Pericoma speciosa Meunier, 1905

Curler, Gregory R. & Skibińska, Kornelia, 2021, Paleotelmatoscopus, a proposed new genus for some fossil moth flies (Diptera Psychodidae, Psychodinae) in Eocene Baltic amber, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4927 (4), pp. 505-524 : 515-517

Pericoma speciosa Meunier, 1905

Pericoma speciosa Meunier, 1905, p. 244 .

Diagnosis. Species known only from Eocene Baltic amber. Male with the following combination of character states: head capsule with antennal scape and pedicel globular, flagellomeres fusiform ( Fig. 25 ); wing profile ovate, with bluntly pointed apex ( Figs. 25–26; 28 ).

Description. Male. Eyebridge comprised of three facet rows; labellum bulbous, conspicuous; palp with segments cylindrical, nondescript; scapus globular, slightly larger than pedicel; pedicel globular; flagellomeres uniform in shape, fusiform, twice as long as wide; ascoids not visible in specimen; Thorax without remarkable characters; legs approximately equal in length, with proportions of femora, tibiae and tarsi of fore-, mid- and hindleg roughly equal; wing with C nearly twice as thick compared to longitudinal veins; radial fork placed slightly apical to medial fork. Terminalia with gonostylus straight, slightly inflated at base, evenly tapered from inflated part to apex; surstyli moderately elongate, slightly curved dorsally, inflated at base, without noticeable tapering from base to apex; cluster of more than 10 tenacula inserted dorsoapically.

Type material. A male specimen originally examined by Meunier (1905) numbered Z2726 ( GZG.BST-06177) is here designated as lectotype .

Other material examined. See Table 1 and the corresponding folio in Morphobank: http://morphobank.org/ permalink/?F897. An additional female specimen, probably congeneric with P. speciosa , is placed in a separate folio in Morphobank: http://morphobank.org/permalink/?F907

Comments. Generic classification of this species is currently inadequate, as it is not Pericoma , but also can not be confidently assigned to another genus or described as new. Few specimens are available for study and the lectotype male shows only a lateral view of the genitalia. Unfortunately, a second male specimen (MZ17325) with ovate wings and fusiform antennal flagellomeres agreeing to P. speciosa can only be tenusouly identified as such. The eye bridge is obscured and genitalia is visible in partial dorsoventral view. Additional specimens of this type are needed to clarify the genus and species-level taxonomy.

Figures

FIGURE 25. Photomicrograph of Pericoma speciosa Meunier, 1905, lectotype male [Z2726/GZG BST 6177], lateral view. Scale bar: 0.25mm

FIGURES 26–28. Photomicrographs of 26. Pericoma speciosa Meunier, 1905, male, frontal view [MZ 17325]. 27. Female, lateral view [LACM 340462]. 28. Male abdomen and left wing, dorsal view [MZ 17325]. Scale bars: 0.50mm