Corethrella (Corethrella) pillosa Lane, 1939

Published, First, 2008, The Frog-Biting Midges of the World (Corethrellidae: Diptera), Zootaxa 1804, pp. 1-456 : 121-122

Corethrella (Corethrella) pillosa Lane

Corethrella pillosa Lane 1939a:108 . Type locality: Poço Grande, Juquiá, São Paulo, Brazil. Holotype ♀ (DEFS). Lane 1953:74 (at least of female).

DIAGNOSIS: Male adult: unknown. Female adult: only extant species of Corethrella in the New World with the clypeus wider than long ( Fig. 18F), palpal segment 3 elongate and slightly swollen subapically ( Fig. 34R), flagellomeres 1–3 each elongate ( Fig. 29G), flagellomere 3, 9–12 each with one sensillum coeloconicum, a distinct midlength wing band and no dark scales basal to midlength band (Fig. 69K), thorax dark brown ( Fig. 50A), halter light brown, much paler than scutellum, midfemur dark brown and equal to that of base of hind femur, base of hind tibia darkly pigmented (contrasting with pale apex of hind femur), hind tibia with basal and apical pigmentation discrete, midfemur without scales.

DESCRIPTION: Male adult. Unknown. Female adult. Descriptive statistics: see Tables 6–11. Head: Outline in anterior view laterally elongate ( Fig. 10H). Four large setae on frons between ventromedial area of ommatida (as in Fig. 16G). Antenna light brown, with basal half of flagellomere 1, flagellomeres 9–13 medium brown; pedicel with at least one distinctive, more elongate, stout, dorsal or dorsolateral seta; flagellomeres as in Fig. 29G, sensilla coeloconica distributed as in Table 1; flagellomere 13 with well-developed apical bifurcation. Clypeus ( Fig. 18F) wide. Mandible with small, pointed teeth. Palpus ( Fig. 34R) pale, with segment 5 light brown; segment 3 elongate, swollen apically. Thorax (as in Fig. 50A): Dark brown, pale sclerites around base of wing, scutellum with darker anteromedial spot. Posterior portion of dorsocentral row with group of about 8 elongate setae. Prescutal suture elongate, interrupted by area of pale cuticle. Prescutal suture short, not extending more than half way to dorsocentral row of setae. Anterior anepisternum divided diagonally by sinuous suture, dorsal portion about equal to ventral portion. Ventral portion of posterior anepisternum triangular, uniformly brown, with anterodorsal margin thick. Wing (Fig. 69K): Apex of R 2 basal to apex of M 1. Anterior margin with differently, discretely pigmented scales (indicating anterior margin of midlength band), with midlength band without dark scales on R 4+5; veins (other than costa and wing margin) with well-developed scales. Halter light brown, lighter than scutellum. Legs (as in Fig. 50A): Dark brown with knees of fore-, midlegs pale, hind femur with apical 0.5 pale, hind tibia pale with basal and apical discrete dark brown pigmentation, banding of mid-, hind leg tarsomeres 2–4 with banding. With only slender setae, lacking scales (except for some in patch of whip-like setae on posterior portion of hind tibia). Midleg with thick, subapical setae on each of at least tarsomeres 1–3. Claws of each leg equal to those of others; equal on each leg, simple (without inner teeth). Empodia slender. Abdomen: Medium brown with segments 8–9 dark brown. Cercus dark brown.

Immatures. Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION AND BIONOMICS: Corethrella pillosa is known from the state of São Paulo, Brazil (Fig. 127) at altitudes ranging from 85–603 m. The holotype was collected with a handnet from vegetation .

TAXONOMIC DISCUSSION: The holotype was previously on a pin, with the abdomen mounted separately on a microscope slide. The entire specimen is now on the same slide.

Lane (1939a) in his original description of this species, described the single female of C. pillosa , noted that the male was unknown and then stated “ Holotype a single male”. This error was repeated in Belkin et al. (1971:28). The holotype is indeed a female. Lane (1942:106; 1953:74) described the male of C. pillosa but I was unable to locate the specimen. His (1942) designation of the male as an allotype was an invalid type designation. The second specimen reported here was previously identified by Lane as C. pillosa .

MATERIAL EXAMINED: Holotype, adult female on microscope slide, labeled “ Corethrella pillosa Lane 38”, “ Holotype ”, “ S. Paulo Juquiá J. Lane col.”, “872”, “S.85 T.794”, “ Corethrella pillosa Holotype abdomen, S. Paulo, Juquiá Lane”, “ No. 872, Lamina 202, Divisao 4, Gavela 134” ( DEFS). 1 ♀, Casa Grande , São Paulo, Brazil, XII-1940 ( USNM).

DERIVATION OF SPECIFIC EPITHET: The name pillosa (likely based on pilus - hairy) possibly refers to the setose adults, a feature characteristic of the genus.