Aspistomella angustifrons (Hendel, 1909) Kovac & Kameneva & Korneyev & Araújo & Savaris & Smit & Schneider & Schreiber & Korneyev, 2024

Kovac, Damir, Kameneva, Elena P., Korneyev, Severyn V., Araújo, Alexandre Santos, Savaris, Marcoandre, Smit, John T., Schneider, Alexander, Schreiber, Robert & Korneyev, Valery A., 2024, Revision of the Aspistomella group of genera (Diptera: Ulidiidae: Pterocallinae: Lipsanini), Zootaxa 5530 (1), pp. 1-117 : 21-24

Aspistomella angustifrons (Hendel, 1909) comb. nov.

Figs 6 C , 10–12 .

Paraphyola angustifrons Hendel 1909b: 261 ; Hendel 1910: 46, 47; Steyskal 1968: 54.20.

Material examined. Type. Lectotype ♀: Peru: “ Peru Meshagua / 11.X.03 / Urubamba fl.” [Schnuse leg.] “ Paraphyola \ angustifrons H. / det. Hendel ” “Type” [dark red paper], “coll. Hendel ” ( NHMW) . Paralectotypes: Peru: 1 ♂ [1 wing missing], “ Peru Meshagua / 11.X.03 / Urubamba fl.” [Schnuse leg.] “ Paraphyola \ angustifrons H. / det. Hendel ”, “coll. Hendel ” ( NHMW) ; 1♀: “ Peru —Pichis / XII.03 / Pto. Bermudes” [Schnuse leg.] “ Paraphyola \ angustifrons H. / det. Hendel ” ( SMTD) .

Non-type. Peru: “Peru- 150 m / 12.11.[19]03 / Pachitea-Münd”, 1♀ (dissected), idem, 26.11.[19]03, 1♂ [dissected] ( SMTD); Huanuco, Tingo Maria , 800 m, 21– 23.08.1971, 1♀ (C. & M. Vardy) (BMNH: BM 1971-533) ; Bolivia: Mapiri, Sarampioni , 700 m, 01.1903, 1♀ (Schnuse) ( SMTD) .

Diagnosis. Aspistomella angustifrons differs from most species of the genus by the combination of its wing venation (costal vein almost straight, pterostigma moderately long) and wing pattern (wing posterior margin mostly dark, except for a crescent-shaped subapical hyaline area in cell m 1). It shares with A. crucifera and A. teresensis a comparatively short head, narrow frons and wings, as well as chaetotaxy and wing venation, but differs in coxae, femora and tarsi, which are mostly black (entirely yellow in A. crucifera and A. teresensis ) and wing pattern with subapical crescentic hyaline incision and otherwise dark posterior half (in A. crucifera , A. quinquincisa , and A. teresensis , with entirely dark subapical area and marginal hyaline spot in cell m 4). It differs from A. schnusei by having a shorter epistome and a wing widely dark in the apical half (in A. schnusei , epistome strongly produced anteriorly and wing widely hyaline with narrow bands apically). It also differs from all the species of the Aspistomella group for which the male genitalia have been examined by the long and narrow, posteroventrally curved surstyli.

Description. Male. Head ( Figs 10 B–D ) ratio (length: height: width) = 1: 1.4: 1.6, frons, face above transverse fold, parafacial, and gena reddish or yellowish brown, face and occiput mostly black. Frons very narrow, slightly narrowed posteriorly ( Figs 10 C, D ), 0.85× as long (from lunule to anterior ocellus) or 2× (from lunule to inner vertical seta) as wide (at lunule), with subshining, brown or black ocellar triangle and brown vertical plates; orbits, vertex, gena and occiput silver-white microtrichose; parafacial narrow, 0.25–0.3× broader than postpedicel, reddish-yellow, sparsely white microtrichose. Frontal plates with 6–7 pairs of short proclinate parafrontal setulae and 6–8 frontal seta on each side, frontal vitta whitish microtrichose, with 2–3 proclinate or inclinate interfrontal setae ( Fig. 10 D ). Eye 1.4–1.6× higher than long. Face with upper part separated from epistome by shallow fold; yellow, white microtrichose; epistome moderately produced anteriorly, brown laterally and anteroventrally to black medially, sparsely white microtrichose, with metallic bluish sheen. Clypeus brown to black, sparsely white microtrichose, subshining, 0.25–0.3× higher than epistome. Gena brownish yellow, with long genal seta and 6–8 additional long peristomal setae anterior to genal seta, 0.6–0.8× longer than the latter one. Occiput black, except postgena partly brown, with cyan metallic sheen, greyish microtrichose.

Antenna yellow; scape and pedicel with black setulae; postpedicel yellow, whitish microtrichose, twice as long as wide, apically rounded; arista black except yellow at base, almost bare. Mouthparts brown to black, prementum black, sparsely microtrichose. Palp yellow, narrowly crescent, apically rounded, with 8–12 moderately strong black setulae, of them 4–5 subapical setulae 1.5–2× longer than other setulae.

Thorax ( Fig. 10 E ) brown to black, with bluish sheen and sparse white and brown microtrichia not hiding underlying cuticle. Mesonotal scutum 1.3–1.4× longer than wide; black setulose, with 6–8 rows of setulae between rows of dorsocentral setulae; acrostichal prescutellar seta present, 0.4–0.5× longer than posterior dorsocentral seta; prescutellar area with 2 setulae between posterior dorsocentral setae. Scutellum dorsally very slightly convex, brown, apically yellow, subshining, sparsely microtrichose, devoid of setulae, with silver or bronze sheen. Subscutellum shining, black, sparsely microtrichose. Mediotergite shining black, non-microtrichose medially. All the setae and setulae black.

Wing ( Fig. 6 C ) 3.6–4.7 mm (♀) long, 3.0–3.4× longer than wide; basicostal cell hyaline; costal cell 6–6.5× longer than wide, brown in basal and apical 1/8 of length, with costa straight, forming very inconspicuous cleft before apex of vein Sc; pterostigma entirely brown, narrow triangular, 1.6–1.9× longer than wide, vein R 1 bare, ending slightly proximally of crossvein r-m level in both sexes; vein R 2+3 slightly arcuate in basal half, almost straight at apex. Crossvein r-m proximally of middle of cell dm. Cell r 4+5 5.5–6.5× longer than wide. Cell m 1 narrowly triangular; ultimate section of M 1 3.0× longer than crossvein dm-m and 0.9–1.0× longer than penultimate section. Vein CuA Z-shaped, forming moderately short posteroapical lobe of cell cua along vein CuP, 1.25× longer than its anterior shoulder. Wing pattern with short subbasal crossband from humeral vein through cell cua into alula joined with large dark brown mark from apical part of costal cell to wing subapical portion, with 2 hyaline triangular incisions: from costal cell into cell cua and from cell r 1 through cell into base of cell r 4+5 distally of crossvein r-m, and entirely dark from anal cell to base of cell m 1 and narrow crescent incision from apex of cell m 1 into cell r 1 parallel to wing apex and a narrow brown crescent band along apex ( Figs 6 C , 10 A ). Cell cup and anal lobe half as wide as cell cua. Alula 4× longer than wide, grey, darkened in apical half. Calypters white, with white cilia. Halter yellow.

Legs ( Fig. 10 A ) with black coxae and femora except apices and bases of femora yellow; tibiae brown; tarsi brownish yellow; black setose and setulose. Fore femur uniformly setulose, with subapical row of 2–4 posteroventral setae as long as femur width. Mid femur anteriorly with short suberect setulae; mid tibia ventrally with single spur-like seta 5–7× longer than tibia width.

Abdomen brown to black, sparse black setulose, with faint purplish or greenish metallic sheen.

Male genitalia ( Figs 11 A–H ) with short hemispherical, separated cerci ( Fig. 11 E ); epandrium densely setulose, wide ovoid, with narrow, posteromesally directed surstyli having no lobes, and bearing 2 groups of 2–3 setulae on postero-medial surface at base and apex, and also one thicker, pimple-like apical process ( Figs 11 B–D, G, H ). Phallus rather short, 2–3 times as long as epandrium high, sparsely trichose ( Figs 11 B, C ). Hypandrium with phallic guide somewhat bilobate, with short suboval lobes projecting posteriorly, pair of oval, anteriorly directed postgonites just anterior to basiphallus ring, and symmetrical pregonites anterolateral to them, both with groups of 5–6 trichoid sensilla.

Female terminalia: aculeus with ovoid, long-setulose cercal unit ( Figs 12 A, B ); 2 globose spermathecae ( Fig. 12 C ).

Remarks. Hendel (1909b) mentioned 9♂ ♀ from “ Peru (Meshagua, Oktober; Pichis, Dezember)”, but only three specimens matching this record were found in the SMTD and NHMW collections. We suspect in this case that Hendel’s list of type localities may be based on a few specimens from the whole series.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Aspistomella, wing. A, A. sachavaca sp. nov.; B, A. schnusei sp. nov.; C, A. angustifrons (Hendel); D, A. garleppi sp. nov.; E, A. crucifera (Hendel); F, A. quinquincisa sp. nov.; G, A. teresensis sp. nov.; H, A. obliqua sp. nov. Abbreviations: C—costal vein; c—costal cell; M1—first branch of media; m1—first medial cell; ptstg—pterostigma; r1—first radial cell; rm—radial-medial crossvein. Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURE 10. Aspistomella angustifrons (Hendel) lectotype ♂ (A–C, E, F) and non-type ♀, BMNH (D, G, H). A, habitus, left; B, head left; C, head, dorsal; D, frons, dorsal; E, mesonotum, dorsal; F, pterostigma; G, abdomen, dorsal; H, labels.

FIGURE 11. Aspistomella angustifrons (Hendel) ♂. A, abdomen ventral; B, postabdomen; C, genitalia, postero-ventral; D, same, anteroventral; E, cerci; F, surstylus, latero-ventral; G, genitalia, ventral; H, hypandrium, ventral.

FIGURE 12. Aspistomella angustifrons (Hendel) ♀. A, abdomen, ventral; B, apex of aculeus; C, spermathecae.