Culicoides amazonicus Santarém, Felippe-Bauer & Trindade, 2014

Santarém, Maria Clara Alves, Trindade, Rosimeire Lopes Da, Silva, Tiago Do Nascimento Da, Castellón, Eloy Guillermo, Patiu, Cátia Antunes De Mello & Felippe-Bauer, Maria Luiza, 2014, New Neotropical Culicoides and redescription of Culicoides reticulatus Lutz (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Zootaxa 3795 (3), pp. 255-274 : 259-261

Culicoides amazonicus Santarém, Felippe-Bauer & Trindade sp. nov.

Figs. 2 A –G; Fig. 9

Diagnosis. Female: This species is easily distinguished by the following combination of characters: palpus 3 rd segment swollen, with large, shallow, oval sensory pit on middle of segment; PR 2.6–3.2; long proboscis; mandible with 24 teeth; two unequal spermathecae.

Female. Head. Brown. Eyes bare ( Fig. 2 B), narrowly separated, smaller than ½ ommatidium. Pedicel brown, flagellum pale brown, first eight flagellomeres paler on proximal ½; AR 0.98–1.04 (1.0, n= 7) ( Fig. 2 C); sensilla coeloconica on flagellomeres 1,6– 8, two on 1, 6– 7 and three on 8. Palpus ( Fig. 2 G) brown; 3 rd segment swollen, with a large, shallow, oval sensory pit in middle of segment; PR 2.6–3.2 (2.8, n= 10). Proboscis long; P/H ratio 1.03–1.16 (1.11, n= 11); mandible with 24 teeth.

Thorax. Dark brown. Prominent pattern of yellowish patches well defined ( Fig. 2 F); pale humeral depressions present. Scutum with two pale areas in the anterior submedian portion arranged as leaf clover and two pale areas in posterior submedian portion; lateral portion, with anterior and posterior pale areas; pale prescutellar depressions present; scutellum yellowish laterally; postscutellum brown. Wing ( Fig. 2 A) with contrasting pattern: second radial cell including dark spot; pale spot over R-M extending from M 1 to the costal margin, subdivided; r 3 with four, small and separated pale spots: first, rounded, between the second radial cell and M 1; second, poststigmatic, extendind behind second radial cell, abutting wing margin; third, rounded, in the middle of cell similar to the second one; fourth, distal pale spot slightly reaching wing margin; m 1 with two pale spots, the distal one far from wing margin and greater than proximal one; m 2 with four pale spots: one proximal, near CuA, two between the medial and mediocubital forks, a distal one not reaching wing margin; cua 1 with a rounded and small pale spot in the middle of cell; anal cell with a faint, basal pale area, one distal pale spot near mediocubital fork and one very faint pale spot reaching wing margin, not present in some specimens; wing base with a pale spot on M; M 1, M 2 and CuA 1 with pale apex; macrotrichia scarcely distributed; wing length 0.87–0.95 (0.92, n= 10) mm; breadth 0.42–0.47 (0.46, n= 10) mm; CR 0.62–0.66 (0.64, n= 10). Halter knob brown laterally, stem pale. Legs ( Fig. 2 D) mostly brown; femora with subapical pale bands, tibiae with subbasal pale bands; hind tibia pale apically; hind tibial comb with four spines, the one nearest the spur longest.

Abdomen. Brown. Two unequal ovoid spermathecae ( Fig. 2 E), measuring 49.7 µm by 35.2 µm (n= 10) and 38.2 µm by 28.1 µm (n= 9), with sclerotized ducts with 7.5 µm (n= 9). Long, slender, rudimentary third spermatheca present (22.5 µm).

Male. Unknown.

Type data and depository. Holotype female, BRAZIL, Pará, Juruti, “Fazenda Rezende, Comunidade do Café Torrado ", 15-16.XII. 2007, Trindade, Guimarães & Quarema cols. ( MPEG); Paratypes 10 females, same data except: two, 17-18.XII. 2007 ( CCER); two, "curral", 06-07.IV. 2008 ( MPEG, MNRJ); one "mata", 20-21.VI. 2008 ( CCER); two, 26-27.VI. 2008 ( MPEG); three, Pará, Paragominas "Fazenda Dr. Jorge Artur, próximo ao lago", 05- 06.XII. 2008 (2 CCER; MPEG).

Distribution and bionomics. This species is restricted to Brazilian state of Pará ( Fig. 9 ). It is associated with forest areas in farms.

Etymology. This species is named in tribute of the Brazilian Amazon Region, where the specimens were collected.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Culicoides amazonicus sp. nov., female. A. Wing; B. Eyes separation, anterior view; C. Antenna; D. Fore-, mid- and hind legs (left to right); E. Spermathecae; F. Scutum; G. Palpus.

FIGURE 9. Geographical distribution of Culicoides reticulatus and the seven new related species.