Scatophila iowana Wheeler

Zatwarnicki, Tadeusz & Mathis, Wayne N., 2024, Revision of the Nearctic Species of the Shore-Fly Genus Scatophila Becker (Diptera: Ephydridae), Zootaxa 5487 (1), pp. 1-100 : 35-38

7. Scatophila iowana Wheeler

Figs. 46 , 56–57, 59 , 61–64

Scatophila iowana Wheeler 1961: 86 .— Deonier 1964: 109 [key; Iowa]; 1965: 498 [natural history]; 1974: 17–22 [description of immature stages, natural history].— Wirth 1965: 758 [ Nearctic catalog].— Wirth and Mathis 1979: 37 [discussion].— Zatwarnicki 1987: 293 [checklist].— Zatwarnicki and Mathis 1994: 362 [phylogeny, mesogramma group].— Mathis and Zatwarnicki 1995: 283–284 [world catalog].

Diagnosis.—This species is distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: Body mostly brown with some gray coloration; small to moderately small shore flies, body length 1.85–2.10 mm.

Head ( Figs. 56–57 ): Mesofrons and fronto-orbits brown; parafrons brownish black to charcoal black. Face of ♂ normally projected, transversely arched, somewhat vertical in lateral view, without medial area shallowly depressed, face brown. Gena moderately short, slightly more than half height of basal flagellomere; gena-to-eye ratio 0.16–0.19.

Thorax ( Figs. 46 , 59 ): Mesonotum ( Fig. 59 ) mostly dark brown with some grayish stripes; scutum mostly brown with pattern of small, linear gray areas anterolaterad of acrostichal and to a lesser degrees dorsocentral tracks; postpronotum grayish; medial scutal area brown; scutellar disc brown, sometimes partially subshiny; presutural dorsocentral setae lacking; pleural areas mostly brown, katepisternum grayish. Wing ( Fig. 46 ) moderately dark colored, spots barely evident; cell r 1 lacking spots, or with a single, weak, basal white area, or wings very pale, not appearing spotted; costal vein ratio 0.27–0.30; M 1 vein ratio 0.47–0.51. Knob of halter yellow. Legs generally dark colored; femora and tibiae with some gray microtomentum; tarsi, black; male midfemur lacking row of spine-like setulae along posteroventral margin.

Abdomen ( Figs. 61–63 ): Tergites extensively black with some grayish areas laterally toward posterior margin; tergite 5 of male mostly brownish black to black. Male terminalia ( Figs. 61–63 ): Epandrium in posterior view ( Fig. 61 ) oval, except for emarginate ventral margin, dorsal margin broadly arched, lateral margins very shallowly curved, making width at midheight only slightly wider than predorsal height, width of ventral margin only slightly greater than height of cercal cavity; epandrial setae sparse, these about equal in length, sparser laterally, lacking along ventral margin except for tiny setulae; height of cercal opening about 1/3 epandrial height; cerci in posterior view ( Fig. 61 ) semihemispherical; aedeagus in lateral view ( Fig. 63 ) generally irregularly rectangular, with constriction at midlength, basal and distal margins shallowly curved to nearly straight, distal portion tapered posterodistally to elongate pointed process, with apex very thinly developed in ventral view ( Fig. 62 ) basal 2/3 as wide as long, slightly tapered to apex, apical 1/3 parallel sided, squarish, apical margin shallowly rounded; ventral aedeagal process shallowly C-shaped; phallapodeme in ventral view ( Fig. 62 ) as a T-shape, with crossbar about equal to length of phallapodeme extended beyond crossbar, medial portion bifurcate, each portion lobe-like with apical portion deeply and narrowly emarginate, narrowly V-shaped, in lateral view ( Fig. 63 ) shallowly L-shaped, extension toward base of aedeagus twice width of extension toward postgonite and neohypandrium, latter extension narrowly rod-like, parallel-sided; postgonite in lateral view ( Fig. 63 ) generally L-shaped, dorsal portion rectangular with an extended, narrow process at posterodorsal corner, ventral portion tapered to narrowly rounded point, in ventral view ( Fig. 62 ) irregularly and shallowly C-shaped, apical portion considerably wider than narrow, parallel-sided basal portion; neohypandrium in lateral view ( Fig. 63 ) band-like, parallel-sided strongly recurved.

Type Material.— The holotype male of Scatophila iowana Wheeler is labeled “3 mis. W Boone, Boone Co., IOWA 42°5.0'N, 93°55.8'W), VII-401960[,] D. L. Deonier /at seep/ Scatophila iowana Whlr. / HOLOTYPE [pink].” The holotype is glued to a narrow paper triangle, is in excellent condition, and is deposited in the USNM.

Other Specimens Examined.— MEXICO. BAJA CALIFORNIA. Rosarito (32°21.9'N, 117°02.8'W), 22 Mar 1950 , G. Lindsley (1♂; USNM) .

UNITED STATES. ALASKA. Bristol Bay: Naknek (58°44.3'N, 157°03.9'W; ocean beach), 10 Jun 2007 , D. S. Sikes (1♂, 4♀; UAF). Juneau: Juneau, Mendenhall Valley , Riverside Rotary Park (58°22.8'N, 134°35.2'W), 21 Jul 2011 , D. and W. N. Mathis (1♀; USNM). Kenai Peninsula: Deep Creek (60°02'N, 151°42'W; gravel to cobble beach), 2 Aug 2002 , D. and W. N. Mathis (2♀; USNM); Homer (59°38.8'N, 151°31.5'W), 2 Aug 2002 , D. and W. N. Mathis (1♂; USNM); Kenai and Russian Rivers (60°29.1'N, 150°00.4'W), 6 Jul 2006 , D. and W. N. Mathis (1♀; USNM); Soldotna (6.5 km E; 60°30.5'N, 150°55.6'W), 1 Aug 2002 , D. and W. N. Mathis (1♀; USNM). Matanuska-Susitna: Hatcher Pass (61°45'N, 149°13.9'W), 6 Aug 2002 , D. and W. N. Mathis (4♂; USNM). Nome ( Census Area ): Snake River (11 km NW Nome; 64°33.9'N, 165°30.6'W), 2 Aug 2012 , D. and W. N. Mathis (1♀; USNM); Teller (65°15.4'N, 166°21.1'W), 2 Aug 2012 , D. and W. N. Mathis (3♂, 4♀; USNM) .

CALIFORNIA. Las Angeles: Pasadena (34°09.4'N, 118°07.9'W), (1♂, 1♀; USNM). San Diego : Borego (33°15.4'N, 116°08.7'W), 20 Mar 1951, A. H. Sturtevant (1♀; USNM) .

IOWA. Boone: Boone (3 mi W; 42°5.0'N, 93°55.8'W), D. L. Deonier (4♂, 5♀; USNM). Warren: Banner Mine area (41°26.4'N, 93°33.8'W), D. L. Deonier (4♂, 5♀; USNM)

NEW MEXICO. Sandoval: Sulphur Springs (35°54.5'N, 106°37'W; 2510 m), 25 May 1969 – 7 Aug 2007, D. And

W. N. Mathis, W. W. Wirth (80♂, 54♀; USNM); Valles Caldera National Preserve, Alamo Canyon (middle pond; 35°54.9'N, 106°35'W; 2645 m), 4 Aug 2008, D. and W. N. Mathis (15♂, 6♀; USNM) .

WYOMING. Park: Yellowstone National Park (44°25.8'N, 110°35.1'W), 12 Jun 1969, W. W. Wirth (1♂, 5♀; USNM) ; Yellowstone National Park, Norris Basin (44°43.4'N, 110°42.1'W), 22 Jul 1923, A. L. Melander (1♂; USNM) ; Yellowstone National Park, Mud volcano Lake (44°37.5'N, 110°22.5'W), 12 Jun 1969 (1♂, 1♀; USNM) . Teton: Yellowstone National Park, Bath Lake (44°32.5'N, 110°47.5'W), 18 Aug 1918, A. L. Melander (2♂; USNM) .

Type Locality.— United States. Iowa. Boone: Boone (42°5.0'N, 93°55.8'W) .

Distribution ( Fig. 64 ).— Nearctic : Mexico (Baja California), United States (Alaska, California, Iowa, New Mexico, Wyoming). Palearctic: Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Sweden.

Natural History.— Deonier (1965) reported this species from freshet-seep and spoil-bank habitats in Iowa. It was rare in the former but abundant in the latter habitat (see S. despecta for a description of the spoil-bank habitat).

Remarks.—This species is placed in the mesogramma group. The discovery of this species in the Palearctic Region is an anomaly among Holarctic species, i.e., named first from specimens collected in Iowa and then discovered in Poland and Sweden.

Figures

FIGURE 64. Distribution map of Scatophila iowana Wheeler in Nearctic Region

FIGURES 45–47. Head, thorax and wing of Scatophila. 45. S. adamsi Cresson, head and thorax, dorsal view. 46–47. Wing, dorsal view. 46. S. iowana Wheeler. 47. S. mesogramma (Loew). Scale bar = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 56–60. Head and thorax of Scatophila. 56–57. Head of S. iowana Wheeler. 56. Latero-oblique view. 57. Lateral view. 58–60. Head and thorax, dorsal view. 58. S. hesperia Sturtevant & Wheeler. 59. S. iowana Wheeler. 60. S. mesogramma (Loew). Scale bar = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 61–63. Male terminalia of Scatophila iowana Wheeler. 61. Epandrium and cerci, posterior view. 62. Internal male terminalia (gonite, phallapodeme, aedeagus, neohypandrium), ventral view. 63. Same, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.