Plesiomma inflatum Hull, 1962

Scarbrough, Aubrey G. & Perez-Gelabert, Daniel E., 2006, A review of the asilid (Diptera) fauna from Hispaniola with six genera new to the island, fifteen new species, and checklist, Zootaxa 1381, pp. 1-91 : 76-80

Plesiomma inflatum Hull

( Table 1, Figs. 98–104)

Plesiomma inflatum Hull, 1962: 219 . Type locality: Haiti, holotype: ♂ (MCZ). Martin & Papavero, 1970: 22. Catalogue.

Hull (1962) description of the species is quite good but was derived from a single male. Here we add notes from Dominican Republic specimens, report the female of the species for the first time, and illustrate the terminalia.

Male. Measurements, body 13.5–13.7 mm; wing 9.0– 9.3 mm. Head: Ground color mostly blackish, brownish-yellow as follows: face at antenna continuing ventrally along margin of eye and below oral margin medially, and scape and pedicel. Tomentum usually brown, appearing black at some angles on frons, vertex, oral margin medially, and occiput dorsally; occiput mostly yellowish-gray, below oral margin and base of proboscis below head gray. Color of bristles and setae variable, black, reddish, mixed red and black, or bicolored with red and black. Oral margin swollen with 3–4 irregular rows of stout bristles. Palpus yellow or brownish-yellow, apex black, setae yellowish or pale reddish. Antenna usually black setose; scape swollen, slightly longer than wide, about as long as pedicel; basal flagellomere flat, wide, base about 1/2 as greatest width, 1.5–1.7 times as long as scape; apical flagellomere usually slightly less than 1/2 as long as basal flagellomere. Vertex narrow, 1/4–1/3 as wide as face at antenna. Occiput sparsely setose, most abundant along margin of eye.

Thorax: Prothorax, scutum, and scutellum mostly black with black tomentum, sides of scutum including postpronotum and postalar callus and corners of scutellum pale brownish-yellow with grayish tomentum. Black tomentose dorsum of scutum divided longitudinally by yellowish lines. Vestiture usually black, sometimes bicolored or reddish; scutum with dorsocentral, lateral, and marginal scutellar bristles stout; setae sparse, scattered. Scutellum usually with 4 marginal bristles, sometimes only 2. Mediotergite black with blackish tomentum, anatergite pale brownish-yellow. Meso- and metapleura brownish-yellow, anepisternum anteriorly blackish with black tomentose, katepisternum brownish-yellow with similar colored tomentum; immediately below wing base ventrally to the middle and hind coxae gray tomentose, metapleuron and katepisternum brownishyellow.

Wing: Brown microtrichose, pale brown posteriorly; yellowish spot from Rs ventrally across apex of bm and base of discal cells.

Legs: Vestiture mostly black, stout bristles often red. Coxae and trochanters brownishyellow, brownish-yellow tomentose, except middle coxae gray; scattered setae anteriorly, stout bristles apically. Femora yellowish-brown or brownish-red, narrow apices yellow; fore and middle femora ventrally black, hind femur with small preapical blackish spot ventrally; sparse bristles present. Tibiae yellowish-brown, narrow apices yellow, bases yellowish to brownish-yellow, extending to basal 1/5–1/4 anteriorly; several stout bristles present. Tarsi yellowish-brown, narrow apices of basal 3–4 tarsomeres yellow; bristles black and reddish. Claws and pulvilli blackish.

Abdomen: Slightly spatulate, junction of segments 2–3 narrowest, segments 5–6 only slightly wider, by 1/5. Ground color sooty brownish-yellow, wide base of tergite 2, narrow margins of 2–4 yellow; tergite 1, narrow median stripe of tergites 2–7, and tergites laterally, black; setae mostly black, short on tergites dorsally, thin and long on basal 2 tergites laterally and on all sternites.

Terminalia ( Figs. 98–102): Rotated 90 o, sooty brownish-yellow, black setose. Female. Pale ground color in male distinctly yellow or much vibrant brownish-yellow, sooty color generally scarce in females; stout bristles mostly red or bicolored. Measurements, body 13.7–17.0 mm; wing 10.0– 12.1 mm. Face at antenna 2.4–3.0 times diameter of vertex immediately behind ocellar tubercle. Antenna with scape 1.4–1.5 longer than wide, about as long as pedicel; basal flagellomere 1.5–1.7 times as long as scape; apical flagellomere usually 2/5 as long as basal flagellomere. Prescutellum brownish-yellow or yellow. Marginal scutellal bristles 2–6, usually 4. Coxae, femora, tibiae, and tarsi pale brownish-yellow ground color; fore and middle femora black ventrally; hind femur without preapical blackish spot. Slightly spatulate, segments 6–7 about 1/6 as wide as junction of 2–3. Segments 2–4 yellow with sides black, median black stripes on tergites absent; segments 5–8 becoming increasingly brown, narrow apical margin black, segment 8 dark brown or black. Terminalia ( Figs. 103–104). Sternite 8 with short, thick setae, medially. Genital fork V-shaped; spermatheca long, extending to segment 4, extremely narrow apically, coiled 5 times.

New records. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La / Vega [province], Cordillera Central / 4.1 km SW El Convento / 18-50-37N, 70-42-48 W [18 o 50.37'N 70 o 42.48'W] / 1730 m, 31 May 2003 ~ J.Rawlings, R.Davidson, / C.Young, C.Nuñez, P. / Acevedo, dense secondary / evergreen forest with pine, hand collected / Sample 22242 (3 ♂, CMNH) ; La / Vega [province], Cordillera Central / 4.1 km SW El Convento / 18-50-37N, 70-42-48W [18 o 50.37'N, 70 o 42.48'W] / 1730 m, 31 May 2003 ~ J.Rawlings, R.Davidson / C.Young, C.Nuñez, P. / Acevedo, dense secondary / evergreen forest with / pine, hand collected. / Sample 22242 (1 ♀, CMNH) ; RD-275 La Ciénaga – Los / Tablones, PN Armando / Bermúdez La Vega prov. / 19 o 04.044'N 70 o 51.789'W / 1100–1270 m 17.vii.2004 / D.Perez (d) La Vega prov. PN Armando / Bermúdez trail / La Ciénaga de / Manabao Los Tablones, 20. / viii.2006, D.Perez, Ruth Bastardo, B.Hierro (1 ♂, USNM) ; prov. La Vega / Constanza 31.v.1986 / R.Miller & L.Stange (1 ♂, FSCA) ; San / Juan prov. Sierra de Neiba , trail to Sabana del Silencio , 11 km / SSW of El Cercado, 1700–1900 m / 19 o 39'.427'N, 71 o 32.475'W / 10 July 2006 N.E. Woodley (1 ♂, USNM) ; San / Juan [province], Sierra de Neiba , / Sabana del Silencio , / 10.0 km SSW El Cercado / 18-39-07 N, 71-33-21W [18 o 39.07'N, 70 o 33.21'W] / 2009 m, 20 June 2003 ~ J. Rawlings, C.Nuñez, R. / Davidson, C. Young, P. / Acevedo, N. de la Cruz / cloud forest along Dan- / thonia savannah, hand / collected, sample 33242 (2 ♀, CMNH) ; Peravia prov. Bahia, ~ 5 km / of Baní 8 o 16.460'N 70 o 23.090'W 90 m, 8.viii. / 2006 D.Perez, R.Bastardo (1 ♀, USNM) ; 2123, 2133, 2135, 2144, 2149 [no data] (3 ♂, 2 ♀, IIBZ) ; prov. Santiago / Par. Nac. Armando Bermudez / trail to Pico Duarte, / 1780 m, 29JULY1993 / D. Sikes & R. Rosenfeld (1 ♂, MAIC) .

Distribution. Captured at intermediate and high elevations during May to July in La Vega, Preavia, San Juan, and Santiago provinces in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Remarks. As in the previous species, P. inflatum is endemic to Hispaniola. In contrast, it occurs at higher elevations (900–2009 m). The type locality, Mount Basil in northern Haiti, is approximately 1500 meters in elevation. We record the species in the Dominican Republic for the first time. Here it is associated with dense secondary evergreen forests and cloud forest in the Cordillera Central and the Sierra de Neiba mountains.

Plesiomma inflatum is distinguished from congeners by the dark, sooty body, swollen scape, and terminalia ( Figs. 98–104). However, the male is usually significantly darker than the female. Abdominal tergites 2–4 of females are brownish-yellow or yellow with narrow black lateral margins. Tergites 5–8 are usually progressively darker from yellowish-brown to reddish-brown with the terminal segment darkest. The sides and narrow apical margins are black. Plesiomma inflatum is most similar to P. funestum Loew in the black body. However, it is distinguished from the latter by the multiple rows of bristles on the oral margin, the blackish legs, and combined characters of the terminalia ( Figs. 98–104). Plesiomma funestum has a single row of sparse bristles along the oral margin, the legs are entirely yellow, and the terminalia of the male is distinctive. These new records extend the distribution of P. inflatum across Hispaniola.