–J)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FFE43CE6-9107-42F8-B717-771B999E0B77

Leucotabanus canithorax ; Fairchild, 1971: 83 (catalogue, in part); Wilkerson, 1979: 347 (Colombian tabanids, in part); Fairchild & Burger, 1994: 123 (catalogue, in part); Coscarón & Papavero, 2009: 95 (catalogue, in part); Wolff & Miranda-Esquivel, 2016: 270 (catalogue of Colombia, in part).

Leucotabanus exaestuans ; Lima et al., 2015: 4 (in part).

Leucotabanus sebastianus ; Fairchild, 1985: 322 (in part); Henriques & Gorayeb, 1993: 12 (misident.); Henriques, 1997: 76 (in part).

Diagnosis. A blackish species, usually with two complete white dorsal bands on the abdomen. Lateral border of scutum and all scutellum with white hairs. Scutum with a broad median spot of white hairs in the anterior half. Legs black, tibiae strongly bicolored. Apex of abdomen not acuminate.

Holotype female. Size 13.2 mm. Wing 11.6 mm. Eyes bare, not patterned. Frons somewhat slender and parallel-sided, frontal index 5.7, divergence index 1.2, whitish gray pruinose with black and white hairs, the former more concentrated on dorsal half. Frontal callus dark brown to black, ridge-like. Ocellar tubercle with vestiges of ocelli. Subcallus, face, parafacial, and gena grayish white pruinose with white hairs, some black hairs near base of antennae. Antenna black with black hairs. Palpus dark brownish gray with white and black hairs, the white more concentrated on proximal third. Proboscis black membranous. Scutum dark brown with short black hairs, except for the lateral and posterior borders, and a large median stripe on anterior half with grayish pruinosity and white hairs. Prescutellum with black hairs. Scutellum dark brown with grayish pruinosity and white hairs. Notopleuron predominantly with white hairs, black below. Anepisternum predominantly dark with black hairs, white on posterior border. Anepimeron with white hairs. Katatergite with white hairs, black on posterior border. Wing hyaline, except for the brown basal costal cell and pterostigma. Veins brown, with a very short appendix on R 4+5 fork, more conspicuous on right wing. Legs black with black hairs, except for the basal 2/3rds of the fore and mid femora and basal half of hind femur white with white hairs. White hairs also on base of fore coxa and posterior margin of hind femur. Abdominal tergites black with black hairs, except for pale pruinosity and white hairs on the sides of the first, posterior margin of the second, and posterior margin of the fourth, widened medially. Sternites black with black hairs, except for pale pruinosity and white hairs on the entire second and posterior margin of the fourth, widened medially.

Male. As female, eye with the enlarged ommatidia occupying upper 2/3rds. Scutum and pleuron with white hairs. No appendix at fork. Dark brown abdomen. Second tergite entirely pale with white hairs.

Variations. Length 9.6–15.3 mm. Frontal Index 5.4–6. Pedicel sometimes brown. White hairs on the palpus sometimes more extensive. Only the holotype with very small appendix on the fork of right wing, all other examined females without appendix. The white band on the second tergite may be broken in three sections, especially in specimens damaged from rubbing.

Type-material. Holotype female: BRAZIL, AM[Amazonas], Novo Aripuanã, Soka reserve, 05°15′53″S; 60°07′08″W, 17–25.viii.1999 / suspended trap 15m, Terra-firme, J.F. Vidal & A.L. Henriques coll. ( INPA). Para- types: BRAZIL, Amazonas, Manaus and vicinities, months from July to November, many years (15 ♀ and 07 ♂ INPA, ♀ and ♂ CEUFT, ♀ and ♂ FSCA, ♀ and ♂ MPEG, ♀ and ♂ MZUSP); São Gabriel da Cachoeira , ix.1990 (♀ INPA); Pará, Óbidos, ix.2001 (3 ♀ INPA); Maranhão, Açailândia, viii–ix.2001 (♀ INPA); Tocantins, Palmas, Taquaruçu, ix.2012 (♀ INPA).

Distribution: Brazil (Amazonas, Pará, Maranhão and Tocantins).

Comments. Leucotabanus fairchildi sp.n. is close to L. canithorax Fairchild, 1941 ( Fig. 4 A–E), and L. sebastianus Fairchild,1941 ( Fig. 4 F–K), and was sometimes erroneously identified as one of them by previous authors. Fairchild (1971), in his catalog of the Neotropical tabanids, includes Belize, Panama, Colombia, Guyana and Trinidad among the geographical records for L. canithorax , which was followed by Wilkerson (1979), but these records are altered in Fairchild (1985), when L. canithorax is restricted to southern Mexico to Panama. In the same work, Fairchild recognizes, with some caution, that these records for northern South America are L. sebastianus Fairchild, 1941 , as follows: “ Specimens from northern South America, including a male from Trinidad, which I had previously identified as L. canithorax now seem to me to be closer in most characters to L. sebastianus . Central American L. canithorax seems to differ from South American material from east of the Andes in having a broader frons, slender yellow stigma, and the area proximal to the humeral vein (first costal cell) and posterior to the extreme base of R, less infuscated and not so strongly contrasting with the hyaline remainder of the wing. This basal infuscation is very noticeable in my single Rio de Janeiro specimen of L. sebastianus , and quite evident in the Amazonian material ”. The errors in recording the range of L. canithorax to include Colombia, Guyana and Trinidad are resurrected in the two subsequent catalogs ( Fairchild & Burger 1994, Coscarón & Papavero 2009).

Fairchild (1985) treated specimens of L. fairchildi sp. n. as L. sebastianus , including specimens from Trinidad and Guyana that were previously identified as canithorax . Here we indicate that sebastianus is restricted to Southeastern South America, as in ( Krolow & Henriques, 2017: 3). ALH, while visiting the AMNH, analyzed some specimens of L. canithorax , a female collected in Panama ( Panama) and a crushed male from Venezuela (Aragua), both of which agreement strongly with the description and key in Fairchild (1985). This increases the distribution of L. canithorax to the north of Venezuela, but it has not been recorded in the Amazon Basin.

L. fairchildi sp. n. can be separated from L. sebastianus by being a darker species, with different scutal patterning and narrower pterostigma, and can be separated from L. canithorax by being a darker species, with a narrower frons (F.I. of canithorax 4.13–4.66), with a narrower black frontal callus, and brown to black pterostigma.

Etymology. We are pleased to name this species as a tribute to Graham Bell Fairchild for his inestimable contribution to the knowledge of the tabanids.

Remarks. With the objective of correcting historical errors and delimiting the species demonstrated to occur in the Amazon, the following two species have their distribution records corrected.

Distribution of L. canithorax : southern Mexico to Panama and northern Venezuela (Aragua).

Distribution of L. sebastianus : Brazil (Minas Gerais to Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso do Sul).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Leucotabanus fairchildi n. sp., A–E (female, holotype), F–J (male, paratype):A, F. dorsal view; B, G. ventral view; C, H. lateral view; D, I. head, frontal view; E, J. head, lateral view.

FIGURE 4. Leucotabanus canithorax, A–E (female, holotype) and Leucotabanus sebastianus, F–K (female, holotype): A, F. dorsal view; B, H. lateral view; C, I. head, frontal view; D, J. wing; G. ventral view; E, K. labels. Photos acquired from MCZ Types Database.