Heteromeringia nanella, Lonsdale & Marshall, 2007

Lonsdale, Owen & Marshall, Stephen A., 2007, Revision of the New World Heteromeringia (Diptera: Clusiidae: Clusiodinae), Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 57 (1), pp. 37-80 : 46-47

Heteromeringia nanella sp. n.

( Figs 16-18 , Map 3 )

Description

Male

Body length 3.5-4.0 mm. Bristles dark brown. Two dorsocentral bristles plus one short bristle in front of anterior dorsocentral. Ocellar bristle relatively long and well-developed. Genal bristles small and hair-like. Three fronto-orbital bristles. Arista pubescent. Male with small white disc anterior and ventral to anepisternal bristle. Thorax dark brown. Fore coxa white and silvery tomentose on anterior face, and mid and hind coxae light brown to yellow with upper margin light brown. Legs yellow with femora, fore tibia and fore tarsi dark brown; hind tibia sometimes dark brown. Frons dark brown with anterior margin and anterolateral corner yellow; first flagellomere yellow with orange spot at base of arista; back of head, occiput and posterior margin of gena dark brown; remainder of head yellow; parafacial silvery tomentose; gena pilose on anterodorsal margin; anterior half of frons pilose. Abdomen dark brown. Wing as described for H. nitida . M 1+2 ratio 4.7.

Male terminalia ( Figs 16-18 )

Sternites of annulus relatively thin ventrally. Epandrium small, rounded and shallow. Surstylus minute and triangular; inner face with six medial small rounded bristles. Cerci small and triangular (entirely united) with sides bulging. Hypandrial complex as described for H. nitida except as follows: hypandrium + pregonite with two strong medial and two strong distal bristles; phallapodeme significantly enlarged relative to remainder of hypandrial complex (2/5 longer than hypandrium + pregonite); ribs of distiphallus unequal in length.

Female

Unknown.

Etymology

The specific name refers to the small cerci and surstyli.

Holotype: BRAZIL. Dist. Fed. Planaltina, 1000m, cerradao, Malaise trap, 24.ix-6.x.1985, S.E. Miller (1 , USNM).

Paratypes: BRAZIL. Same collection as holotype (4 , USNM; 1 , DEBU) .

Comments

Externally, Heteromeringia nanella is most easily characterized by brown femora and fore legs, but the most diagnostic characters are male genitalic: the annulus is reduced ventrally, the epandrium is small, and the cerci and surstyli are minute and triangular.

Figures

Map 3: Distributions of Heteromeringia apholisapholis sp. n., H. zophinazophina sp. n., H. decora sp. n., H. nervosanervosa sp. n., H. volcanavolcana sp. n., H. nanellananella sp. n., H. nigrifrons KERTESZ, and H. fucata HENDEL.

Figs 16-18: Heteromeringia nanellananella sp. n., genitalia. 16 internal, left lateral; 17 external, left lateral; 18 external, posterior. Ejaculatory apodeme omitted.