Corethrella menini Feijó, Picelli, Ríos-Velásquez & Pessoa, 2021

Almeida, Jessica Feijó, Picelli, Amanda Maria, Ramires, Adriane Costa, Belchior, Heliana Christy Matos, Marialva, Eric Fabrício, Lima, Hannah Inêz Monteiro Moreira, Ríos-Velásquez, Claudia María & Pessoa, Felipe Arley Costa, 2021, Description of three new species of frog biting midges (Diptera: Corethrellidae) from the Central Brazilian Amazon, European Journal of Taxonomy 778, pp. 148-166 : 158-160

Corethrella menini Feijó, Picelli, Ríos-Velásquez & Pessoa sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D2973CA5-CC66-4EFA-A223-8697D048D1AE

Figs 7–8

Diagnosis

The species can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the following characteristics of the female adult. Coronal suture elongate, two large setae on the frons between ventromedial area of ommatidia, clypeus squarish, with three setae; antenna dark brown, flagellomere I with four sensilla coeloconica, flagellomere II with one sensillum coeloconicum, flagellomeres IX–XIII with one sensillum coeloconicum; posterior portion of dorsocentral row with a group of about six elongate setae; wing with apex of R 2 basal to apex of M 2 and midlength band, with darker more basal scales along all on veins, basal band dark scales on C, Sc, R, M, and Cu; abdomen, completely dark brown.

Etymology

Corethrella menini sp. nov. is named in honor of Dr. Marcelo Menin as a tribute to his important work as a herpetologist, focused on ecology and biology of anurans. Marcelo was a professor of zoology who inspired dozens of zoology students, a beloved friend. He passed away too young during the COVID pandemic.

Material examined

Holotype BRAZIL • ♀ adult; Amazonas State, Manaus, experimental farm of the Universidade Federal do Amazonas FAEXP-UFAM , BR-174,km 38; 02°38′38′ S, 60°03′13′ W; 14 Jul. 2019; H. Lima and A. Ramires leg.; from tropical forest and collected with modified light trap (‘frog call traps’) ILMD 0001- 57 .

Paratypes BRAZIL • 7♀♀; same collection data as holotype; ILMD 0001-58-62 • 2 ♀♀; same collection data as holotype; INPA - DIP - 004617 • 2 ♀♀; same collection data as holotype; CEIOC 81298 • 2 ♀♀; same collection data as holotype; CZPB - DP - 008264 , CZPB - DP - 008265 .

Description

Adult female (n = 10) HABITUS. As shown in Fig. 7a.

HEAD ( Fig. 7b ). Laterally expanded in dorsal view. Coronal suture elongate, reaching the area between ventral margin of eye bridge ( Fig. 7c ). Two large setae on frons between ventromedial area of ommatidia.

ANTENNAE. Dark brown, with flagellomere XIII without apical bifurcation; sensilla coeloconica distributed according to Table 1.

CLYPEUS ( Fig. 7d ). Squarish with three setae. Mandible with small pointed teeth. Palpus dark brown; segment lengths: range; mean; 1.5 SD (inµm): 1–(5.3–10.9; 8.7; 1.9), 2– (9.9–16.8; 13.2; 2.7), 3– (29.7– 43.3; 34.5; 4.7), 4– (11.7–23.7; 19.5; 3.8), 5– (27.3–44.7; 41; 5.9); average width: range; mean; 1.5 SD (in µm): 3–(10.6–15.9; 12.11; 1.9), 4 –(9.4–15.6; 10.65; 2.4), 5–(6.8–15.8; 11.3; 3.1), and the third palpal segment was nearly constant and swollen at or near midlength.

THORAX ( Fig. 8a ). Dark brown, scutum, scutellum, pale sclerites around base of wing. Posterior portion of dorsocentral row with a group of six elongate setae. Prescutal suture short, not extending to dorsocentral row of setae. Anterior anepisternum dark brown, divided by diagonal suture, dorsal portion about equal to ventral portion. Posterior anepisternum dark brown, divided by transversal suture, with ventral portion triangular.

WING ( Fig. 7e ) ( Table 2 ). Apex of R 2 basal to apex of M 2. Anterior margin with differently and discretely pigmented scales, midlength band, with darker more basal scales along all veins, basal dark scales on C, Sc, R, M, and Cu; veins with well-developed scales. Halter dark brown, equal to the scutellum.

LEGS ( Fig. 8a ). Dark brown and slender setae dark brown. Foreleg with femur, tibia, and tarsomeres entirely dark brown. Midleg with femur, tibia, and tarsomeres entirely dark brown. Hindleg with femurs dark brown to about 3/10 of the total light brown structure in apex region, tibia dark brown but apical and basal extremities light brown, tarsomeres 1 to 5 light brown. Tarsal claws equal, inserted apically; each claw without an inner tooth. Empodia ( Fig. 8b ) with a thickness equal to apical bristles of last tarsomere, smaller than average diameter of last tarsomere, with one bifid branch.

ABDOMEN ( Fig. 8c ). Uniformly dark brown. One ovoid spermatheca. Cercus equally dark brown.

Male

Unknown

Distribution

This species is known only from its type locality in the experimental farm of the Universidade Federal do Amazonas FAEXP-UFAM, Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil.

Taxonomic comments

The structures present in C. menini sp. nov., such as the elongated coronal suture, the presence of two long frontal bristles between ommatidia, the third palpal segment being almost constant in width, and the group of six bristles in the thoracic dorsocentral region are characteristic for species in the brakeleyi group: C. hispaniolensis Borkent, 2008 , C. puella Shannon & Del Ponte, 1928 , C. condita Borkent, 2008 , C. brakeleyi (Coquillett, 1902) , and C. longituba Belkin, Heinemann & Page, 1970 . However, C. menini sp. nov. can be distinguished from these based on the color of the palpus (dark brown in C. menini sp. nov., pale in C. hispaniolensis and C. longituba , and medium brown in C. puella , C. condita , and C. brakeleyi ), the number of sensilla coeloconica on the flagellomeres, the band pattern and scales along the wing, and the color of the halter (dark brown in C. menini sp. nov. and pale in C. hispaniolensis , C. puella , C. condita , C. brakeleyi , and C. longituba ). The squarish clypeus and the dark brown color of the antenna, halter, and cercus are characteristics shared by C. menini sp. nov., C. curta Borkent, 2008 , and C. ranapungens Borkent, 2008 . However, the thoracic dorsocentral region of C. curta and C. ranapungens have a group of three and four elongated bristles, respectively as opposed to six setae in C. menini sp. nov.; in addition, C. menini sp. nov. has the apex of R 2 basal to the apex of M 2, whereas in C. curta and C. ranapungens , the apex of R 2 is basal to the apex of M 1. Other characters, such as the color pattern of the thorax and palpus, can also be used to distinguish the species C. menini sp. nov. from C. curta and C. ranapungens . The new species likely belongs to the brakeleyi group, which includes eight species. However, male characters are still necessary to support this hypothesis because the occurrence of wings with apical bands, a characteristic that defines the group, is more commonly found in adult males.

We suggest to add the following couplets to the Corethrella key by Borkent (2008) to identify adult females of C. menini sp. nov.

2

2

90. Flagellomeres IX–XII each with two sensilla coeloconica....................... C. incompta Borkent, 2008

– Flagellomeres IX–XII each with a single sensillum coeloconicum ................................................ 91

91. Flagellomere I with one or two sensilla coeloconica; dorsocentral region of the thorax with a group of 4 elongate setae; wing with apex of R 2 basal to apex of M 1 .......... C. ranapungens Borkent, 2008

– Flagellomere I with four sensilla coeloconica; dorsocentral region of the thorax with a group of 6 elongate setae; wing with apex of R basal to apex of M ...................................... C. menini sp. nov.

Figures

Fig. 7. Microphotography of Corethrella menini Feijó, Picelli, Ríos-Velásquez & Pessoa sp. nov. ♀, holotype (ILMD 0001- 57). a. Habitus. b. Head. c. Head with coronal suture elongate. d. Clypeus. e.Wing. Scale bars: a = 1 mm; b = 100μm; c–d = 50 μm; e = 500 μm.

Fig. 8. Microphotography of Corethrella menini Feijó, Picelli, Ríos-Velásquez & Pessoa sp. nov. ♀, holotype (ILMD 0001- 57). a. Thorax and legs. b. Tarsal claw with empodia. c. Abdomen. Scale bars: a–c = 500μm; b = 10 μm.