Robustagramma ovipennis (Duda) Marshall & Cui, 2005

Marshall, Stephen A. & Cui, Yongsheng, 2005, Systematics of Robustagramma, a new genus of New World Sphaeroceridae (Diptera), Zootaxa 1026 (1), pp. 1-122 : 82-84

Robustagramma ovipennis (Duda) , comb. nov.

( Figs. 242–249 )

Leptocera (Mallochella) ovipennis Duda, 1925:115 .

Leptocera (Pterogramma) ovipennis Duda, Richards 1967 , 72.12.

Pterogramma ovipenne (Duda) , Rohá ček et. al. 2001: 214.

Body length 1.4–2.0mm. General color reddish to dark brown, heavily pollinose but rarely with conspicuous pigmentation.

Head: Face, gena, antenna and lower frons brownish yellow to dark brown. Ocellar triangle, interfrontal strips and orbital strips slightly silvery, head otherwise dark brown. Interfrontal bristles in three pairs. Two orbital bristles, anterior orbital bristle slightly longer than half of posterior. Postvertical bristle ca. 2/3 as long as inner occipital. Postocellar bristles weak. Male with facial ridge between antennae similar in width to, or just slightly wider than, width of scape. Facial ridge distinctly depressed at middle. Eye height ca. 2.2–2.6 times genal height. Arista subequal to or slightly longer than head height. Aristal hairs ca. 2.5–3.0 times as long as basal width of arista. Palpus relatively thin, maximum palpal width ca. 16–.20 times length of palpus, with two preapical bristles and 3–4 ventral setulae. Preapical palpal bristle 1.5–2.0 times as long as maximum palpal width.

Thorax: Prosternum narrow, bare. Dorsocentral bristles in 2 postsutural pairs, anterior pair similar in length to middle prescutellar acrostichal bristles. Acrostichal setulae in 6–8 rows between anterior dorsocentral bristles. Apical scutellar bristle ca. 1.8 times length of scutellum. Posterodorsal katepisternal bristle ca. 2/3 as long as distance between bristle base and wing base; anterodorsal bristle very small. Wing half as broad as long, slightly pigmented. Length of second costal sector ca. 0.43–0.53X length of third. R 2+3 nearly straight. R 4+5 and costa ending together before wing apex. Discal cell without appendices or with a short stump vein CuA 1. Mid tibia with a posterodorsal proximal bristle, an anterodorsal bristle near middle, and an anterodorsal, dorsal and posterodorsal distally; middle anterodorsal and distal dorsal bristle small. Mid femur with 2 anterior preapical bristles, a small posterodorsal apical bristle, and a distinct row of anterior setulae. Mid tibia of male with an indistinct apicoventral bristle and several short ventral bristles on distal 3/5; mid femur of male with 11–13 ventral proximal bristle and a row of slightly strong anteroventral setulae.

Male abdomen: Tergites 3–5 similar in length. Dorsomedial length of epandrium ca. 0.5X length of sternite 8. Sternite 5 simple, ca. 1.6 times as long as sternite 4, without stout bristles or other characteristic bristles. Surstylus with a truncate apex and a rounded anteroventral margin in lateral view. Cercus similar in length to surstylus. Anteromedial sclerites of distiphallus with small, short spinules on inside surface. Ejaculatory apodeme nearly one third as long as aedeagal apodeme.

Female abdomen: short and broad. Tergites 1–7 uniformly pigmented and entire. Two sclerites of sternite 8 large and distinct. Spermathecae with the distal portion similar in length to the basal portion. Ducts of paired spermathecae short, similar in length to spermatheca.

Type material examined: Lectotype (here designated) (♂, NHMW) and paralectotype (1 ♀, NHMW): PARAGUAY: Fiebrig. S. Bernardino.

Other material examined: ARGENTINA: Misiones. 5 km E Puerto Iguazo , FIT/pan/ dung pans, 2–7.ii.1992, S. A. Marshall (3 ♂, 4 ♀, DEBU) . Same data as previous label, but dated 2–6.ii.1992, 3 pans & FIT (1 ♂, DEBU) ; dated 4–5.ii.1992, dead snail (1 ♂, DEBU) .

Comments : Duda (1925) described Robustagramma ovipennis on the basis of three syntype specimens, two syntypes (1 ♂ and 1 ♀) from Paraguay and one female from Costa Rica ( NHMW). The male syntype is designated herein as lectotype. The female specimen from Costa Rica was examined by Dr. L. Papp ( HNHM) and is another species, probably Robustagramma robustum (Spuler) .

Figures

FIGURES 242–249. Robustagramma ovipennis (Duda, 1925): 242, posterior view of male terminalia; 243, lateral view of male terminalia; 244, lateral view of male internal genitalia; 245, anteroventral view of distiphallus; 246, male sternite 5; 247, dorsal view of female terminalia; 248, ventral view of female terminalia; 249, spermathecae.