Paragrallomyia vulpes (Cresson, 1926) Ferro & Marshall, 2020

Ferro, Gustavo Borges & Marshall, Stephen A., 2020, A redefinition of Paragrallomyia Hendel (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae) and a revision of the P. albibasis complex, Zootaxa 4822 (1), pp. 39-70 : 67-69

Paragrallomyia vulpes (Cresson, 1926) new combination

( Figs. 53–56 )

Taeniaptera vulpes Cresson 1926: 273 , Cresson 1930: 313, Hennig 1934: 85, Jackson et al. 2015: 15.

Paragrallomyia vulpes (Cresson) , new combination.

Description: Body length 6 mm; wing 4 mm. Head orange brown, thorax and abdomen black. Palpus orange brown. Clypeus brown with sparse pale microsetulae. First flagellomere brown. Frontal vitta uniformly orange brown, without a darkened spot anterior to ocellar plate. Fronto-orbital plate yellowish-brown. Row of katepisternal setae brownish. Fore tibia dark brown. Fore tarsus mostly white, tarsomere one brown on basal half only. Hind femur mostly dark brown, white on basal quarter and with a small angled preapical white ring. Tergites black. Oviscape dark brown.

Head: First flagellomere covered by pale microsetulae. Frontal vitta flat, not swollen anterior to ocellar plate. Epicephala converging, not immediately merging posterior to ocellar plate ( Fig. 53 ). Epicephalon somewhat swollen above frontal vitta level.

Thorax: Mesonotum with lines of thin brownish microsetulae. Anterior half of postpronotal lobe with three or four strong black setae. Femur covered with sparse brown microsetulae. Mid and hind tibia cylindrical, without sulcus on outer face. Cervical sclerite with a whitish oval swelling. Cell r 4+5 closed at the tip of the wing.

Abdomen: Pleural membrane dark brown, P3 with a white vertical stripe. Female abdomen: Single spermathecal duct smooth and with a rounded apical swelling. Single spermatheca cylindrical and unusually large, almost same length and about 1.5x thicker than the single spermathecal duct ( Fig. 54 ). Paired spermathecal duct apically broad on apical half. Paired spermathecal duct stems smooth and tapered on basal third, slightly broadening on apical two thirds. Paired spermathecae spine-like, broad basally and slightly tapering to the apex. Male abdomen: Copulatory fork without inner basal lobes ( Fig. 55 ). Ejaculatory apodeme bigger than epandrium and with a broad blade, bigger than sperm pump ( Fig. 56 ). Phallapodeme short, not extending to anterior limit of hypandrium. Distiphallus long, longer than epandrium, phallic bulb subequal in length and width. Distal distiphallus short and thin, 1/4 of length and almost half of width of basal distiphallus.

Type material: Holotype of Taeniaptera vulpes : PANAMA. Trinidad Rio. 18.III.1912. A. Busck coll. (1 ♂, USNM27079 ).

Examined material: COSTA RICA. 5 km E Cahuita. 29.X.1993. A. Borkent CD1641 (2 #f, DEBU01088984 , CNC); Heredia, 5 km W Trinidad, jct Rio San Juan & Sarapiqui, 50 m. 15.VIII.1995. J. M. Cumming (2 ♂, CNC); La Selva Research Station, 10º25’52.29”N 84º0’23.66”W, 68 m, 30-31.VII.2013, J. H., A. M. and A.W. Skevington (1 ♂, JSS 26383 and JSM5273 , CNC); Limon, delta, Rio San Juan. II.1991. M. Wood (1 ♀, 7 ♂, DEBU01088983 , CNC) .

Distribution: Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama.

Comments: Although previous authors have treated this species as Taeniaptera , molecular data (unpublished) and the characteristic hyaline path around crossvein r-m ( Fig. 55 ) strongly suggests that it belongs in Paragrallomyia .

Records of this species from Brazil ( Ferro & Carvalho 2014) are misidentifications and represent one or more undescribed species. Brazilian specimens previously identified as T. vulpes lack white basal rings on the mid and hind femur, therefore do not belong in the albibasis complex as defined here.

Figures

FIGURES 53–56. Paragrallomyia vulpes (Cresson). 53, female, dorsal view; 54, female internal reproductive structures, ventral view; 55, male, dorsolateral view; 56, male, internal reproductive structures, lateral view.