Argentinomyia aurifacies Thompson & Montoya, 2023

Montoya, Augusto L. & Wolff, Marta, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Argentinomyia Lynch-Arribálzaga, 1891 (Diptera: Syrphidae), with description of 16 new species, Zootaxa 5234 (1), pp. 1-157 : 33-35

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5234.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A540F250-BDE2-43F7-83A1-DA261F914B41

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7621120

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C03256-AC67-FFCD-0FF9-FF2DF324FB9B

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Argentinomyia aurifacies Thompson & Montoya
status

sp. nov.

Argentinomyia aurifacies Thompson & Montoya View in CoL sp. nov.

Proposed standard English name: Golden-faced long-antennae flower fly.

Argentinomyia DR sp. 1 Thompson, unpublished

( Figs 14 View FIGURE 14 , 15 View FIGURE 15 and 95 View FIGURE 95 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE. Adult Male, pinned, deposited at National Museum of Natural History. Original label: “ DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, La Compartición, Pico Duarte ” / “ P. N. Armando Bermúdez / 19,025 337, -70,99825, 3087m ” / “RD-255 / 1.vii.2004, D. Pérez “ HOLOTYPE / Argentinomyia aurifacies / Thompson & Montoya 2023” ( USNM 00038437). PARATYPES. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. La Vega, La Compartición, Pico Duarte ” / “ P. N. Armando Bermúdez / 19,025 337, -70,99825, 3087m ” / “RD-255 / 1.vii.2004, D. Pérez (3♀ USNM ENT 00038440- 42 About USNM ); …, La Vega, Sabana Kelly (= Quéliz) / Valle Nuevo 18,750 116, -70,616826, 2294 m, / 2.iv.2003, D. Pérez, R. Bastardo, B. Hierro (4♀, USNM ENT 00038431-34 About USNM ) ; San Juan Sierra Neiba, Trail to Sabana del Silencio , 11km SSW de El Cercado / 18,666 667, -71,500000, 1700-1900 m, 10.vii.2006, N.E. Woodley (1♁, USNM ENT 01443646 About USNM ; Genitalia dissected) .

Length (n= 5): Body, 7.4–8.1 mm; Wings, 5.8– 4.5 mm.

Diagnosis. Face extensively covered by golden pollinose and pilose; female frontal triangle with a transversal golden-brownish pollinose band; metafemur yellow, only obscured on basal 2/6 and apical 1/6 or little more; surstylus in lateral view with dorsal and ventral margins approximately of the same width in the whole length.

Description (Holotype). MALE. Head ( Fig. 14A View FIGURE 14 ): Face entirely gold, white pollinose, white to golden pilose; tubercle low, bare, area above the tubercle white pollinose. Frontal triangle silver pollinose laterally, golden pilose. Frontal triangle golden-grey pollinose, golden pilose. Gena black. Occiput black pilose dorsally, yellow grey ventrally.Antenna orange, yellowish, darker toward the end and dorsal on basoflagellomere, short, ratio 1.2:1.0:1.8, basoflagellomere as long as the scape and pedicel together, apically rounded; pile black, arista brown. Thorax ( Figs 14B–C View FIGURE 14 ): Aeneous grey, yellow pilose and brownish pollinose, with three brownish vittae, a median slender brown vitta extending along the thorax and ending at the scutellum, in addition to lateral wider brownish vittae, widening towards the pronotum and narrowed posteriorly near the pre-scutellum; pleura shining aeneous, grey pollinose, pile yellowish and sparse; scutellum shining brassy to aeneous, golden pilose. Wing ( Fig. 14C View FIGURE 14 ): Very lightly tinged with brown, stigma brownish, membrane microtrichose, except cell c bare on basal 1/2, cells bm, r and cua bare on basal 1/5, respectively, the apical margin of the wing to just past the end of the 3rd vein brownish, giving the impression of an elongated brown macula; calypter wholly brown; plumula white; halter white, capitulum white. Legs ( Fig. 14C View FIGURE 14 ): Yellow, metafemur slightly obscured on apical 1/5 dorsally; first pro- and mesotarsi yellow, other segments brown, metatarsus brown; coxae yellow. Abdomen ( Fig. 14B View FIGURE 14 ): Black, parallel-sides, 1 st tergum shining metallic aeneous-black; 2 nd tergum with shallow, diffuse, bluish metallic maculae; 3 rd and 4 th terga with rectangular maculae, extending to the apical 2/3, respectively; 5 th tergum with a pair of small lateral rounded maculae, reaching the 1/2 of the segment length; pile yellow, with some black pile in the anterior edge of each segment; male genitalia: surstylus in lateral view ( Fig. 15A View FIGURE 15 ) with dorsal and ventral margins approximately of the same width in the whole length; hypandrium in ventral view ( Fig. 15C View FIGURE 15 ) narrowed laterally towards the apex; aedeagal lobe in ventral view ( Fig. 15C View FIGURE 15 ) circular, apex rounded.

FEMALE ( Figs 14D–F View FIGURE 14 ): Similar to male except: for usual sexual dimorphism, but differing in thorax comparatively more bluish, lateral vittae slender; frontal triangle with a transversal golden-brownish pollinose band; abdomen mostly bluish, with a pair of apically rounded maculae on 3 rd to 4 th terga, reaching to the apical 1/2 of each segment and there is an additional small lateral rounded macula on 5 th tergum reaching apical 1/2.

Taxonomic notes. Argentinomyia aurifacies sp. nov. is similar in appearance to A. taina sp. nov. and A. praeusta but is easily distinguished from them by the face extensively covered by golden pollinose and pilose ( Fig. 14 View FIGURE 14 A-B, D- E); female frontal triangle with a transversal golden-brownish pollinose band ( Figs 14 View FIGURE 14 D-E); metafemur yellow, only obscured on basal 2/6 and apical 1/6 or little more ( Figs 14A, C View FIGURE 14 , D-F); 3 rd and 4 th terga with rectangular maculae, extending to the apical 2/3, respectively; 5 th tergum with a pair of small lateral rounded maculae, reaching the 1/2 of the segment length ( Figs 14B, E View FIGURE 14 ). In A. praeusta the female frontal triangle with a medial white pollinose vitta ( Figs 65 View FIGURE 65 D-E); metafemur obscured on apical 1/3 or little more ( Figs 65A, C View FIGURE 65 , D-F); 3 rd and 4 th terga with maculae extending to the apical 1/2; 5 th tergum without a pair of small lateral rounded maculae ( Figs 65B, E View FIGURE 65 ). In A. taina sp. nov. the frontal triangle with transversal golden-brownish pollinose band touching slightly the sides of the eyes ( Figs 77 View FIGURE 77 D-E); metatibia mostly brownish apically, yellow basally and slightly obscured on apical 1/5 dorsally ( Figs 77C, F View FIGURE 77 ); 3 rd and 4 th terga with maculae extending to the apical 2/3; 5 th tergum with a pair of small lateral rounded maculae ( Figs 77B, E View FIGURE 77 ). Based on males, Argentinomyia aurifacies sp. nov. differs from A. praeusta and A. taina sp. nov. in having the surstylus in lateral view ( Fig. 15A View FIGURE 15 ) with dorsal and ventral margins approximately of the same width in the whole length [versus surstylus with dorsal margin slightly concave and ventral margin slightly convex in A. praeusta ( Fig. 66A View FIGURE 66 ); surstylus very elongated and widened dorsally, with a small extension at the ventral margin in A. taina sp. nov. ( Fig. 78A View FIGURE 78 )]; hypandrium in ventral view ( Fig. 15C View FIGURE 15 ) narrowed laterally towards the apex [versus hypandrium expanded laterally towards the apex in A. praeusta ( Fig. 66C View FIGURE 66 ) and A. taina sp. nov. ( Fig. 78C View FIGURE 78 )] (see “diagnosis” under each species or key).

Etymology. The specific epithet “ aurifacies ” is an adjective derived from the Latin words “ aureus ”, “ aureo ”, denoting golden (Brown 1956: 28) and the Latin “ facies ”, countenance, external form, figure, or surface (Brown 1956: 313). This name refers to the golden face of this species.

Remarks. Our study indicates that Argentinomyia aurifacies sp. nov., A. taina sp. nov. and A. praeusta occur sympatrically throughout middle and high elevations in the Dominican Republic.

Geographical range. Argentinomyia aurifacies sp. nov. (n= 9) is exclusively known from the Cordillera Central in the Dominican Republic (La Compartición, La Vega, Sabana Kelly (= Quéliz) / Valle Nuevo, San Juan Sierra Neiba) ( Fig. 95 View FIGURE 95 ). The species is endemic to the West Indies domain, distributed at middle and high altitudes (1700–3087 m) in the Hispaniola province. Argentinomyia aurifacies sp. nov. and A. taina sp. nov. seems to occur in a restricted range and are rather rare in collections when compared to A. praeusta , which is widespread and abundant.

USNM

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Syrphidae

Genus

Argentinomyia

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