Lamproclasiopa aliceae, Costa, Daniel N. R., Mathis, Wayne N. & Marinoni, Luciane, 2016

Costa, Daniel N. R., Mathis, Wayne N. & Marinoni, Luciane, 2016, A revision of the shore-fly genus Lamproclasiopa Hendel (Diptera, Ephydridae), ZooKeys 631, pp. 1-99 : 61-65

Taxon classification Animalia Diptera Ephydridae

Lamproclasiopa aliceae sp. n. Figs 92-93, 94-97, 111

Diagnosis.

This species is easily distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: Small to moderately small shore-flies, body length 1.80-2.10 mm. Head: Frons with dorsal 2/3 bearing brown, moderately sparse microtomentum, thereafter ventrally with a transverse bear, shiny black band, then a more grayish microtomentose, transverse band just before margin and dorsad of antennal bases. Ventral portion of face mostly unicolorous, moderately grayish brown microtomentose, antennal grooves more densely, whitish gray microtomentose; parafacial grayish white to creamy white. Gena moderately high, height subequal to height of basal flagellomere. Gena-to-eye ratio 0.14-0.17. Thorax: Mesonotum moderately sparsely brown microtomentose, mostly appearing subshiny black, lacking elongate spots; presutural supra-alar seta lacking. Katepisternum, especially anterior half, and anteroventral portion of anepisternum shiny black. Wing hyaline and lacking stump veins; costal vein ratio 0.55-0.63; M vein ratio 0.51-0.55. Forefemur with 4-5 stout, peg-like setae on apical third along posteroventral margin; femora black; tibiae with basal 2/3- ¾ black, apical ¼ -1/3 yellowish; tarsi yellow. Abdomen: Tergites very sparsely microtomentose medially to complete bare laterally, mostly shiny black. Male terminalia (Figs 94-97): Epandrium in posterior view (Fig. 94) roundly U-shaped except for incised ventromedial opening or pocket, widest at midheight, each lateral arm distinctly wider basally, ventromedial pocket between epandrial arms bottle-shaped, with dorsal half as a narrowed neck and ventral half wider than high, in lateral view (Fig. 95) narrow, angulate, widest just ventrad of cercal cavity, angulate, epandrial arm expanded at apex; cercus hemispherical, gradually tapered ventrally to broadly rounded apex, evenly setulose over length; gonite in lateral view (Fig. 97) robustly rod-like, essentially straight, narrower and abruptly curved toward aedeagal base, in ventral view (Fig. 96) clavate, wider toward hypandrium, much narrower, digitiform on extension toward aedeagal base; aedeagus in lateral view (Fig. 97) more or less funnel-like, curved subapically, widest basally, thereafter apically curved to acute point, in ventral view (Fig. 96) longer than wide, straight, base expanded, lateral margins of base rounded, thereafter apically evenly tapered to point; phallapodeme in lateral view (Fig. 97) as an inverted Y with an elongate, narrow, extension toward aedeagal base, keel elongate, narrow, parallel sided, apex irregularly rounded, in ventral view (Fig. 96) hourglass-like, sub-rectangular at apex toward aedeagal base, broadly expanded with lateral phalanges toward hypandrium, this apex truncate; hypandrium in lateral view (Fig. 97) elongate, narrow, bar-like, narrowed anteriorly, in ventral view (Fig. 96) robustly X-shaped to quadrate with lateral and poster margins concave.

Type material.

The holotype male of Lamproclasiopa aliceae is labeled "U[nited]S[tates of]A[merica]. N[ew]M[exico]. Grant: Silver City (32°46.4'N, 108°16.5'W; 1790 m), 14 Aug 2007,D.&W.N.Mathis/ USNM ENT 00118306 [plastic bar code label]/HOLOTYPE ♂ Lamproclasiopa aliceae Costa, Mathis & Marinoni USNM [red]." The holotype is double mounted (minuten pin in a block of plastic), is in excellent condition, and is deposited in the USNM. Eight paratypes (7♂, 1♀; DZUP, USNM) bare the same label data as the holotype.

Type locality.

United States. New Mexico. Grant: Silver City (Big Ditch; 32°46.4'N, 108°16.5'W; 1790 m). The "Big Ditch" is a large, canal-sized ditch that traverses Silver City, and during dry-weather seasons, the ditch has a small stream running through it. The ditch is frequently scoured out when heavy rains occur, sometimes resulting in flash floods in the "Big Ditch." The type series was collected when dry weather prevailed.

Distribution

(Fig. 111). Nearctic: United States (New Mexico).

Etymology.

The species epithet, aliceae , is a Latin genitive patronym to honor Alice Joy Brown† (nee Peacock, 1931-2016), a wonderful friend and supporter.

Remarks.

Although similar and apparently closely related to Lamproclasiopa nadineae , this species is distinguished from that species by the shape of the ventral portion of the epandrium, which has a bottle-shaped gap ventrally between the lateral arms. From other congeners, this species is distinguished by the shiny black katepisternum, especially its anterior half, and the anteroventral portion of the anepisternum. The forefemur also bears 4-5 stout, peg-like setae on the apical half of the posteroventral margin.