Neocephalosphaera spinifera, 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 : 318

Neocephalosphaera spinifera sp. nov.

Figs 85–97, 131

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂: COLOMBIA, Bolívar , SFF[Santuario de Fauna y Flora] Los Colorados, Alto El Mirador, 954’N / 7507’W, 400 m [eters], 06–21.xii.2001, E. Deulufuet “M2628 (1♂, IAvH) (photographed specimen) . Holotype with left wing mounted on microslide with Canada balsam. Right antenna and terminalia were placed in a microvial with glycerin, both pinned along the specimen.

Diagnosis. Fore and hind coxa whitish yellow, mid coxae brown; fore and hind trochanters whitish yellow, mid trochanter brown; femora dark yellow, fore and mid femora with proximal quarter whitish yellow, hind femur with proximal half whitish yellow. Surstyli subsymmetrical, setose, both surstyli downward directed, with tips sideward directed. Apex of phallic guide short, with apex thin and downward directed. Phallus bifid, with ejaculatory ducts long and thin, covered by a membrane with spines on apex and apical hook.

Description. MALE. (holotype). Body length 5.3 mm. Head ( Figs 85–86). Eyes contiguous for 24 facets. F, EM, V (mm) = 0.4, 0.5, 0.2. Frons gray pruinose. Postcranium brown, gray pruinose laterally and ventrally, yellow pruinose dorsally. Antenna ( Fig. 87). with scape and pedicel dark yellow, pedicel with four setae dorsally and five short setae ventrally; postpedicel light yellow, with short acuminate apex. LPP/WPP = 3.4. Thorax ( Figs 86, 88). Postpronotal lobe whitish yellow. Scutum and notopleuron brown, yellow pruinose. Scutellum whitish yellow, brown on anterior margin, light brown pruinose. Mesopleuron and mediotergite brown, gray pruinose. Wing ( Fig. 89). Length 6 mm. LW/MWW = 3.1; LTC/LFC = 0.4. Membrane almost hyaline; third section costal shorter than the length of fourth; vein r-m located before the basal third of the upper section of the cell dm; vein M 2 long; dmm/M 2 = 2.2; section between cell dm and vein M 2 greater than vein dm-m; vein dm-m slightly curved. Halter stem beige, base brown, knob beige with a brown spot dorsally. Legs ( Fig. 85). Fore and hind coxae whitish yellow; mid coxa brown; fore and hind trochanters beige; mid trochanter brown; femora dark yellow; fore and mid femora with proximal quarter whitish yellow; hind femur with proximal half whitish yellow; femora with rows of ventral spines and a row of long and fine yellow setae posterodorsally; fore tibia whitish yellow; mid and hind tibiae light yellow; tarsomeres 1–2 dark yellow; 3–5 light brown; pulvilli whitish yellow. Abdomen ( Figs 85–86, 90). Dark brown, tergite 1 light brown, without setae laterally, gray pruinose dorsally; tergites 2–3 brown on basal half and yellow on distal half; gray pruinose on distal margin; tergites 4–5 dark brown on basal half and lightly brown on distal half, gray pruinose on distal margin and laterally; tergites and sternites 6 and 7 as in Fig. 91. Syntergosternite 8 light brown, yellow pruinose, shorter than tergite 5, with membranous area large, dividing syntergosternite 8 and reaching epandrium ( Figs 90, 92). Terminalia ( Figs 91–97). Epandrium and surstyli yellow. Surstyli ( Figs 92–95) subsymmetrical, shorter than the length of epandrium, setose, both surstyli downward directed, thickened at the base, thin apically, with tips sideward directed; right surstylus slightly shorter and thinner than left; both surstyli with one small lobe ventrally in the proximal third, downward directed when seen in lateral view ( Figs 94–95). Apex of phallic guide short, with apex thin and downward directed ( Fig. 96). Ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped, with one lateral margin rounded ( Fig. 97). Phallus bifid, with ejaculatory ducts long and thin, apparently covered by a membrane with spines on apex and apical hook ( Fig. 96).

Female. Unknown.

Geographical distribution. Colombia (Bolívar) ( Fig. 131).

Etymology. From the Latin spina = spine. Refers to the spines in the membrane that attach the ejaculatory ducts.

Habitat. The specimens were collected with Malaise traps at ground level. The vegetation of collection site corresponds to areas of tropical dry forest in the Caribbean region.

Taxonomic notes. Based on male specimen N. spinifera sp. nov. is similar in appearance to N. miriamae Rafael, 1992 [see figures 42.9, 42.22, 42.57, 42.58, presented by Rafael (1992) and figures 1.H, 2.K, 3.K, presented by Souza & Ale-Rocha (2009)], N. semispiralis Rafael & Rosa, 1991 [see figures 7–11 presented by Rafael & Rosa (1991) and figures 1.N, 3.Q, presented by Souza & Ale-Rocha (2009)], and N. sumapazensis sp. nov. ( Figs 114–125). It differs from N. miriamae by having the scutellum whitish yellow, light brown pruinose ( Figs 86, 88) (versus scutellum dark brown to black, gray pruinose in N. miriamae ); vein r-m located before the basal third of the upper section of the cell dm ( Fig. 89) [versus vein r-m located after the basal third of the upper section of the cell dm, figure 42.22, presented by Rafael (1992)]; section between cell dm and vein M 2 greater than vein dm-m ( Fig. 89) [versus section between cell dm and vein M 2 equal than vein dm-m, figure 42.22, presented by Rafael (1992)]; fore and hind coxae whitish yellow, mid coxa brown (versus all coxae black); both surstyli with tips outward directed ( Fig. 93) [versus both surstyli with tips inward directed, figure 42.57, presented by Rafael (1992)]; right surstylus slightly shorter and thin ( Fig. 93) [versus right surstylus slightly longer and thickened, figure 42.57, presented by Rafael (1992)]; both surstyli with one small lobe ventrally in the proximal third when seen in lateral view ( Figs 94–95) [versus left surstylus with subapical sinus ventrally in the proximal third when seen in lateral view, figure 42.58, presented by Rafael (1992)]. It differs mainly from N. semispiralis in having the mid coxae brown (versus mid coxa black in N. semispiralis ); mid trochanter brown (versus mid trochanter black); scutellum light brown pruinose ( Figs 86, 88) (versus scutellum gray pruinose); both surstyli with one small lobe ventrally in the proximal third, when seen in lateral view ( Figs 94–95) [versus both surstyli with two ventral lobes, when seen in lateral view, figures 9–10, presented by Rafael & Rosa (1991)]. It differs mainly from N. sumapazensis sp. nov. by having the postpronotal lobe whitish yellow ( Figs 85, 88) [versus postpronotal lobe light brown in N. sumapazensis sp. nov. ( Figs 114, 116)]; scutellum whitish yellow ( Figs 86, 88) [versus scutellum dark yellow ( Figs 115–116)]; section between cell dm and vein M 2 greater than vein dm-m ( Fig. 89) [versus section between cell dm and vein M 2 smaller than vein dm-m ( Fig. 117)]; both surstyli with tips outward directed ( Fig. 93) [versus both surstyli with tips downward directed ( Fig. 121)]; both surstyli with one small lobe ventrally in the proximal third when seen in lateral view ( Figs 94–95) [versus both surstyli with one small lobe ventrally in the middle third when seen in lateral view ( Figs 122–123)]; ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped, with one lateral margin rounded and other margin acute ( Fig. 97) [versus ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped, with two lateral margins acute ( Fig. 125)].