Cheiromyia

Capellari, Renato Soares & Amorim, Dalton De Souza, 2009, Four new species of Paraclius Loew (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and notes on the systematic position of Cheiromyia Dyte, Zootaxa 2274, pp. 51-61 : 59

Cheiromyia sp.

( Figs. 11–14 )

Material examined. 34 3 and 19 Ƥ from Pernambuco and Sergipe ( Brazil).

Comments. This species corresponds to “ Cheiromyia sp. 1” of Brooks (2005: 46), based on details of the male hypopygium ( Figs. 13–14 ) and foreleg. It will be formally described in a revision of Cheiromyia currently in preparation by Brooks, Cumming and Pollet. The female specimens were collected together with the males, permitting a safe correlation between the specimens of both genders. This is the first description of the female terminalia of Cheiromyia and brings light to the question of the position of the genus within the Tachytrechus genus-group (sensu Brooks 2005). Females of Cheiromyia , as also seen in Paraclius ( Figs. 9 and 10 ), possess a proximal fusion between T8 and S8 ( Figs. 11 and 12 ). As shown by Brooks (2005), this shared condition supports a clade within the dolichopodines. In Brooks’ (2005) phylogeny for the subfamily, Cheiromyia appears in a monophyletic group with Stenopygium Becker , Pelastoneurus Loew , Platyopsis Parent , Tachytrechus Haliday , and some species of Paraclius Loew. This clade was referred to by Brooks (2005) as the Tachytrechus genus–group, based on the loss of a distinct hypandrial apodeme. Brooks (2005), however, regarded the monophyly of that group with caution because of the obvious homoplastic condition of the loss of a distinct hypandrial apodeme within the subfamily. The monophyly of a subset of genera within the Tachytrechus group in his paper – including Stenopygium , Pelastoneurus , Platyopsis , and some Paraclius species – is supported by the proximal fusion of T8 and S8 of the female terminalia. This fusion was verified in this paper in the female of a Cheiromyia species, strongly corroborating the inclusion of the genus in this smaller Dolichopodinae clade.

Figures

FIGURES 9 – 12. Female terminalia. 9 – 10. Paraclius sp. (9, right lateral view; 10, dorsal view). 11 – 12. Cheiromyia sp. (11, right lateral view; 12, right lateral view).

FIGURES 13 – 14. Male hypopygium of Cheiromyia sp. 13. Left lateral view. 14. Ventral view. In lateral view, left cercus removed; in ventral view, cerci not depicted.