Neocephalosphaera muisca, Ramos-Pastrana & Marques & Rafael, 2022

Ramos-Pastrana, Yardany, Marques, Dayse W. A. & Rafael, José Albertino, 2022, Cephalosphaera Enderlein and Neocephalosphaera De Meyer (Diptera: Pipunculidae) of Colombia, with description of nine new species and an updated key to their Neotropical species, Zootaxa 5178 (4), pp. 301-333 : 313-314

Neocephalosphaera muisca sp. nov.

Figs 59–71, 130

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂: COLOMBIA, Boyacá, SFF[Santuario de Fauna y Flora] Iguaque , 525’12’’N / 7327’24’’W, 2855 m [eters], 01–19.iv.2000, Malaise 4, P. Reina, (1♂, IAvH) (photographed specimen) . Holotype with both wings mounted on microslide with Canada balsam. Left antenna and terminalia were placed in a microvial with glycerin, both pinned along the specimen.

Diagnosis. Fore and hind trochanters yellow; mid trochanter brown; femora light brown, gray pruinose, with brown spot dorsally; tibiae yellow. Abdomen brown, mostly brown pruinose dorsally and laterally, with conspicuous scattered setae. Surstyli subsymmetrical, both surstyli with carinas on inner edges. Apex of phallic guide stout, long, with rigid, distinct submedian lobe dorsally, slightly upward directed, with a row of fine setae ventrally. Phallus trifid, with ejaculatory ducts spiralized.

Description. MALE (holotype). Body length 4.5 mm. Head ( Figs 59–60). Eyes contiguous for 16 facets. F, EM, V (mm) = 0.3, 0.4, 0.3. Frons gray pruinose. Postcranium brown posteriorly, brown pruinose laterally and ventrally, yellow pruinose dorsally. Antenna ( Fig. 61). with scape and pedicel dark brown, pedicel with 3 setae dorsally and 3 long setae ventrally; postpedicel brown, with acuminate apex. LPP/WPP = 3.1. Thorax ( Figs 59–60, 62). Postpronotal lobe brown. Scutum brown, sparsely brown pruinose. Notopleuron concolorous with scutum brown pruinose. Scutellum dark brown, brown pruinose, with eight conspicuous setae along posterior margin. Mesopleuron and mediotergite brown, gray pruinose. Wing ( Fig. 63). Length 5.8 mm. LW/MWW = 3.5; LTC/LFC = 1.1. Membrane light brown infuscated; third section costal shorter than the length of fourth; vein r-m located after the basal third of the upper section of the cell dm; vein M 2 short; dm-m/M 2 = 3.7; section between cell dm and vein M 2 greater than vein dm-m; vein dm-m slightly straight. Halter brown, stem brown, base brown, and knob brown. Legs ( Figs 59–60). Coxae brown, gray pruinose; fore and hind trochanters yellow; mid trochanter brown; femora light brown with brown spot dorsally, gray pruinose posteriorly, with rows of ventral spines and a row of long and fine yellow setae posterolaterally; tibiae yellow; tarsomeres 1–4 yellow, 5 brown; pulvilli yellow. Abdomen ( Figs 59–60, 64). Ground color dark, mostly brown pruinose, with conspicuous scattered setae; tergite 1 with five stout black setae laterally; tergites 1–5 with dark brown band dorsally on anterior margin; sparsely gray pruinose posterolaterally; tergites and sternites 6 and 7 as in Fig. 65. Syntergosternite 8 brown, brown pruinose, larger than tergite 5, with crestlike membranous area large, dividing the syntergosternite 8 and reaching epandrium ( Figs 64, 66). Terminalia ( Figs 65–71). Epandrium and surstyli dark brown ( Figs 66–67). Surstyli ( Figs 66–69) subsymmetrical, shorter than the length of epandrium, completely setose; both surstyli with carinas on inner edges and tips acuminate, downward directed when seen in lateral view ( Figs 68–69). Apex of phallic guide stout, long, with rigid, distinct submedian lobe dorsally, slightly upward directed, with a row of fine setae ventrally ( Fig. 70). Ejaculatory apodeme funnel-shaped, somewhat inclined to one side ( Fig. 71). Phallus trifid, with ejaculatory ducts spiralized, only in distal 3/4 ( Fig. 70).

FEMALE. Unknown.

Geographical distribution. Colombia (Boyacá) ( Fig. 130).

Etymology. The specific epithet name is in apposition and refers to the name of the indigenous people ‘Muisca’ that inhabit the type locality.

Habitat. The specimens were collected with Malaise trap at ground level. The vegetation of the collection site is composed of cloud Andean forests of the Oriental Cordillera of the Northeast region of Colombia.

Taxonomic notes. Neocephalosphaera muisca sp. nov. runs to N. santiagonensis Rafael, 1992 in the couplet 11 of the key presented by Souza & Ale-Rocha (2009). It differs from N. santiagonensis by having the scutum brown, scutellum dark brown ( Figs 60, 62) (versus scutum and scutellum black in N. santiagonensis ); all coxae brown ( Fig. 59) (versus all coxae black); fore and hind trochanters yellow, mid trochanter brown ( Fig. 59) (versus all trochanter brown); all femora light brown with brown spot dorsally ( Figs 59–60) (versus all femora black); all tibiae yellow ( Fig. 59) (versus fore and middle tibiae predominantly yellow, hind tibia distinctly black medially, with apex and base yellow); both surstyli with carinas on inner edges and tips acuminate ( Fig. 67) [versus both surstyli without carinas on inner edges and tips inward directed, figure 2.P, presented by Souza & Ale-Rocha (2009)]; apex of phallic guide long, with rigid, distinct submedian lobe dorsally, slightly upward directed, with a row of fine setae ventrally ( Fig. 70) [versus apex of phallic guide short, with slightly straight margins ventrally and dorsally, figure 3.P, presented by Souza &Ale-Rocha (2009)]; phallus with ejaculatory ducts spiralized, only in distal 3/4 ( Fig. 70) [versus phallus with ejaculatory ducts spiralized, only in distal 1/4, figure 3.P, presented by Souza & Ale-Rocha (2009)]. Based on the male specimen and due to the shape of the surstyli and phallus (except in N. carinae sp. nov.), N. muisca sp. nov. is similar in appearance to N. jamaicensis Johnson, 1919 [see figures 2.I, 3.I, presented by Souza & Ale-Rocha (2009)], N. carinae sp. nov. ( Figs 22–24), N. iguaquensis sp. nov. ( Figs 50–54), and N. spiralis sp. nov. ( Figs 105–109). It differs from N. jamaicensis by having the apex of phallic guide with rigid, distinct submedian lobe dorsally, slightly upward directed ( Fig. 70) [versus apex of phallic guide with straight margins dorsally and ventrally and straight tip in N. jamaicensis , figure 3.I, presented by Souza & Ale-Rocha (2009)]. It differs from N. carinae sp. nov. by having the phallus trifid, with ejaculatory ducts spiralized, only in distal 3/4 ( Fig. 70) [versus phallus with ejaculatory ducts completely spiralized in N. carinae sp. nov. ( Fig. 25)]. It differs from N. iguaquensis sp. nov. by having the apex of phallic guide with rigid, distinct submedian lobe dorsally, slightly upward directed ( Fig. 70) [versus apex of phallic guide with distinct submedian truncated lobe ventrally, slightly straight dorsally, tip slightly downward directed with a small translucent lobe dorsally in N. iguaquensis sp. nov. ( Fig. 54)]; ejaculatory apodeme funnel-shaped ( Fig. 71) [versus ejaculatory apodeme somewhat nail-shaped ( Fig. 55)]. It differs from N. spiralis sp. nov. by having the section between cell dm and vein M 2 greater than vein dm-m ( Fig. 63) [versus section between cell dm and vein M 2 equal than vein dm-m in N. spiralis sp. nov. ( Fig. 102)]; apex of phallic guide with rigid, distinct submedian lobe dorsally, slightly upward directed ( Fig. 70) [versus apex of phallic guide with distinct submedian acute lobe ventrally, which is downward directed and tip downward directed ( Fig. 109)]; ejaculatory apodeme funnel-shaped thickened ( Fig. 71) [versus ejaculatory apodeme somewhat funnel-shaped narrowed ( Fig. 110)].