Austrothaumalea Tonnoir, 1927

Pivar, Robert J., Sinclair, Bradley J. & Moulton, John K., 2020, Revision of the South American species of Austrothaumalea Tonnoir (Diptera Thaumaleidae), Zootaxa 4853 (4), pp. 509-526 : 512

Genus Austrothaumalea Tonnoir

Austrothaumalea Tonnoir, 1927: 109 . Type-species: Austrothaumalea neozealandica Tonnoir (original designation).

Oterere McLellan, 1988: 573 . Type-species: Oterere oliveri McLellan (original designation) syn. nov.

Diagnosis. Austrothaumalea is characterized as follows: absence of a distinct antealar ridge; proepisternal setae present; microtrichia of R 1 (+R 2+3) extending length of vein; R 2+3 crossvein usually situated closer to apex of R 1 (+R 2+3) than to origin of R 4+5; R 4+5 often with arch strongly produced; basal spur of CuA often present; gonocoxites slender, longer than wide; hypandrium broad; parameres fused medially.

Distribution. Argentina, Chile, New Caledonia, New Zealand and Australia (including Tasmania).

Notes on synonymy. McLellan (1988) erected the genus Oterere to include two species, O. oliveri McLellan and O. setipennis (Edwards) . Sinclair (2008a,b) questioned the validity of the genus as several purported diagnostic characters (a well-developed spur on CuA, macrotrichia on R 4+5 and patterned wings) are also found in species of Austrothaumalea . Oterere is synonymized on the basis of these shared characters and through molecular data (unpublished data). The following taxonomic changes are proposed:

Austrothaumalea oliveri (McLellan), 1988: 573 ( Oterere ) comb. nov.

Austrothaumalea setipennis Edwards, 1930: 113 (Austrothaumalea) stat. rev.

Key to adult males of South American species of Austrothaumalea

1 Macrotrichia present on dorsal surface of wing vein M 1............................... A. setipennis Edwards stat. rev.

- Macrotrichia absent on wing vein M 1 ( Fig. 2 )............................................................... 2

2 Epandrium with posterolateral projections ( Figs 4A , 5A )....................................... A. apicalis Edwards

- Epandrium without posterolateral projections ( Figs 4 B–E, 5B–E)............................................... 3

3 Paramere spatulate, without lateral projections ( Figs 4E , 5E ).................................... A. spatulata Schmid

- Paramere cruciate, with lateral projections ( Figs 4B,C 5B,C )................................................... 4

4 Lateral projections on paramere located toward apex, extended beyond apex of gonocoxal plate ( Figs 4B , 5B )............................................................................................... A. chilensis Edwards

- Lateral projections on paramere located at mid-length, dorsal to gonocoxal plate ( Figs 4C , 5C )........................................................................................................ A. fredericki Pivar sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Left wing of Austrothaumalea spatulata. Abbreviations: C, costa, CuA sp, anterior branch of cubital vein and spur; M, medial veins; m-cu, medial-cubital crossvein; R, radial veins; r-m, radial-medial crossvein; Sc, subcosta. Scale bar = 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 4. Ventral views of male Austrothaumalea terminalia. A, A. apicalis; B, A. chilensis; C, A. fredericki sp.nov.; D, A. setipennis stat. rev.; E, A. spatulata. Abbreviations: c, cercus; gcx, gonocoxite; gcxP, gonocoxal plate; gst, gonostylus; hypd, hypandrium; pm, paramere.Arrow denotes apical epandrial projection. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 5. Lateral views of male Austrothaumalea terminalia. A, A. apicalis; B, A. chilensis; C, A. fredericki sp. nov.; D, A. setipennis stat. rev.; E, A. spatulata. Abbreviations: c, cercus; epand, epandrium; gcx, gonocoxite; gcxP, gonocoxal plate; gst, gonostylus; hypd, hypandrium; pm, paramere. Arrow denotes apical epandrial projection. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.