Mesoconius rex, Marshall, 2019

Marshall, Stephen A., 2019, A revision of the genus Mesoconius Enderlein (Diptera, Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae), European Journal of Taxonomy 548, pp. 1-126 : 117-119

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5852/ejt.2019.548

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7BA0D937-437E-4252-8EF4-4F35E6B59445

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5925790

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/EBF11F77-E8B9-4155-AFDD-4416FC14607D

taxon LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:act:EBF11F77-E8B9-4155-AFDD-4416FC14607D

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Mesoconius rex
status

sp. nov.

Mesoconius rex View in CoL sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EBF11F77-E8B9-4155-AFDD-4416FC14607D

Fig. 48 View Fig

Etymology

The specific name of this unique male, superficially similar to Mesoconius reinai sp. nov., known only from a single female, is from the Latin for ʻkingʼ.

Material examined

Holotype

COLOMBIA • ♂; Boyacá, SFF Iguaque, Cerro Pan de Azucar ; 05°25ʹ N, 73°27ʹ W; 3300 m a.s.l.; 27 Mar.–16 Apr. 2000; Malaise trap; M1517; P. Reina leg.; IAVH. GoogleMaps

Description (male only)

LENGTH. 14 mm.

COLOUR. Mostly shiny blue-black to brown; all femora white at base, mid and hind femora with a white band just beyond middle, with band on mid femur much wider; apex of mid and (more distinctly) hind femora yellowish-brown. First flagellomere yellow-brown; notum with broad, silvery dorsocentral vittae. Wing uniformly black. Abdominal segment 1 blue-black; T3–5 black; pleuron white.

HEAD. Epicephalon and paracephalon distinctly striate, dull. Frontal vitta velvety brown and broad, centrally depressed, more or less diamond-shaped, with anterior point reaching front of frons and lateral points with extensions broadly reaching eye. Postocellar bristles and inner vertical bristles well developed, postocellars very close to one another. Upper fronto-orbital strong, above level of upper ocelli, lower fronto-orbital minute or absent.

THORAX. Scutum conspicuously microtrichose; dorsocentral and acrostichal setulae very small; dorsocentral microtrichose strips broad, expanding postsuturally. Cervical sclerite with a shiny anterior portion divided from a setulose posterior portion by a vertical carina. Postpronotal lobe sparsely microtrichose, sparsely setulose on posterior half, anterior surface vertical and shiny along dorsal margin, posterior surface sloped and microtrichose, except for a strong ventral carina. Dorsocentral bristle strong, distinctly longer than scutellum. Scutellum with one pair of discal setulae and one pair of long apical bristles (longer than scutellum). Vertical row of katepisternal bristles dark brown. Katatergite moderately swollen, without median process, evenly convex and microtrichose. All coxae with an anteroventral tuft of long, golden-brown setae.

ABDOMEN. T1+2 2.8× T3. S5 and S6 reduced, linear. S8 shiny and much larger than microtrichose epandrium. Cercus large, subquadrate. Hypandrium relatively short (similar in length to anteroventral epandrial arms), anterior margin broad, scoop-like and symmetrical. Basal basiphallus broad, distally expanding to an excavated apex holding a broad phallic bulb; distal distiphallus apparently wiry, narrow, flanged at base, but otherwise parallel-sided, forming an ʻSʼ shape.

Remarks

Although this species is only known from a single male, it is distinctive for several features, including the sinuate distal distiphallus and mostly metallic blue-black body.

IAVH

Instituto de Ivestigacion de los Recursos Biologicos Alexander von Humboldt

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Micropezidae

Genus

Mesoconius

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