Helicobia domquixote, Carvalho-Filho & Gorayeb & Soares & Souza, 2018

Carvalho-Filho, Fernando Da Silva, Gorayeb, Inocêncio De Sousa, Soares, Jéssica Maria Menezes & Souza, Matheus Tavares De, 2018, Flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) from a white-sand habitat in the Brazilian Amazon, with the description of four new species, Zootaxa 4504 (3), pp. 401-417 : 407-408

Helicobia domquixote sp. nov.

( Figs 17–21 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂ ( MPEG), labelled as follows: BRASIL-PARÁ, BR-422 / Km 11, sul de Cametá [= south of Cametá City], Campina [= white-sand vegetation] / 2°15’12”S 49°36’12”W / Armadilha de moscas [= fly trap] / 0 7 a [= to] 15.iv.2015 [printed on white label] // BRASIL-PARÁ-Cametá / Cols: [= collectors] F.S. Carvalho Fh., Jazon / Quaresma, A. Quaresma / D. Guimarães, K. Monteiro [printed on white label; holotype in good condition, with extended terminalia].

PARATYPE. 1 ♂ ( MPEG): Brazil, Pará, Cametá City , white-sand vegetation, Malaise trap, 8–21.iv.2015 [printed on white label; specimen in good condition with abdomen and terminalia cleared and preserved in glycerin in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen] .

Diagnosis. Phallus black. Distiphallus with an ear-like, membranous, laterally-directed rounded projection ( Figs 19, 21 ). Capitis sclerotized and very long, about two-thirds of distiphallus length ( Figs 19–21 ).

Description. Male. Body length: 5.5–8.0 mm (n = 2).

Head. Fronto-orbital and parafacial plates covered with yellowish-silver microtrichia. Parafacial plate with setulae sparsely distributed along inner eye margin. Frontal vitta velvet black, with row of 8 frontal setae reaching end of pedicel. Inner vertical setae not differentiated. Outer vertical setae developed. Ocellar setae shorter than frontal setae. One pair of postocellar setae, no proclinate setae and 1 reclinate fronto-orbital seta. Pedicel reddish, first flagellomere with gray microtrichia; arista short plumose on basal 2/3. Palpus black.

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: acrostichals 0+1 (reduced), dorsocentrals 2+3, intra-alars 2+2, supra-alars 2+3, postpronotals 3, postalars 2, notopleurals 4 (2 strong primary setae and 2 short subprimary setae), anepisternals 8, katepisternals 3, merals 6, scutellum with 1 pair of basal setae, 1 pair of lateral setae, 1 pair of apical setae and 1 pair of small discal setae. Legs. Black. Fore femur with row of setae on posterodorsal and posteroventral margins. Fore tibia with 1 posteroventral seta. Mid femur with 3 median anterior setae, 1 row of posteroventral setae, 2 preapical posterior setae, and without a ctenidium on posteroventral surface. Mid tibia with 2 median anterodorsal, 4 posterodorsal, 1 median ventral, and 1 posterior setae. Hind femur with rows of anteroventral and anterodorsal setae, and 1 preapical posterodorsal seta. Hind tibia with 1 subapical anteroventral, 2 anterodorsal, 2 posterodorsal, 1 posterior and 1 posteroventral setae. Wing. Hyaline. Costal spine absent. Vein R 1 with setae on proximal half. Third costal section bare ventrally.

Abdomen. Tergites dark brown in ground color. Syntergite 1+2 and tergites 3 to 5 with a band of silvery-gray microtrichia on anterior 4/5 on dorsal and lateral surfaces; posterior margin of tergite 5 reddish. Sternites light brown, covered with black setulae and without differentiated marginal setae. Tergites 3 and 4 with one lateral seta. Tergite 4 with one pair of median marginal setae. Terminalia. Sternite 5 light brown with posterior margin Vshaped. Inner margin of arms of sternite 5 with a patch of short and thick black setae anteriorly. Syntergosternite 7+8 and epandrium orange, covered with yellowish microtrichia. Cercus shorter than epandrium in lateral view, dark brown, progressively narrowing towards apex in lateral view ( Fig. 17 ). Distal portion of cercus curved ventrally and cercal apex rounded ( Fig. 17 ). Surstylus orange, elliptical, with long setae near apical margin ( Fig. 17 ). Pregonite elongate, longer than postgonite, gently curved ventrally, with a small seta apically ( Fig. 18 ). Postgonite claw-shaped, with a strong median seta and some small pointed setae near ventral margin ( Fig. 18 ). Phallus black ( Fig. 19 ). Basiphallus small, shorter than distiphallus ( Fig. 21 ). Phallic tube saddle-shaped in lateral view ( Fig. 21 ). Juxta elongate, membranous distally ( Figs 20–21 ). Distiphallus with a membranous rounded plate, smoother and of lighter color and more transparent than rest of distiphallus, laterally-directed and perpendicular to vesica ( Figs 20–21 ). Harpes membranous, covered with many small pigmented projections ( Figs 19–20 ). Capitis very long, about two-thirds length of distiphallus, pigmented and tubular, tapering toward apex ( Figs 19–20 ). Apical fourth of capitis bifid, with tips converging in ventral view ( Fig. 20 ). Lateral styli elongate and thin ( Figs 20–21 ). Sheath of lateral styli elongate and pigmented, flattened and desclerotized distally ( Figs 20–21 ). Vesica rounded in ventral view, not visible in lateral view ( Fig. 20 ).

Female. Unknown.

Remarks. This new species differs from the others in the genus in having distiphallus with a membranous, laterally-directed rounded projection and in the shape of the capitis, which is very long (about two-thirds of distiphallus length) and sclerotized ( Figs 19–20 ). Helicobia surrubea (Wulp) also shows a very long capitis; however, this species differs from H. domquixote sp. nov. in having juxta very long and ventral portion of distiphallus with many pin-like membranous projections. Helicobia stellata (Wulp) and H. penai Tibana, 1976b also have distiphallus with a laterally-directed membranous projection, but in these species this projection is glossiform ( Tibana 1976a: figs 14–15; Tibana 1976b: figs 17–18), whereas in H. domquixote sp. nov. this projection is ear-shaped ( Fig. 21 ).

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL—Brazil (Pará).

Etymology. The specific epithet “domquixote”, which should be treated as a noun in apposition, refers to the shape of the distiphallus of this species, which resembles the spear of Miguel de Cervantes’s famous character Don Quixote.

Figures

FIGURES 17–21. Helicobia domquixote sp. nov., male paratype, Malaise trap, 8–21.iv. 2015 (MPEG). 17. Epandrium, surstylus and cercus, left lateral view. 18. Gonites, left lateral view. 19. Phallus and pregonite, left lateral view; arrow shows membranous laterally-directed rounded projection. 20. Phallus, ventrolateral view. 21. Phallus; arrow shows membranous laterally-directed rounded projection, left lateral view. Abbreviations: bp = basiphallus; ca = capitis; hp = harpes; jx = juxta; ls = lateral stylus; prg = pregonite; pt = phallic tube; ptg = postgonite; sls = lateral stylus sheath; ve = vesica. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.