Puliciphora epichaeta (Borgmeier) Borgmeier, 2005

Disney, R. Henry L., 2005, Rudimentary halteres of some flightless female Phoridae (Diptera) reassessed, and some taxonomic implications, Zootaxa 1042, pp. 39-54 : 45

Puliciphora epichaeta (Borgmeier) , comb. nov.

(Fig. 13)

Homalophora epichaeta Borgmeier, 1960: 341 .

Puliciphora mexicanae Disney, 2003a: 13 . Syn. nov.

FIGURES 12–13. Puliciphora females, abdominal tergites 4–6: (12) P. occidentalis ; (13) P. epichaeta ; Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

Among the material sent by Dr Carl Rettenmeyer were the holotype female and seven female paratypes of Homalophora epichaeta Borgmeier. Borgmeier (1960) states unequivocally that the females of this genus lack the anterior flap embraced by the front margin of abdominal tergite 5, that is to say that they lack the dorsal abdominal glands (DAGs) that discharge between abdominal tergites 4 and 5 in the females of the tribe Metopinini (see Disney 2003b). However, on remounting the type series of Homalophora epichaeta Borgmeier on slides it has been found that a small flap (and DAGs) are present at the front of T5 (Fig. 13) that is more substantial than that of Puliciphora virginiensis (Malloch) ( Fig. 21 ). Therefore this species is herewith transferred to the genus Puliciphora . It was then found that these females will run to P. mexicanae Disney in the most recent key to the Neotropical species of this genus ( Disney 2003a). Consequently P. mexicanae must be synonymised with Puliciphora epichaeta .

Figures

FIGURES 20 – 21. Puliciphora females, abdominal tergites 4 – 6: (20) P. reevesi; (21) P. v i rg i n i e n ­ sis. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.