Sarcophaga (Mehria) lorosa Hall, 1937

Gudin, Filipe Macedo, Pádua, Diego Galvão de, Mulieri, Pablo Ricardo, Cortés-Rivas, Benito, Moreira-Muñoz, Andrés & Araujo, Rodrigo de Oliveira, 2024, Positive association between PTN polymorphisms and schizophrenia in Northeast Chinese Han population., Zoological Studies 63 (7), pp. 141-149 : 5-8

Sarcophaga (Mehria) lorosa Hall, 1937 ( Figs. 2A , 3 , 4 )

Sarcophaga lorosa Hall, 1937: 367 . Holotype male (NHMUK), examined ( Fig. 3A, C, E ). Type locality: Chile, Santiago.

Weyrauchimyia ruficauda Lopes and Tibana, 1982: 142 . Holotype male (MNRJ, lost). Type locality: Chile, Arica y Parinacota [as Tarapacá], Lluta. [Junior secondary homonym of Sarcophaga ruficauda Zetterstedt, 1838 .]. Syn. nov.

Arachnidomyia travassosi Tibana and Mello, 1992: 293 . Holotype male (CNC), examined ( Fig. 3B, D, F ). Type locality: Chile, O’Higgins, La Leonera. Syn. nov.

Material examined: Argentina: 1 ò ( MACN): Neuquén, Parque Nacional Lanín, Ñorquinco, S 39°09,073 W 71°15,475, trampa Malaise, 9.i.2013, Olea, Mulieri and Patitucci leg.; Chile: 5 ò, 1 ñ ( UCM): Huasco Province, Parque Nacional Llanos del Challe, 28°08'55"S, 71°09'24"W, reared from Metepeira galatheae egg sacs, 27–30.xi.2022, D.G. Pádua et al. leg.

Diagnosis: Distinguished from the other New World species of subgenus Mehria by the following morphological features: (1) face with deep golden-yellow pruinosity, (2) wing vein R 1 with setae, (3) abdominal tergite 5 reddish or yellow, and (4) genital segments (syntergosternite 7+8 and epandrium) reddish. Phallic morphology most similar to S. (M.) guyanensis Lopes and S. (M.) lindae Lopes , but separable from S. (M.) lindae by the median stylus of similar length to the lateral styli and its vesica shorter than width of distiphallus; and separable from S. (M.) guyanensis by the shape of juxta slightly folded dorsoapically, not rounded (see Lopes 1946: 125, fig. 15).

Males ( Fig. 4A, C, E, G, H ): Body length: 7–8 mm. Wing length: 5.5–6 mm (n = 6).

Head ( Fig. 4E ): Parafacial, fronto-orbital plate, and postocular orbits with silvery gray pruinosity; frontal vitta blackish; face with deep golden-yellow pruinosity. Facial ridge setose on lower half; fronto-orbital plate and parafacial with row of setulae close to eye, parafacial with additional row of setulae in lower half. Frons 0.15–0.18 head width at level of ocellar triangle. Antenna black; first flagellomere approximately twice pedicel length; arista short plumose on proximal half. Frontal setae 10–12, well-developed, row reaching level of apex of pedicel; rows of frontal setae parallel for most of their length, diverging at the level of antennal insertion. Two reclinate orbital setae; proclinate orbital setae absent; ocellar setae developed and proclinate; outer vertical seta undifferentiated from postocular setae. Gena with silver pruinosity, covered with black setulae; genal groove blackish; postgena with silver pruinosity, covered with black setulae. Palpus, prementum, and labella blackish.

Thorax ( Fig. 4 A, C ): Black with silverygray pruinosity. Acrostichal setae 2+1; dorsocentral setae 2+3; intra-alar setae 1+2; supra-alar setae 2+3; postpronotal setae 3–4; notopleural setae 4. Postalar wall setulose. Postalar callus with 2 setae. Proepisternum bare. Katepisternal setae 3. Scutellum with a pair of basal and subapical setae; apical setae present; discal setae absent. Wing: Tegula black; basicosta yellowish; veins brown. Costal spine not developed; third costal sector setulose ventrally; vein R 1 with setae dorsally; vein R 4+5 with setulae dorsally from base to crossvein r-m. Cell r 4+5 open at wing margin. Legs: Black, except for brown tarsi. Mid femur without ctenidium; mid tibia with 1 median anterior seta; posterior femur with anterodorsal row, and anteroventral row with stronger setae on median surface; posterior tibia with three dorsal setae, one anterior row, and three ventral setae. Tarsal claws long, subequal to length of tarsomere 5.

Abdomen ( Fig. 4A, C ): Syntergite 1+2 to tergite 4 black with silvery-gray pruinosity; tergite 5 reddish. Tergites 2 and 3 without median marginal setae; tergite 4 with complete row of marginal setae; tergite 5 with row of marginal setae. Sternite 5 slightly reddish and V-shaped, with fringe of setae along the median margin of each arm.

Terminalia ( Fig. 4G, H ): Syntergosternite 7+8 and epandrium reddish. Syntergosternite 7+8 with three pairs of setae. Cercus apically curved and pointed. Pregonite with rounded and well-sclerotized apex, postgonite with short setulae. Phallus with vesica bifid, short; lateral stylus well-sclerotized; juxta rounded apically, slightly folded dorsoapically.

Female ( Fig. 4B, D, F ): Differs from male as follows: Body length: 8 mm. Wing length: 6.5 mm (n = 1). Frons 0.27 head width at level of ocellar triangle. Frontal setae 8; reclinate setae 2, with posterior seta lateroclinate; proclinate orbital setae 2; inner vertical setae parallel; outer vertical seta about 2/3 inner vertical seta. Tarsal claws shorter than tarsomere 5.

Distribution: Argentina (Neuquén) and Chile (Arica y Parinacota, Atacama, O’Higgins, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) ( Fig. 2A ).

Remarks: We propose W. ruficauda and A. travassosi as junior synonyms of S. lorosa Hall. Both nominal species share the above enumerated external characters of color of face pruinosity, wing vein R 1, abdominal tergite 5, and genitalia with S. lorosa . They also share a short, bifid vesica, and juxta slightly folded dorsoapically, which are here considered to provide a conspecific match. Pape (1996) transferred W. ruficauda to Sarcophaga and proposed A. travassosi as its synonym, keeping S. (M.) travassosi (Tibana and Mello) as the valid name because of the secondary homonymy between S. (M.) ruficauda (Lopes and Tibana) and Sarcophaga ruficauda Zetterstedt. Unfortunately , the holotype male of W. ruficauda was lost in the fire that consumed most of the MNRJ entomological collection ( Cunha 2018; Escobar 2018).

Further clarification is required regarding the type locality of A. travassosi . Pape (1996) recorded the city of La Leonera in the Biobío region as the type locality. However, the holotype label explicitly states the city La Leonera in the O’Higgins region ( Fig. 3B ), which is more than 400 km north of La Leonera in the Biobío region. The exact locality can be verified by consulting the works of the Chilean entomologist Luis Enrique Peña, the collector of the holotype. Peña (1974) listed the type locality of several insects collected by him and included two localities in O’Higgins: La Leonera and Cerro Poqui. Cerro Poqui is a hill located at the border of the regions O’Higgins and Región Metropolitana de Santiago, which shows that Peña used O’Higgins as a reference to the O’Higgins region. Thus, there is no reason to consider that Peña was not accurate when recording La Leonera in the O’Higgins region.

The golden-yellow pruinosity on the face of S. (M.) lorosa is not commonly seen in Sarcophagidae and is not present in Nearctic and Palaearctic species of Mehria . In the Neotropical region, only S. (M.) insularis Lopes has the face and frontal vitta slightly golden-yellow ( Lopes 1946), but lacks setae on vein R 1.

Based on the specimens examined here, the distribution of S. (M.) lorosa seems to be restricted to southwestern South America, specifically on the western side of the Andes Mountains ( Fig. 2A ).

Annotated catalog of records of spider egg-predating Sarcophagidae

Four species of the subgenus Baranovisca have been recorded as egg predators from at least four species of Araneidae ; and 10 species of the subgenus Mehria have been recorded from at least 13 species of the families Araneidae , Cheiracanthiidae , Clubionidae , Philodromidae , Salticidae , and Tetragnathidae ( Table 1). Records are from all biogeographical regions except the Afrotropical.

Australasian Region

Figures

Fig. 2. A, Distribution map of Sarcophaga (Mehria) lorosa Hall, highlighting the type localities of the junior synonyms Arachnidomyia travassosi Tibana and Mello, syn. nov., and Weyrauchimyia ruficauda Lopes and Tibana, syn. nov.; B, Study areas in the Atacama region, Chile, during a desert bloom. Map created with SimpleMappr (https://www.simplemappr.net/).

Fig. 3. Holotype male of Sarcophaga lorosa Hall (NHMUK) and holotype male of Arachnidomyia travassosi Tibana and Mello (CNC), respectively. A, B: Lateral habitus and labels; C, D: Dorsal habitus; E, F: Head in frontal view.

Fig. 4. Sarcophaga (Mehria) lorosa Hall specimens reared from egg sacs of Metepeira galatheae (Thorell). A, C, E, G, H: Lateral habitus, dorsal habitus, head in frontal view, terminalia in posterior view, and terminalia in lateral view of male, respectively; B, D, F: Lateral habitus, dorsal habitus, and head in frontal view of female, respectively.