Amapeza affinis (Hennig) Marshall, 2022

Marshall, Stephen A., 2022, Amapeza and Nigripeza, new genera of Neotropical micropezid flies (Diptera, Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae), Zootaxa 5092 (3), pp. 251-272 : 253-255

Amapeza affinis (Hennig) new combination

Figures 1A–1H

Grallipeza affinis Hennig, 1934:308 , pI. 1, fig. 27.

Description: Size 8–9 mm. Colour: Notum, head and oviscape mostly orange, clypeus dark brown with a blue sheen. Much of pleuron brown, lower proepisternum black, lower mesopleuron with a blue sheen. All femora similarly pigmented, brown with a broad white distal band margined by slightly darker areas. Fore tarsus white except for slightly darker distal 2 tarsomeres. Basal half of first tarsomere of hind leg white. Wing with an indistinct but complete discal band, barely distinguishable from surrounding membrane. Abdominal tergites uniformly dark brown, pleuron dirty white except black area of pleural sac on P1–2 (male) or most of P1–2 (female). Oviscape orange laterally and dark dorsally and preapically.

Head: Frontal vitta almost entirely parallel sided, slightly widened in front of ocelli and slightly tapered anteriorly, anterior width 0.3X frontal width. Orbital strip barely differentiated from frontal vitta; epicephalon shiny. Clypeus entirely but sparsely microsetulose.

Thorax: Cervical sclerite evenly convex, simple. Prosternum setulose. Proepisternum with marginal row of about 12 black setae. Postpronotal lobe evenly elevated, with scattered black setulae on posterior half. Thoracic pleuron microsetulose and dull except for shining anterior 3/4 of anepisternum. One dorsocentral bristle. Suprahumeral bristles (1–4) small and exclinate, anterior bristle largest. Main vertical row of katepisternal bristles black, bristles on lower katepisternum yellow.

Female abdomen: Major (paired) spermathecal duct extremely long, distally slightly expanded at origin of two basally pale stems each leading to a pipe-shaped spermatheca with a deep distal invagination. Minor (single) duct greatly reduced, single spermatheca vestigial.

Male abdomen: Genital fork elongate, distal part parallel-sided and deeply cleft, cleft as long as arms; arm with dense row of short stout bristles on mesal surface but without long inner hairs or bristles. Ejaculatory apodeme very small, much smaller than epandrium; distiphallus extraordinarily long and made up mostly of a tapered thread-like distal distiphallus, about four times as epandrium.

Type material: Holotype (♀ SMTD) [missing right mid leg, right hind tarsus]. BOLIVIA. Mapiri , San Carlos . Paratype series of 16 ♀ (mixed condition) from same (Mapiri) locality, 800 or 1000m.

Other material examined: BOLIVIA. La Paz, San Antonio , ca 8 km S Mapiri, 11.Apr.2001, S.A. Marshall (1♀, DEBU) . BRAZIL. Amazonas. Reserva Ducke , 26.iv.1978, L.P. Albuquerque (1♀, INPA) ; Beruni, Rio Purus , x.2002, Malaise trap, Xavier and Barbosa (1♀, INPA) ; Manaus, ZF-03- BR 174 km 41, Res 1501, Rocha and Silva , 15–25.xi.1995, suspensa 0061319 (1♀, INPA) ; ZF2 , km14, Rafael and Marshall (1♀, INPA) ; Presidente Figueiredo, Cachoeira Iracema , 1.i. 2020, Rafael and Marshall (1♀, photographed in the field, INPA) . COLOMBIA. Vichada, PNN EI Puparro, Cerro Tomas, Malaise , 27.Dec.2000, W. Villalba (1♀, IAVH) ; Meta, PNN Sierra de la Macarena, Cano Cuja, Sendero Cachicamos , 460m, Malaise, 24. Dec. 01, D. Campos (1♀, IAVH) ; Caqueta, PNN Serrania de Chiribiquete Cunare-Anu, bos. inundable y tierra firme, Malaise , 21–25.Nov.2000, Gonzalez and Ospina (1♀, IAVH) ; Putumayo, PNN La Paya, Cabana La Paya , 5–25.Dec.2001, Malaise, E. Lozano (1♀, IAVH) . ECUADOR. Napo. Res. Ethnica Waorani, 1 km S Onkone Gare Camp, TransEnt 20. June. 1994, 220m, 0°39'S 076°26'W, T. L. Erwin et al., insecticidal fogging of mostly bare green leaves, some with covering of lichens or bryophytic plants in terre firme forest at 2 x-trans 32m mark Project Maxus lot 682. (1♂, USNM) ; as previous but TransEnt 22, 22.Jan.1994, 00°38'S 076°36'W, lot 624, 42m (1♂, USNM) ; Jatun Sacha Reserve, 6 km E Misahualli, 450m, Apr. 6– 8.May.2002, S.A. Marshall (1♀, photographed in the field) ; Yasuni National Park, PUCE Yasuni Research Station , Malaise trap in rain forest, 3-20.xi.1998, T. Pape and B. Viklund (1♀, ZMUC) .

Variation: The specimen from Beruni ( Brazil) has only a single large proepimeral bristle, but otherwise fits this species. It is a damaged female specimen, and has not been dissected.

Comments: The extraordinarily long distiphallus and correspondingly elongate spermathecal duct are the most remarkable features of this species. Externally it most closely resembles A. amazonica , which differs in having all katepisternal bristles golden, a densely setulose female pleuron and the frontal vitta strongly tapered.

Figures

FIGURES 1A–1H. Amapeza affinis (Hennig) A, head, lateral; B, C, living female, Brazil; D, male sternite 5 (genital fork); E, spermathecae and associated ducts; F, Detail of apical part of paired spermathecal duct and spermathecae; G, male terminalia, left lateral.