Pityocera (Pseudelaphella) patellicornis ( Kröber, 1930 ), Krober, 1930

Krolow, Tiago Kütter, Henriques, Augusto Loureiro, Gorayeb, Inocêncio De Sousa, Limeira-De-Oliveira, Francisco & Buestán, Jaime, 2015, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Pityocera Giglio-Tos, 1896 (Diptera: Tabanidae: Scionini), Zootaxa 3904 (3), pp. 301-333 : 314-317

Pityocera (Pseudelaphella) patellicornis ( Kröber, 1930)

(figures 7A–I, 8A–E)

Type locality. Brazil, Mato Grosso, Cuiabá (Diamantino).

Pseudelaphella patellicornis Kröber, 1930: 307 , figs. 2–3; 1934: 235 (catalog); Fairchild, 1956: 25 (notes).

Pityocera (Pseudelaphella) patellicornis, Fairchild, 1964: 170 ; 1971: 28 (catalog); Moucha, 1976: 41 (catalog); Chainey, 1990: 296 (types of BMNH); Fairchild & Burger, 1994: 52 (catalog); Coscarón & Papavero, 2009b: 46 (catalog).

Fidena patellicornis, Mackerras, 1955: 486 (fig. 24B), 488 (classification).

Pityocera (Pseudelaphella) patellicornis Kröber of Henriques & Gorayeb, 1993: 5, misidentification.

Pityocera (Pseudelaphella) patellicornis Kröber of Henriques, 1997: 62, misidentification.

Diagnosis. medium-sized (10.2–10.8 mm) (fig. 7A–B); frons with parallel sides (fig. 7C); face, gena and parafacial pruinose, only the clypeus is slightly shiny (fig. 7D); beard white; second segment of the palpus short, proximal half with pilosity on external margins, central area bare, and distal half completely pilose; legs yellow, except for coxae greyish white and trochanters dark brown; posterior tibiae with dense black pilosity in dorsal view.

Redescription ♀: based on a specimen from Ji-Paraná, Rondônia. Body length 10.8 mm; wing length 11.0 mm; wing width 3.5 mm.

Head: eyes unicolored when dry, densely pilose. Occiput with yellow hairs. Frons parallel, D.I. 1.0, F.I. 2.7, with yellowish brown pruinosity and black pilosity. Subcallus glabrous, with pruinosity identical to frons. Parafacial and face with pruinosity as on frons, with sparse black and yellow hairs. Gena with greyish pruinosity and white beard. Clypeus partially pruinose. Antenna (fig. 7F), scape and pedicel with yellowish-brown pruinosity and black hairs; flagellum brown without pruinosity; first flagellomere longer than high, with tuft of dorsal hairs; flagellomeres 1–3 fused, 4–7 free. First segment of palpus, tubular and shorter than the second; second segment short, proximal half wider with pilosity only on external margins, central area dark brown and glabrous, distal half narrow and completely pilose; proboscis slender and very long, over two times the length of the head.

Thorax: scutum dark brown, with three distinct longitudinal yellow bands, mixed brown and yellow hairs; post-pronotal lobe, notopleura, post-alar callus and scutellum apex with brighter greyish white pruinosity. Notopleura with a tuft of black hairs (dorso-lateral view). Pleura with dark integument, covered with greyish white pruinosity and white and brown hairs. Legs slender; coxae with pruinosity and pilosity similar to pleura; trochanters dark brown; tibiae, femora and tarsi yellow with yellow pilosity except for some sparse black hairs; hind tibiae with dense black pilosity in dorsal view. Wing fumose; r5 cell closed with petiole very long; appendix of R4 vein present, short; venation yellowish brown.

Abdomen: yellowish brown with sparse yellow and black hairs (dorsal view); tergites 1–3 brighter, with a dark spot in the middle of the first tergite; tergites 4–7 darker; sternites yellow, covered in white pruinosity and white hair.

Terminalia (figs. 7G–I). tergites IX and X, cercus and hypoproct as in figure (fig. 7G). Tergite IX fused, clearly narrower than tergite X. Tergite X divided into two pieces with internal lateral margins narrow, creating a membranous space between the contact area of the internal lateral margins and tergite IX. Cercus with rounded margins and apex subtriangular; hypoproct rounded, reaching less than half the cercus length. Hypogynium + hypogynial valve (fig. 7H). Hypogynium subtriangular with lateral margins straight from middle to apex and rounded from middle to base; apex with a v-shaped slit reaching the hypogynial valve. Genital fork (fig. 7I) with slender arms without distal expansions; anterior margin excavated with the two lateral extremities acuminate; spermathecal ducts long and little sclerotized; spermatheca (fig. 7I) heavily pigmented, elongated, with apex slightly narrowed.

Variation. Body length 10.2–10.8 mm; wing length 10.2–10.7 mm; wing width 3.3–3.6 mm; F.I. 2.7–3.0; D.I. 1.0.

Male: examined from pictures of paralectotypes.

Distribution. Brazil (Rondônia, Mato Grosso), Bolivia (Beni).

Type material. examined by photos, deposited at BMNH, lectotype ♀ (figs. 7A–E), two paralectotypes ♂ (figs. 8A–E), all in good condition.

Examined material. BRAZIL, Rondônia, Ji-Paraná, Rio Ji-Paraná, 08.vii.1995, J.A. Rafael & J. Vidal (2♀ INPA); idem, 06–12.vii.1995, ibidem (♀ INPA); Mato Grosso, Utiariti (325 m), Rio Papagaio, vii–viii.[1]961, K. Lenko (♀ MZUSP); idem, Chavantina, Rio das Mortes, vii.[19]50, H. Sick (♀ MZUSP); BOLIVIA, Beni, Versalles, vii.1964, Bouseman & Lussenhop (3♀ ♂ AMNH).

Discussion. until now Pseudelaphella had only three species described, from which P. nigribasis was easily identified by its characteristic wing spot pattern, even though only the holotype is known. The morphological differences between P. patellicornis and P. nana were only treated in the description of P. patellicornis by Kröber (1930). Subsequent works opted for identifying one or other species, without adding new illustrations, redescriptions or discussions. When comparing the material received for revision with the type-material, we noted that most series of specimens identified as P. patellicornis were actually a new species, easily diagnosed by its face completely smooth and shiny. Nevertheless, a series of five specimens from Brazil (Rondônia and Mato Grosso), was confirmed as P. patellicornis , and used to illustrate characters of the antenna and terminalia.

The distribution records for the state of Goiás ( Coscarón & Papavero 2009b: 46) are excluded here since they are probably related to the material identified by Kröber. In the present study, a specimen from Goiás was been misidentified as P. patellicornis by Kröber. The study of this material showed that the distribution records for Bolivia, found in Fairchild (1971), Fairchild & Burger (1994), and Coscarón & Papavero (2009b) catalogues are valid, although it has been misplaced by Chainey et al. (1994: 326).

Comments. In the description of P. patellicornis by Kröber (1930), the illustration subtitles (pp. 307–308, figs. 2–3) of the females and males are inverted.