Scutops robustus, Freitas & Ale-Rocha, 2023

Freitas, Geovânia & Ale-Rocha, Rosaly, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Scutops Coquillett, 1904 (Diptera: Periscelididae), Zootaxa 5244 (5), pp. 401-427 : 419-421

Scutops robustus sp. nov.

( Figs 15–16 , 19I , 22 )

Diagnosis: Frons yellow, ocellar triangle brown; face whitish yellow, dorsal portion higher than wide, slightly convex with apical margin rounded in frontal view; silver pruinescent band adjacent to posterior margin of eye very short, located at half of height of occiput; scutum brown with median longitudinal stripe yellow, narrowed and strongly sharpened anteriorly and reaching the anterior margin of the scutum; pleura brown, anepisternum shiny, with silvery pruinescence in the upper part; 1 dorsocentral; foreleg with first tarsomere enlarged.

Holotype male. Description. Body length: 4.1 mm: wing: 4.0 mm. Head ( Figs 15B ). Frons yellow; ocellar triangle brown; fronto-orbital plate with short, thin, and brown setae. Face whitish yellow, dorsal portion higher than wide, slightly convex with apical margin rounded in frontal view, lateroventral margin of face brown with series of short brown setae. Gena and postgena dark brown, with long, thin, brown setae. Occiput with rather dense, very short, thin and black setae; silver pruinescent band adjacent to posterior margin of eye very short, located at half of height of occiput. Antenna yellow; pedicel with six dorsal robust setae on outer dorsolateral face, five brown robust setae on inner dorsolateral face plus other thin yellow setae on inner lateral face; arista with ten dorsal and four ventral branches. Buccal pieces dark brown. Thorax ( Figs 15C ). Scutum dark brown with median longitudinal stripe yellow, narrowed and strongly sharpened anteriorly and reaching the anterior margin of the scutum; postpronotal lobe whitish yellow with dense silvery pruinescence; notopleuron brown with dense silvery pruinescence; scutellum yellow with lateral margin brown, with the apex elevated at an angle of about 30º; subscutellum brown; pleura brown, anepisternum shiny with silvery pruinescence in the upper part. Setae: 1 dorsocentral; posterior katepisternal seta 3/4 the length of anterior seta; distal scutellar seta 3/4 the length of basal seta. Legs ( Fig. 15A, D ). Coxae brown, trochanters yellow, femora brown; foretibia brown; mid and hind tibia brown with a median yellow ring and apex yellow; tarsus yellow. Forefemur with posteroventral setae developed; fore first tarsomere broadened; midtibia with apicoventral black developed spine. Wing ( Fig. 19I ): yellow basally and anterior distal half brownish, transversal preapical hyaline band incomplete; vein R 1 yellow with 1/3 of the apical portion brown. Halter with stem yellow and knob dark brown. Abdomen ( Fig. 15A, D ). Tergites and sternites dark brown. Terminalia ( Figs 16A–C ): epandrium as high as wide in posterodorsal view; cercus ellipsoid; postgonite subrectangular in lateral view, with posterodorsal lobe rounded in lateral view; hypandrium + phallapodeme narrow and elongate in lateral view; phallus slightly longer than hypandrium + phallapodeme, slender, membranous, sclerotized laterally; ejaculatory apodeme with apex truncate.

Female. Similar to male. Terminalia ( Fig. 16D ): tergite and sternite 7 forming a ring wider than high, slightly dorsally compressed; sternite 8 broad, triangular; cercus subquadrate.

Locality records: Ecuador (Orellana), Brazil (Amazonas), Bolivia (Santa Cruz) ( Fig. 22 )

Type material examined: Holotype male ( NMNH). ECUADOR, Orellana, Res. Etnica Waorani, 0º39.4′S, 76º27.2′W, 216m, lot# 1694, 10.Oct.1996, T. L. Erwin . Holotype condition: right wing glued on triangle of paper; apical scutellar setae and right basal seta lost, left katepisternal setae lost, left wing torn at apex; abdomen dissected and packed in microtube with glycerin.

Paratype: ECUADOR, Orellana; Res. Etnica Waorani, 0º39.4′S, 76º 27.2′W, 216m, lot# 912, 9.x.1994, ( T. L. Erwin), 1 female ( NMNH) . BRAZIL, Amazonas, Reserva Ducke , 26 Km, N Of Manaus, 16.ix.1982, (J. A. Rafael), Ar [madilha]. Malaise, 1 female ( INPA) . BOLÍVIA, Santa Cruz, Dept. Ichilo Prov., Hotel Flora y Fauna , 4–6 km SSE Buena Vista, 17º29.95′S, 63º33.15′W, 400–500m, 11.xi.2003, (N. E. Woodley), 2 females, ( NMNH) .

Variation: some specimens presented dark brown pleura.

Comments: Scutops robustus sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from congeners with two dorsocentral setae and an elongated yellow median stripe on the scutum that is sharpened anteriorly. From S. lopesi and S. marcgrafi , this species is distinguished by the silver pruinescent band adjacent to the posterior margin of eye being very short, not exceeding half of the height of the occiput, and the gena and postgena are black.

Etymology: From the Latin robustus = robust and refers to aspect of the body in this species.

Figures

FIGURE 15. Scutops robustus sp. nov. A (holotype), B–D (paratype). A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Head, frontal view; C. Thorax, dorsal view; D. Female terminalia, posteroventral view.

FIGURE 16. Scutops robustus sp. nov. A–C (holotype), D (paratype). A. Epandrium, postgonite and cercus, posterodorsal view; B. Same, plus hypandrium+phallapodeme and phallus, lateral view; C. Ejaculatory apodeme; D. Female terminalia, posteroventral view.

FIGURE 19. Wings. A. Scutops chapmani Curran, 1934; B. Scutops fascipennis Coquillett, 1904; C. Scutops flavithorax sp. nov. (paratype male); D. Scutops ipixunensis sp. nov. (paratype female); E. Scutops lopesi Amorim & Vasconcelos, 1989; F. Scutops marcgrafi Amorim & Vasconcelos, 1989; G. Scutops melinus sp. nov. (holotype female); H. Scutops peruanus Hennig, 1952; I. Scutops robustus sp. nov. (paratype female). J. Scutops spinophallus sp. nov. (holotype male).

FIGURE 22. Distributional map with records of S. flavithorax sp. nov., S. goianiensis, S. ipixunensis sp. nov., S. marcgrafi and S. robustus sp. nov..