Hoplocheiloma jamaica, Marshall, 2011

Marshall, S. A., 2011, A review of the genus Hoplocheiloma Cresson (Diptera: Micropezidae), Zootaxa 2806 (1), pp. 1-23 : 9-10

Hoplocheiloma jamaica new species

Figs. 11, 12

Body length 6mm. Wing length 5mm. General colour: Head orange with extensive white-pollinose areas including paracephala, postgena, parafacials and subantennal areas; face yellowish white, palest on ventral half; thorax mostly dark brown and silvery pruinose with sides of prothorax, postpronotum, and scutellum reddish brown; proepisternum with a transverse black band just above the proepisternal setae.

Head: Frons longitudinally ridged, lower half elevated above eye with sides vertical; uniformly dull orange except for dark ocellar triangle, frontal vitta relatively pale but only weakly differentiated from indistinctly striate orbital strips; two small frontal setae, and large orbital, inner vertical and outer vertical setae. Ocellar triangle black. Clypeus uniformly pale orange with fine white setulae (denser on lateral portions), middle part with two stout setae inserted near anterior margin. Lunule narrow, face weakly sclerotized and pale, densely microsetulose. Palpus parallel-sided, ¾ as long as clypeus, with evenly spaced small black setae. Mentum strongly setose.

Thorax: Pronotum bare except for dense white microsetae covering all but the shining anterior margin. Notum otherwise dark brown dorsally, with postpronotum and scutellum lighter brown. Both sexes with an irregular row of minute acrostichal and dorsocentral setae, anterior dorsocentrals not enlarged in male, long and thin in female. One large (prescutellar) dorsocentral seta only. Notopleuron with large subequal anterior and posterior setae. Katepisternum with a prominent vertical row of black setae and a much weaker anterior row of fine scattered yellow setae; ventral apex of katepisternum with 3 long thick setae.

Legs: Fore coxa with an indistinct pollinose appearance on anterior and posterior surfaces (created by fine white microsetulae), bare and yellowish elsewhere. Fore femur and tibia uniformly pale brown; tarsomeres one and two of foreleg white, other fore tarsomeres brown; mid and hind legs yellowish brown except for a weak preapical dark band on the tibiae and white first tarsomeres.

Wing: Basal band diffuse but almost entirely crossing the wing, discal band almost circular, extending from costa to CuA 1, preapical band narrow, extending from costa to M ( Fig. 11 ), apical infuscation indistinct or absent. R 2+3 ending in line with or just basal to level of dm-cu ( Fig. 11 ).

Abdomen: Tergites 1–5 mostly bluish-black except for silvery microsetulose band along posterior margin, tergites 1 and 2 fused but delineated by a band of silvery microsetulae, anterior margin of male tergite 3 silvery. Tergite 6 silvery. Tergite 1 with long pale lateral and dorsolateral setae, other tergites with small black setulae only.

Female abdomen: Pleuron black except for an oval white patch on segment 3, extending from tergal margin to ventrolateral part of abdomen. Oviscape silvery setulose laterally on basal half and dorsally on basal quarter, otherwise shining blackish brown with sparse small setae. Spermathecae broad, urn-shaped (only one specimen was dissected, in which the spermathecae and associated structures were coalesced into a tight mass of tissue that could not be teased apart).

Male abdomen: Pleuron with boldly banded dark bands extending ventrally from each tergite and separated by white membrane, band of segment 2 at least twice as long as band of tergite 3, bands apparently encircling entire abdomen (both known males dessicated with pleuron of segments 1–2 largely concealed). Sternite 8 silvery, epandrium pale brown at base, otherwise yellow ( Fig. 12 ). Genital fork prominent, longer than epandrium, base of fork longer than arms. Internal genitalia not studied.

Type material. HOLOTYPE (♂, USNM) and two paratypes (1 ♂, 1 ♀, USNM): JAMAICA: Trel Parish , ca 6kmN Quick Step, near Come Night Cave, 13 Dec.1975, Gary F. Hevel.

Comments. Hoplocheiloma jamaica is the only species in the genus with a dark body and a circular discal wing band, and the only species with a dark body that lacks an apical wing band. Because the only known males of this species are the holotype and one paratype (both mounted on minuten pins) no male specimen was dissected and information about internal genitalia and the pleuron of abdominal segment two is not available. Furthermore, the spermathecae and associated ducts of the only dissected female were coalesced into a mass that could not be teased apart, so there are no data on female genitalia. That leaves the relationships of this species an open question and emphasizes the need for more collections of these island-restricted flies.

Figures

FIGURES 11–12. Hoplocheiloma jamaica new species. 11, female habitus, left lateral; 12, male habitus, left lateral.