Ectophasiopsis Townsend, 1915

Dios, Rodrigo de V. P. & Nihei, Silvio S., 2017, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Ectophasiopsis Townsend, 1915 (Diptera: Tachinidae: Phasiinae), European Journal of Taxonomy 334, pp. 1-27 : 3-5

Genus Ectophasiopsis Townsend, 1915

Systematic placement of Ectophasiopsis

In recent classifications, the tribe Trichopodini is usually placed within Gymnosomatini , considering some shared characteristics of the male terminalia ( Tschorsnig 1985). In the last morphological phylogeny of the family (Cerretti et al. 2014), those two tribes were grouped together in Gymnosomatini , with one apomorphy of the male terminalia (sperm duct developed into three well sclerotized ducts). In this morphological phylogeny, a single genus of Trichopodini was included ( Trichopoda ). The genus Ectophasiopsis shares most of the male terminalia characteristics with Trichopoda , including the sperm duct that is simple, the other two tubes are greatly reduced, to almost invisible, as Tschorsnig (1985) has already mentioned. More inclusive systematic studies, with wider sampling, are necessary to clarify these relationships.

The former tribe Trichopodini was divided by Sabrosky (1950) into three generic groups: Acaulona - complex (7 genera), Trichopoda -complex (12 genera) and Xanthomelanodes -complex (2 genera). The Xanthomelanodes -complex was grouped by the presence of basal scutellar bristles widely divergent and much longer than the apical bristles; the Trichopoda -complex was grouped by the presence of a dorsal row of feather-like bristles on the posterior tibia; and the Acaulona -complex was grouped by the absence of those bristles.

Sabrosky also split the Trichopoda -complex into two subgroups: “ Trichopoda typica” and “ Trichopoda atypica”. The subgroup “typica” included the genera Eutrichopoda Townsend, 1908 , Trichopoda and Polistomyia (Townsend, 1908) , the latter a junior synonym of Trichopoda ; the subgroup “atypica” included the remaining genera. The “typica” subgroup is differentiated by a postcoxal area (between the hind coxae and first abdominal sternite) membranous and sunken or shriveled, and the front somewhat narrowed at vertex, the sides parallel on the basal half then suddenly diverging. The “atypica” subgroup have the postcoxal area closed (sclerotized) and the front different from that described for the other group ( Sabrosky 1950).

Nowadays the valid genera in the “ Trichopoda typica” subgroup sensu Sabrosky (1950) are Eutrichopoda and Trichopoda , and now we also include Ectophasiopsis in this group. Although a taxonomic revision of Eutrichopoda and Trichopoda was not the aim of the present study, those genera are included in the identification keys for that subgroup. Revisions of these genera are being made by the authors.

Genus Ectophasiopsis Townsend, 1915

Ectophasiopsis Townsend, 1915: 439 . Type species: Ectophasiopsis arcuata ( Bigot, 1876) = chilensis Townsend, 1915 .

Ectophasiopsis – Aldrich 1934: 11. — Townsend 1936: 55; 1938: 47. — Wolcott 1948: 271. — Sabrosky 1950: 361 (as Ectophasiops). — Dupuis 1963: 89. — Guimarães 1971: 12.

Redefinition

COLORATION. Frontal vitta often yellow to light-tawny anteriorly. Wing with strong yellow radiation always starting at base. Wing with hyaline portion inside cell dm and forming a characteristic sinuosity in hyaline border. Claws brown to dark-tawny, black distally.

HEAD. Eyes dichoptic in both sexes. Frontal vitta wider (or only slightly wider) anteriorly, narrowing in middle and diverging posteriorly; wider at vertex level than at lunule level (sometimes subequal). Pair of ocellar setae thin and divergent. Fronto-orbital plate bare; wider anteriorly. Vibrissa present, shorter than length of arista. Antennal axis subequal to oral axis. Postpedicel reniform rounded, slightly flattened laterally, little longer than scape and pedicel together.

THORAX. Intra-alar setae 0+1; supra-alar setae 1+1; 2 postalar setae. Scutellum with one pair of basal setae and one pair of subapical setae. Postcoxal bridge membranous.

WING. Cell r4+5 closed and short petiolate, meeting wing margin a little before apex. Crossvein dm-cu straight to slightly sinuous. Posterior border of lower calypter slightly concave, external lobe enlarged. Legs. Fore tibia with two rows of dorsal feather-like setae, one outer with very short setae and inner much longer. Claws in male straight elongate and curved at tip and pulvilli elongate, squared, almost same length as claw; in female claws short and curved, and pulvilli shorter and rounded.

ABDOMEN. Elliptical to rounded, dorsoventrally flattened, tergites 1+2 to tergite 6 visible dorsally, without strong differentiated setae. Sternites free and membrane exposed.

MALE TERMINALIA. Cerci with posteromedian process and slightly broadened posterolateral lobes; posteromedian process with an anterior notch in lateral view, distally flattened, large and rounded in lateral view. Pregonite and postgonite fused. Postgonite slightly widened apically and rounded in posterior view. Distiphallus as a membrane-covered complex of two sclerotized plates distally opened ‘Halbschalen’ in Tschorsnig 1985) that surrounds a sclerotized inner tube: one as an outer half-tubelike plate with a large opening on right-posterior portion; other as an inner sclerotized ring-like plate, dorsally invaginated following sclerotized inner tube through its entire extent, indented with slender transversal slit on right side. Sclerotized inner tube simple (‘Samenleiter’ in Tschorsnig 1985), dorsally bulbous, outside ring-like plate, bending and becoming straight inside ring-like plate, sometimes a little curved; dorsally it is connected to spermatic duct that goes along with aedeagus and connects with spermatic pump (as in other genera of ‘ Trichopoda typica’ group).

FEMALE TERMINALIA. Sternite and tergite 7 not fused. Sternite 8 short, rounded distally. Cercus flattened plate-like, subquadrate, with lateral projections; connected to base of sternite 8 by a thin sclerotized strip. Epiproct and hypoproct absent.

Key to species of Ectophasiopsis Townsend, 1915

1. Ratio of frontal vitta width at level of lunula / width at vertex level of 0.8 to 0.9. Dorsocentral setae 2+2 or 3+2 (presutural setae short). Thorax long setulose dorsally and laterally. Male: hind femur with posteroventral setae long and slightly flattened …………… E. arcuata ( Bigot, 1876)

– Ratio of frontal vitta width at level of lunula / width at vertex level of 0.55 to 0.75. Dorsocentral setae 1+1 or 1+2. Thorax short setulose. Male: hind femur with posteroventral setae short ………………2

2. Antennal axis longer ( Figs 7C , 8C ), fronto-orbital plate at lunule level and parafacial enlarged ( Fig. 1C ). Male: cerci midventral opening lateral border not visible in dorsal view ( Fig. 1A ) … ………………………………………………………… E. gradata ( Wiedemann, 1830) comb. nov.

– Antennal axis shorter ( Figs 9C , 10C , 11C ), fronto-orbital plate at lunule level and parafacial narrowed ( Fig. 1D ). Male: cerci midventral opening lateral border visible in dorsal view, as a small lappet ( Fig. 1B ) ………………………………………………………… E. ypiranga sp. nov.

Figures

Fig. 7. Ectophasiopsis gradata (Wiedemann, 1830) comb. nov., ♂, Uruguay, Montevidéu, ZMHU. A. Dorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Abdomen, dorsal view. F. Wing, dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 8. Ectophasiopsis gradata (Wiedemann, 1830) comb. nov., ♀, Brazil, Nova Teutônia, DZUP. A. Dorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Abdomen, dorsal view. F. Wing, dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 1. A. Male cerci of Ectophasiopsis gradata (Wiedemann, 1830) comb. nov., dorsal view; red circle indicates the midventral opening, the lateral border is not visible in dorsal view. B. Male cerci of E. ypiranga sp. nov., dorsal view; red circle indicates the midventral opening, the lateral border is visible in dorsal view as a small laplet. C. Head of E. gradata (Wiedemann, 1830) comb. nov., lateral view. Red bars showing width of fronto orbital plate at the lunule level (I) and parafacial (II). D. Head of E. ypiranga sp. nov., lateral view. Red bars show the width of the fronto orbital plate at the lunule level and parafacial. Scale bars: A–B = 0.2 mm; C–D = 1 mm.

Fig. 9. Ectophasiopsis ypiranga sp. nov., ♂, holotype, Brazil, São Paulo, CEIOC. A. Dorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Abdomen, dorsal view. F. Wing, dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 10. Ectophasiopsis ypiranga sp. nov., ♀, paratype, Brazil, Passos, DZUP. A. Dorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Abdomen, dorsal view. F. Wing, dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 11. Ectophasiopsis ypiranga sp. nov., ♂, paratype, Brazil, Maracajú, USNM. A. Dorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Abdomen, dorsal view. F. Wing, dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.