Pseudogaurax cyclosa Carvalho-Filho, Cruz & Monteiro, 2024

Carvalho-Filho, Fernando S., Cruz, Vanessa C., Monteiro, Nilton J. S. & Kloss, Thiago G., 2024, Description of new species of Pseudogaurax Malloch (Diptera: Chloropidae) from Brazil, with notes on natural history, Zootaxa 5433 (2), pp. 207-230 : 215-219

Pseudogaurax cyclosa Carvalho-Filho, Cruz & Monteiro , sp. nov.

( Figs 7–9 , 14D )

Material examined. Holotype male labelled as follow: Belém, PA [= state of Pará], Brasil [= Brazil] / Bosque Rodrigues Alves / 01.XII.2007 / F.S. Carvalho-Filho [collector] // Ooteca / Cyclosa sp. [= reared from ootheca of Cyclosa sp.].

Paratype female. Same data as holotype.

Diagnosis. Scutum with dark yellow longitudinal stripes ( Figs 7A , 14D ); scutellum as long as wide, completely yellow ( Fig. 7A ); fore and hind tibiae with a dark brown median spot; fore tarsus dark brown; male cercus composed of two short lobes ( Figs. 8A–B ).

Description. Body length 2.0 mm; wing length 2.0 mm; light brown to yellow body pilosity. Head ( Figs 7A–C ). Pale yellow; ocellar triangle yellow, reaching about ¾ of apex of frons; occiput entirely yellow; ocellar setae reclinate and convergent; postocellar as long as the outer vertical setae, cruciate; a row of interfrontal setulae curved inwards; vibrissa slightly distinct, yellow, as long as the genal pilosity; antenna yellow; first flagellomere rounded, yellow, arista yellow, with short and sparse pilosity; palpus yellow; proboscis dark yellow.

Thorax ( Figs 7A–B, 7E , 14D ). Scutum pale yellow, covered with yellow to light brown setae, with slight indistinct dark yellow longitudinal stripes, acrostichal stripe complete and as wide as half width of scutellum, dorsocentral stripe divided by the transverse suture with two small dark brown pre-sutural spots, intra-alar stripe absent; postpronotum entirely yellow; scutellum pale yellow with yellow setulae, as long as wide dorsally; subscutellum dark yellow; pleuron yellow, with a large dark brown spot in the anteroventral corner of anepisternum; 1+2 notopleural setae; legs entirely yellow except dark brown fore tarsus, a dark brown median spot along dorsal margin of anterior face of fore tibia; tibial organ whitish, reaching half length of hind tibia. Wing. Hyaline; tegula with yellowish setulae; halter pale yellow.

Abdomen ( Fig. 7D ). Syntergite 1+2 yellow, with posterolateral corner dark brown, tergite 3 dark brown with a median broadened rounded spot on the anterior margin, tergites 4 and 5 dark brown. Male terminalia ( Figs 8A–C ). Epandrium elliptical laterally; cerci short and pyriform in lateral view, composed of two lobes in posterodorsal view, diverging apically, larger lobe with quadrate apex with one longer seta and some small setae apically, shorter lobe reduced and rounded with some fine setae; surstylus well-developed, a little shorter than epandrium, bean-shaped in lateral view, with rounded apex, with some long setae; distiphallus long and membranous; postgonite well-sclerotized, broad and rounded; phallapodeme elongate and entire apically. Female postabdomen yellow.

Puparium ( Fig. 9 ). Reddish brown. Elongated, cylindrical, parallel-sided, slightly dorsoventrally flattened, apically and posteriorly truncate. Dorsal and ventral surface fully covered with many tiny conical projections. Posterior spiracle represented by a small nipple-shaped projection. Creeping areas on ventral side covered with spicules of different sizes.

Etymology. The new species is named after the spider host generic name.

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL – Brazil (Pará).

Natural history. This species was reared from pupae found among the trash line detritus of a Cyclosa caroli (Hentz) ( Araneae : Araneidae ) spider web ( Fig. 16A ) found in an urban park in the Brazilian Amazon. The larvae of P. cyclosa sp. nov. possibly consumed the spider eggs and pupated in the trash line. Until now, four genera of Araneidae ( Alpaida Pickard-Cambridge , Araneus Clerck , Argiope Audouin , Gasteracantha Sundevall ) have been recorded as host of Pseudogaurax species, but this is the first record of this genus associated with Cyclosa Menge spiders ( Davidson 1896, Coquillet 1898, Hall 1937, Kaston & Jenks 1937, Pierce 1942, Sabrosky 1966, Lockley & Young 1993, Gillung & Borkent 2017).

Remarks. The color pattern of scutum and scutellum of this species is similar to that of P. amazonica sp. nov., P. braoculatus sp. nov., P. idiogenes , P. mexoculatus , P. oculatus , P. oecetiphagus , and P. rufus . It differs from P. rufus in having postpronotal lobe concolor with scutum and legs orange yellow. In P. rufus the postpronotal lobe is yellow, the scutum is orange, and the legs are lemon-yellow. The hind tarsi of P. oecetiphagus and P. rufus are dark brown while in P. cyclosa they are orange yellow. In addition, the anepisternum of P. oecetiphagus is fully yellow, while in P. cyclosa sp. nov. it has a dark brown spot. Pseudogaurax mexoculatus and P. oculatus have intra-alar stripe and acrostichal stripe divided longitudinally by a thin light yellow stripe. In P. cyclosa sp. nov. the intra-alar stripe is absent and the acrostichal stripe is not divided longitudinally. The new species differs from P. braoculatus sp. nov. and P. idiogenes in the shape of male terminalia, mainly of cercus, which is composed of two short lobes. In P. braoculatus sp. nov. and P. idiogenes the cercus is composed by only one elongate lobe. Pseudogaurax amazonica sp. nov. have all tibiae dark brown, and scutellum and frons covered with dark brown thick setulae (in P. cyclosa sp. nov. all tibiae are predominately or fully yellow and frons covered with light yellow fine setulae).

The examined specimens have dark brown marks on scutum, which seems to be a technique-related artifact caused by the conservation process. The terminalia of the only examined female specimen was not dissected because it was too fragile.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. nov., holotype male. A. Head and thorax, dorsal view. B. Habitus, lateral view. C. Head, frontal view. D. Abdomen, dorsal view. E. Hind tibia, posterior view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 8. Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. nov., holotype male terminalia. A. Posterodorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Ventral view. Abbreviations: cer = cercus; ep = epandrium; hyp = hypandrium; phal = phallus; phap = phallapodeme; pgt = postgonite; sur = surstylus. Scale bars: 250 µm.

FIGURE 9. Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. nov., puparium. A. Posterior half, dorsal view. B. Posterior spiracle, dorsal view. C. Detail of tegument, dorsal view. D. Creeping area, ventral view. E. Posterior half, ventral view. F. Posterior spiracle, ventral view. Scale bars: 100 µm.

FIGURE 14. Pseudogaurax species. A. Pseudogaurax flaviscutellatus Marques, Riccardi & Ale-Rocha, 2022, head, lateral view. B–F. Thorax, dorsal view. B. Pseudogaurax alvinae sp. nov. C. Pseudogaurax amazonica sp. nov. D. Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. nov. and Pseudogaurax braoculatus sp. nov. E. Pseudogaurax primavera sp. nov. F. Pseudogaurax wheeleri sp. nov.

FIGURE 16. A. Web of Cyclosa sp., black arrow showing Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. nov. puparium and gray arrow showing the camouflaged Cyclosa spider. B. Adult female spider Cryptachaea migrans (Keyserling) with egg sac. C. Cocoon with many pupae of Hylesia Hübner moth on the wall of an abandoned building. D. Larval case of Cicinnus sp. (Mimallonidae) containing a dead pupa infected with an entomophagous fungi.