Cerozodus Bigot, 1857

Camargo, Alexssandro, Vieira, Rodrigo & Rafael, José Albertino, 2022, Taxonomic review of Cerozodus Bigot, 1857 (Diptera: Asilidae: Asilinae) with the description of two new species, Zootaxa 5209 (2), pp. 151-186 : 153

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5209.2.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:710CB5B2-3A7A-491D-A317-CC05419F7A6B
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7325875
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/567D875B-5A40-FFEF-FF76-ABC0FBE3F81E
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Cerozodus Bigot, 1857
status

Treatment

Cerozodus Bigot, 1857 View in CoL

Cerozodus Bigot, 1857: 532 View in CoL , 543. Type-species, Asilus nodicornis Wiedemann, 1828 View in CoL (original designation); Kertész, 1909: 244 (catalogue); Bromley, 1946: 115 (catalogue); Carrera, 1946: 250 (neotype designation and redescription); Hull, 1962 (2): 484 (synopsis of world fauna); Martin & Papavero, 1970: 72 (catalogue); Schumann, 1973: 138 (type catalogue); Artigas & Papavero, 1995: 36 ( Lecania View in CoL -group catalogue); Papavero, 2009: 30 (catalogue); Papavero, Artigas & Lamas, 2009: 9 (key); Vieira, Rafael & Limeira-de-Oliveira, 2013: 181 View Cited Treatment (revision, new species); Lamas & Camargo, 2021 (CTFB catalogue).

Diagnosis. Face flat, slowly becoming gibbous at ventral margin; mystacal macrosetae whitish or yellowish with a few brown to dark brown macrosetae dorsally and laterally; palpus with one segment; scape approximately two times length of pedicel; postpedicel discoidal, rounded at distal margin or conical, tapering distally and laterally compressed; first article of stylus short; second article of stylus with a distinct basal, ventral, laterally compressed, rounded, lobular projection in males ( Figs 2A–B View FIGURE 2 , 6A–B View FIGURE 6 , 8A–B View FIGURE 8 , 14A–B View FIGURE 14 , 18A–B View FIGURE 18 ); in females there is only a slight dilation at base, ventrally on second article ( Figs 12A View FIGURE 12 , 22A View FIGURE 22 ); thorax integument colour ranging from yellow, dark brown, reddish brown to black; pruinosity whitish, yellowish or brownish; setae whitish, yellowish, brownish or black; wings yellowish translucent; legs yellow to brown; abdomen yellow to reddish yellow and brown; male terminalia ( Figs 3– 4 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 , 6E–G View FIGURE 6 , 8E–G View FIGURE 8 , 9– 10 View FIGURE 9 View FIGURE 10 , 14E–G View FIGURE 14 , 15– 16 View FIGURE 15 View FIGURE 16 , 18E–G View FIGURE 18 , 19–20 View FIGURE 19 View FIGURE 20 ) yellow to dark brown; T8 concave posteriorly; S8 rectangular; epandrium narrowing anterolaterally, articulating with hypandrium; epandrial arms slender, inward curved apically; cercus and subepandrial sclerite conical; hypandrium rectangular with a tonguelike projection at mid-posterior margin; gonocoxite boomerang-shaped in lateral view, inwardly curved apically in dorsal and ventral views; gonostylus situated proximally on gonocoxite with two rows of setae internally meeting sub-apically at ventral margin; phallus with two prongs; ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped; female terminalia ( Figs 12B–H View FIGURE 12 , 22B–H View FIGURE 22 ) laterally compressed; T8 slightly longer than length of T6 and T7 combined.

Taxonomic discussion. The main morphological character that distinguishes Cerozodus from other Asilinae genera is the second article of stylus with a distinct basal, ventral, rounded lobular projection, laterally compressed, in males ( Figs 2A–B View FIGURE 2 , 6A–B View FIGURE 6 , 8A–B View FIGURE 8 , 14A–B View FIGURE 14 , 18A–B View FIGURE 18 ). Cerozodus shares with Lecania the absence of marginal scutellar macrosetae ( Figs 2D View FIGURE 2 , 6D View FIGURE 6 , 8D View FIGURE 8 , 14D View FIGURE 14 , 18D View FIGURE 18 ). The previously described species of Cerozodus ( C. brachylobus and C. nodicornis ) have a discoidal postpedicel, rounded or truncate at distal margin ( Figs 2A–B View FIGURE 2 , 6A–B View FIGURE 6 , 8A–B View FIGURE 8 ).

In the present work the generic diagnosis is being broadened to include two new species ( Cerozodus ayalai sp. nov., and Cerozodus platylobus sp. nov.) both of which have a conical postpedicel, tapering distally ( Figs 14A–B View FIGURE 14 , 18A–B View FIGURE 18 ). Additionally, the two new species have the rounded lobular projection ventrally on the second article of stylus ( Figs 14A–B View FIGURE 14 , 18A–B View FIGURE 18 ).

Distribution ( Fig. 23 View FIGURE 23 ). Brazil (Maranhão, Piauí, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás and São Paulo). Cerozodus is currently endemic in Brazil, occurring in Cerrado and Caatinga biomes.

The Cerrado (Neotropical Savanah) has a strong dry season during the southern winter. Its vegetation ranges from dense grasslands with sparse shrubs and small trees to almost closed woodland with a canopy of 15 m. Some of the trees are evergreen and others are semi-deciduous and deciduous ( Ratter et al. 1997; Bueno et al. 2018).

The Caatinga is a unique semiarid region of Brazil hit by long droughts periodically. It is part of the world’s seasonally dry tropical forests (STDF) and comprises a very heterogeneous environment ranging from open scrubland to tall, dry forest where most of the vegetation is deciduous ( Queiroz et al. 2017; Silva et al. 2017).

Specimens of Cerozodus platylobus sp. nov., were collected mostly in riparian forests and semideciduous seasonal forests (according to label data) which occur in the mosaic of heterogeneous vegetation within Cerrado ( Fig. 23 View FIGURE 23 ). Most of the specimens of this species were collected in the Biological Reserve of the Universidade Estadual do Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS) which is located in a transitional area between the Cerrado and Pantanal biomes ( Fina & Monteiro 2013). Based on label data, specimens of Cerozodus nodicornis and Cerozodus ayalai sp. nov., were also collected in riparian and semideciduous forest areas. This possibly indicates that Cerozodus species may inhabit the transitional areas between the grasslands with shrubs and trees with the riparian and semideciduous forest within the Cerrado biome and riparian forests within the Caatinga biome.