Helicobia cametaensis, Carvalho-Filho & Gorayeb & Soares & Souza, 2018

Carvalho-Filho, Fernando Da Silva, Gorayeb, Inocêncio De Sousa, Soares, Jéssica Maria Menezes & Souza, Matheus Tavares De, 2018, Flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) from a white-sand habitat in the Brazilian Amazon, with the description of four new species, Zootaxa 4504 (3), pp. 401-417 : 406-407

Helicobia cametaensis sp. nov.

( Figs 13–16 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂ ( MPEG), labelled as follows: BRASIL–PARÁ, BR-422 / Km 11, sul de Cametá [= south of Cametá City], Campina [= white-sand vegetation] / 2°15’12”S 49°36’12”W / Armadilha Pratos [= yellow pan trap] / 13 a [= to] 23.I.2015 [printed on white label] // BRASIL-PARÁ-Cametá / Cols [= collectors]: F. Carvalho, Jazon / Quaresma, A. Quaresma / P. Guimarães, K. Monteiro [printed on white label; holotype in good condition except that the head is missing; terminalia cleared and placed in glycerin in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen].

Diagnosis. Juxtal lateral plate composed of elongate projections the apical fourth of which is curved inwards. Harpes with many short, pointed, sclerotized projections ( Figs 15–16 ).

Description. Male. Body length (without head): 5.0 mm (n = 1).

Head. [The only examined specimen (holotype) has no head].

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: acrostichals 0+1, dorsocentrals 2+3, intra-alars 1+2 (anterior one shorter), supra-alars 2+3, postpronotals 3, postalars 2, notopleurals 4 (2 strong primary setae and 2 short subprimary setae), anepisternals 4, katepisternals 3, scutellum with 1 pair of basal setae, 1 pair of lateral setae, 1 pair of apical setae and no discal setae. Legs. Black. Mid femur with 3 median anterior, 2 median anteroventral, 2 preapical and 2 posteroventral setae; without a ctenidium on posteroventral surface. Hind femur with rows of setae on anterodorsal, anteroventral, and posteroventral surfaces, and 1 preapical seta. Mid tibia with no anteroventral, 2 posterior and 1 posterodorsal setae. Hind tibia with 1 subapical anteroventral, 2 anterodorsal, 2 posterodorsal, 1 posterior and 1 posteroventral setae. Wing. Hyaline. Costal spine absent. Vein R 1 with setae in basal half on dorsal surface. Third costal section bare ventrally.

Abdomen. Tergites dark brown in ground color. Syntergite 1+2 and tergites 3–5 with bands of silvery-gray microtrichia on anterior 4/5 of dorsal and lateral surfaces. Sternites light brown, covered with black, hair-like setae. Tergites 3 and 4 with one lateral seta. Tergite 4 with one pair of median marginal setae. Terminalia. Sternite 5 longer than wide, light brown with posterior margin V-shaped. Inner margin of arms of sternite 5 with short and thick black setae anteriorly. Epandrium orange. Cercus dark brown, progressively narrowing towards apex in lateral view ( Fig. 13 ). Ventral margin of distal portion of cercus curved and cercal apex rounded ( Fig. 13 ). Surstylus orange, clavate, with setae restricted to distal half ( Fig. 13 ). Pregonite elongate, slightly longer than postgonite, gently curved ventrally, with margin undulated ventrally and three small setae antero-dorsally ( Fig. 14 ). Postgonite claw-shaped, gently curved ventrally and with a strong median seta on ventral margin ( Fig. 14 ). Basiphallus elongate. Phallic tube saddle-shaped in lateral view ( Fig. 16 ). Harpes rounded and membranous, with many short, pointed, sclerotized projections ( Figs 15–16 ). Juxta composed of an elongate sinuous projection and a pair of elongate juxtal lateral plates ( Figs 15–16 ). Juxtal lateral plate curved ventrally in lateral view ( Fig. 16 ). Juxtal lateral plate with inward-curved tip in ventral view ( Fig. 15 ). Capitis membranous distally and elongate, with bifid tip ( Fig. 15 ). Lateral styli elongate, thin and tubular, not visible in lateral view, with serrated distal half ( Fig. 15 ). Vesica short and rounded, not visible in lateral view ( Figs 15–16 ).

Female. Unknown.

Remarks. The terminalia of this new species are very similar to those of species of Helicobia originally described in the genus Punaphyto Townsend, mainly H. lopesi (Tibana), H. serrata (Tibana) and H. tulcana (Tibana), since they have juxta composed of an elongate projection and a pair of elongate juxtal lateral plates. However, H. cametaensis sp. nov. differs from these species in having juxtal lateral plate with only the apical fourth slightly curved inwards, while in the above-listed species the distal half is strongly curved inwards.

The species of Helicobia treated under Punaphyto were characterized by the microtrichose arista and by the presence of proclinate fronto-orbital setae in the male ( Tibana 1988). However, these features are absent in H. lopesi ( Tibana 1989). As the holotype is without its head, it is not possible to assess these features in H. cametaensis sp. nov.

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL—Brazil (Pará).

Etymology. The species epithet is an adjective in the nominative singular derived from the name of the type locality, the municipality of Cametá.

Figures

FIGURES 13–16. Helicobia cametaensis sp. nov., holotype ♂. 13. Epandrium, surstylus and cercus, left lateral view. 14. Gonites, left lateral view. 15. Distiphallus, ventral view. 16. Distiphallus, left lateral view. Abbreviations: ca = capitis; hp = harpes; jx = juxta, jxl = juxta lateral plate; ls = lateral stylus; prg = pregonite; ptg = postgonite; ve = vesica. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.