Mesoconius zorro, Marshall, 2019

Marshall, Stephen A., 2019, A revision of the genus Mesoconius Enderlein (Diptera, Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae), European Journal of Taxonomy 548, pp. 1-126 : 94-97

Mesoconius zorro sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1B6B615F-E09E-4300-B0A5-7FB5E01A75CD

Figs 38–39

Etymology

The species name is an arbitrary collection of letters to be treated as a noun in apposition.

Material examined

Holotype

PERU • ♂; Cusco, Wayqecha Biological Station ; 2800 m a.s.l.; 14–15 May 2007; Kits and Marshall leg.; cloud forest, leaf litter, dung pans; MUSM.

Paratypes

PERU • 1 ♀, 1 ♂; Cusco, Wayqecha Biological Station , 9 km NE of Challabamba; 13°10ʹ20ʺ S, 71°35ʹ00ʺ W; 2600–2700 m a.s.l.; 1–6 Dec. 2011; S.A. Marshall leg.; MYCRO117-15 and MYCRO315-17 sequenced for CO1; in 1 vial; DEBU • 1 ♂; same locality as preceding; 13–15 May 2007; S.A. Marshall leg.; DEBU • 1 ♀; same locality as preceding but 2800 m a.s.l.; 13–15 May 2007; J.H. Kits leg.; MYCRO173-15 sequenced for CO1; DEBU • 1 ♂; same locality as preceding but 3100 m a.s.l.; 7–8 Dec. 2011; S.A. Marshall leg.; DEBU .

Description

LENGTH. 11–13 mm.

COLOUR. Mostly orange, except as follows: frontal vitta velvety black, lower frons entirely shiny black; area around base of inner vertical bristle also black, contrasting with pale frons and antennal socket; anterior spiracle black. Frontal vitta with anterior portion tapered to a point almost reaching frontal margin, posterior portion small, elevated. Face pale; parafacial, gena and postgena silvery microtrichose. Postpronotal lobe unmodified, concolorous with scutum. Distal half of fore femur, fore tibia and most of tarsomere 1 black, fore tarsomeres 2–4 white in females but yellow in males, tarsomere 5 dark. Hind and mid tarsi brown. Mid femur with a broad black band just beyond base and a narrower band just beyond middle; hind femur similar, but basal band weaker. Wing entirely yellowish, without clear bands. Abdominal pleuron pink to orange.

HEAD. Epicephalon striate and shiny, with scattered minute setulae and inconspicuous microtrichosity posteriorly; paracephalon minutely black setulose, slightly elevated above epicephalon. Frontal vitta only slightly elevated, at widest 0.6 × as wide as frons. Lower frons bare, depressed at middle. Postocellar bristles closely spaced and parallel, inner vertical and outer vertical bristles well developed, with scattered setulae anterior to base of inner vertical; upper fronto-orbital bristle very large, inserted at or above level of upper ocellus; lower fronto-orbital bristle inserted where epicephalon and orbital strip overlap, orbital strip with one or more setulae near lower fronto-orbital bristle.

THORAX. Scutum inconspicuously but evenly microtrichose; acrostichal and dorsocentral setulae small, but in distinct rows. Cervical sclerite subquadrate, with a vertical groove separating a convex microtrichose posterior section from a minute, constricted and bare anterior portion; females with sensillar patch covering most of posterior portion. Postpronotal lobe pinkish, sparsely microtrichose throughout and sparsely but distinctly setulose on posterior half. Two notopleural bristles, posterior large and anterior very small. Dorsocentral bristle small, about half as long as scutellum. Scutellum microtrichose and with one pair of small discal setulae, apical bristles well developed. Vertical row of katepisternal bristles golden. Katatergite slightly swollen, without median process, evenly convex and microtrichose. All coxae with an anteroventral tuft of long golden setae.

ABDOMEN. Segments 1–2 petiolate, T1+2 twice as long as T3.

FEMALE ABDOMEN. Bursa small, not strongly differentiated, with a short, broad ventral receptacle. Single and double spermathecal ducts arising independently from a short swelling at apex of bursa, both ducts smooth and of similar diameter and length; paired spermathecae large and on long, thick stems; single spermatheca elongate and narrow.

MALE ABDOMEN. Sternites 5 and 6 elongate, well developed and widened posteriorly; S5 pale and setulose, S6 shiny. Ventral part of S7 narrow; S8 twice as large as epandrium, bare and shiny in contrast with setulose epandrium. Epandrium saddle-shaped, lobate and densely setose posterodorsally; cercus large and conspicuous. Ejaculatory apodeme large, subequal in size to epandrium, with a broad sperm pump; hypandrium short, with broad, scoop-like anterior margin. Basal part of distiphallus narrow, but heavily sclerotized over basal ⅔, then expanded to an elongate phallic bulb; distal distiphallus greatly reduced, extending as a very short cylindrical tube beyond phallic bulb.

Remarks

Mesoconius zorro sp. nov. is one of the most distinctive species in the genus, characterized by its inky black lower frons and frontal vitta, its extremely truncated distal distiphallus and its elongate basal distiphallus. It is thus far known only from collections at Wayqecha Biological Station in Peru in 2007 and 2011.

Figures

Fig. 38. Mesoconius zorro sp. nov., external characters. A. Paratype prior to capture, ♀, DEBU. B. ♂ prior to capture. C. Head. D. Posterior thorax and base of abdomen.

Fig. 39. Mesoconius zorro sp. nov., internal characters. A. Spermathecae and associated structures. B. Male abdomen, left side. C. Phallus. Abbreviations: bdp = basal distiphallus; ddp = distal distiphallus; pb = phallic bulb.