Amiota raripennis, Jones & Grimaldi, 2022

Jones, Lance E. & Grimaldi, David A., 2022, Revision Of The Nearctic Species Of The Genus Amiota Loew (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2022 (458), pp. 1-181 : 122-123

Amiota raripennis , sp. nov.

Figures 66A–B , 67 , 94A

Wheeler, 1957: 110 (distribution, as A. steganoptera ); Wheeler, 1965: 761 (Nearctic catalog, as A. steganoptera ).

DIAGNOSIS: Medium-sized fly (ThL 1.16 mm), dark brown to black; wartlike spines on third costal division between R 2+3 and R 4+5; male terminalia very faintly sclerotized, relatively reduced; dorsal portion of epandrium very smooth, no microtrichia, but with microtrichose ventral lobes, setae on posterior and ventral margins very short; aedeagal apodeme small, faint, and poorly developed; outer paraphysis forming a fork with rounded apices, moderately sclerotized, curving anteriorly; inner paraphysis a small lobe, appendage oriented dorsally.

DESCRIPTION: Medium-sized fly (ThL 1.16 mm), black, fading to dark brown ventrally, legs light yellow. Katepisternum lighter in color than remaining pleuron. Frons dark, nearly black. Black band just dorsal to facial marking. Cheek small (EL/CW 22), white. Palp yellow. Wartlike spines on third costal division between R 2+3 and R 4+5. Tergite 1 lightly colored. Arista: Very long, plumose; longest branch D2; AR 0.70; 4 long dorsal (1 short preapical), 2 long ventral (1 short preapical); aristal trunk with mediumlength microtrichia on basal half. Male genitalia: Complex barely sclerotized and very faint, with exceptions of distal end of outer paraphysis and prensisetae. Epandrium dorsally complete; dorsal 3/4 glabrous, no microtrichia; ventral 1/4 with small lobe, with dense microtrichia; very short setae on posterior and ventral margins of epandrium, ventral setae with large sockets. Cercus distinct, not grading with surrounding membrane; with small ventral lobe (best seen in lateral view). Surstylus large relative to genitalia complex, armlike (length greater than width), constricted in middle; 10 long prensisetae, apices blunt, closely spaced, becoming smaller medially. Subepandrial sclerite broad and large, amphitheater shaped. Outer paraphysis bifurcated; each appendage slender, heavily sclerotized, the distal end rounded, curved strongly anteriorly. Inner paraphysis a small, wrinkled, lateral lobe; giving rise to small, dorsally projecting appendage. Aedeagal apodeme small, underdeveloped; consisting of stalk, distal end a striated pad. Hypandrium simple, of uniform thickness, strongly S-shaped in lateral view; apex strongly curled anteriorly. Ejaculatory apodeme 0.8× length of epandrium. Head and thorax measurements: (n = 1, Am 298) FL/FW 0.84, EL/EW 1.46, EL/CW 22, FML/FMW 0.35, PR/RR, 0.63, ThL 1.16 mm.

TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype: male: USA: VIR-GINIA : Blacksburg, [37.188955, -80.431634], IX/9/53, M. Levitan, Am 298, [glued to paper point, dissected]. Deposited in the American Museum of Natural History ( AMNH). Paratype: “Kushla, Ala.” [Alabama], [30.814854, -88.162265], “Je.22.52” [June 22, 1952], [collector unknown, likely Alfred H. Sturtevant]; ALABAMA: Kushla,?/22/52, [collector unknown, likely Sturtevant], 1♀ (Am 191*, AMNH).

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED: USA: Mississippi: Saucier, 1954-09-03, leg. M.R. Wheeler, “Steganoptera female” [specimen presumably female, dissection not seen], 1♀ (Am 196*, AMNH).

ETYMOLOGY: Formed from Latin rari for “rare” and pennis for “wing” in reference to the unique wing character among species in the Nearctic and its rarity in collections.

DISTRIBUTION: This species is found in the American South and the Mid-Atlantic. Steyskal, in his notes kept at the AMNH, cites a specimen of this new species from Gainesville, Florida, likely in the collections of the USNM. This unverified record would be a significant range expansion for this species and would suggest a distribution that is subtropical and primarily in the Gulf Coastal Plains.

COMMENTS: Amiota raripennis is rarely collected. Malloch’s description of A. steganoptera from Costa Rica noted the presence of wartlike spines on the wings, similar to two genera in Steganinae , Leucophenga and Stegana (1926) . Wheeler (1957) reported A. steganoptera Malloch from the United States, primarily from the southeastern United States. Detailed comparison of the male terminalia of the American species to specimens throughout Central America with the costal warts indicates that the American species is new. There are many undescribed species with this wing character in Central America in the collections of the AMNH (L.E.J., personal obs.), and Wheeler (1957) indicated several undescribed species with this wing character in Brazil as well. Prior records of A. steganoptera in the United States are likely of this new species. Members of this species group in the Neotropics will be the subject of a future study.

Figures

FIG. 66. A. Head and B. lateral view, A. nagatai species group. A. raripennis, sp. nov. (Am 298, holotype, lateral image flipped).

FIG. 67. Male terminalia, A. raripennis. A. Epandrium and cerci. B. Lateral view. C. Ejaculatory apodeme. D. Ventral view. (Am 298, holotype).

FIG. 94. Distribution maps, A. nagatai species group. A. A. raripennis. Ungrouped species. B. A. barretti (Johnson). C. A. buccata Wheeler.