Neuratelia elegans (Lane, 1948) Lane, 1948

Henao-Sepulveda, Carolina, Wolff, Marta & Amorim, Dalton de Souza, 2019, Revision of the Neotropical Neuratelia Rondani (Diptera, Mycetophilidae, Sciophilinae): two new species, a new combination, and a new synonym, ZooKeys 861, pp. 63-79 : 72-73

Neuratelia elegans (Lane, 1948) comb. nov. Figs 2E, 3C, F, I, 4C, 5 G–I, 6E, F

Eudicrana elegans Lane 1948: 251, fig. 8 (gonocoxite and gonostyle), 9 ( “mesosome”), 10 (tergite 9). Type. Holotype male, pinned, genitalia in permanent Canada balsam microslide mounting pinned with specimen. Original label: "Brazil, São Paulo, Salesópolis, Estação Biológica de Boraceia, xi.1947, F. Travassos and E. Rabello leg. MZUSP-07105".

Neuratelia sapaici Lane 1952: 135, fig. 3 (male terminalia), syn. nov. Type. Holotype male, pinned, genitalia in permanent Canada balsam microslide mounting pinned with specimen. Original label: "Brazil, São Paulo, Salesópolis, Estação Biológica de Boraceia, 14 viii. 1947, E. Rabello, F. Travassos and J. Lane leg. MZUSP-04030".

Type locality.

Brazil, state of São Paulo, Salesópolis municipality, Boraceia Biological Station [23°41.4378'S, 45°49.4288'W].

Material examined.

Holotype ♂ Brazil; State of São Paulo, Salesópolis municipality, Boraceia Biological Station; [23°41.4378'S, 45°49.4288'W]; Nov. 1947; F. Travassos and E. Rabello leg. MZUSP– 07105. Paratype 1♂; Brazil, same data as holotype but differ on: 14 Aug.1947; E. Rabello, F. Travassos and J. Lane leg. MZUSP– 04030.

Diagnosis.

Thorax brown, scutum without longitudinal stripes. Vein CuA with strong curve on distal third, CuP long, ending at about level of distal third of CuA. Gonocoxite fused medially only on basal half, with a ventral inward lobular distal projection and a digitiform laminar projection at dorsal surface of terminalia; gonostylus short, triangular in ventral view, with a flat basal projection dorsally.

Redescription.

Male (Fig. 2C). Body length 6.8 mm. Head (Fig. 3D) Width 0.51mm, length 0.54mm. Vertex dark brown, with abundant brownish setae. Three ocelli, mid ocellus smaller; lateral ocelli separated from eye margin by less than their diameter. Occiput dark brown. Ommatotrichia abundant, short, yellowish. Scape and pedicel yellowish brown, cylindrical, scape longer than pedicel, slightly darker, both with short setae; with 14 dark brown flagellomeres, with scattered yellowish setae, first flagellomere almost twice as long as second flagellomere. Frons and clypeus brown, subrectangular, densely covered with yellowish setae; labella caramel brown, with five light brown palpomeres, last palpomere about twice length of fourth. Thorax (Figs 3F, I). Scutum, scutellum, and pleura brownish, scutum with two darker stripes connected medially at posterior end and reaching scutellum, with scattered yellowish setae, a single row of differentiated dorsocentrals, and no clear row of acrostichals; prealars and postalars strong. Scutellum brownish, with two stronger setae laterally and two medially, and scattered, smaller, marginal setae. Pleural sclerites mostly brown, ventral half of katepisternum and mediotergite dark brown; pleural membrane yellowish brown. Proepimeron, anepisternum, katepisternum, mesepimeron, and metepisternum bare, antepronotum and proepisternum setose, laterotergite with 25 well developed brown setae, mediotergite with a row of around 25 well-developed setae across ventral margin. Halter setose, pedicel yellowish, knob light brown. Legs. Coxae yellowish brown, darker apically, femora light brown, tibiae and tarsi brown. Fore femora, tibiae, and tarsi missing in the holotype; mid tibia with dorsal and ventral irregular rows of slightly longer dark setae, hind tibia with a regular row of dark setae posteriorly; mid tibia spurs subequal, almost twice apical width of tibia, hind tibia outer spur longer than inner spur. Mid and hind first tarsomeres very long (distal tarsomeres of mid and hind tarsi missing in holotype). Wing (Fig. 4C). Length, 4.6 mm, width, 1.5 mm. Membrane light brown, without dark maculae, membrane densely covered with microtrichia and decumbent macrotrichia on all cells. Anterior veins brown, medial and cubital veins yellowish brown; Sc complete, reaching C well beyond base of Rs, almost at the middle of anterior margin of wing, setose; sc- r present basally, well before origin of Rs, bare. C ending at apex of R5. R1 long, reaching C beyond distal fifth of wing. First sector of Rs oblique, bare, only slightly longer than r-m. R5 slightly sinuous, reaching C near wing apex. Vein r-m oblique, bare. M1+2 stem more than twice length of r-m. M1 obsolete basally. Medial and cubital veins complete, reaching wing margin. CuA with a strong curve towards base at distal third. CuP well sclerotized, extending to level of distal third of CuA. Abdomen. Brown, cylindrical, slender, with long dark setae covering tergites and sternites. Tergite 8 longer than wide, projected medially, sternite 8 wider than long, with a medial projection apically. Terminalia (Figs 5 G–I, 6E, F). Syngonocoxite extending medially slightly beyond half the length of the gonocoxite; gonocoxites with a pair of inward lobes ventrally, with setulae, and a dorsoapical lobe slightly projecting distally beyond the base of the gonostyli; gonocoxites with a flat digitiform inner projection dorsally. Gonostylus relatively simple, covered only with setulae, without spines or long setae, ventral branch triangular in ventral view, dorsal branch short, flat. Tergite 9 weakly sclerotized, restricted to basal half of terminalia, with a group of short setae at each side. Parameres straight (not curved as in many species of the genus), reaching level of gonocoxite apex distally. Aedeagus elongate, straight. Sternite 10 present as a pair of elongated sclerotized stripes with setae. Cerci typicallywell-developed, lobular, extending distally almost as far as the apex of gonostylus, touching each other medially, but without evidence of fusion.

Female. Unknown.

Comments.

The holotypes of Eudicrana elegans and Neuratelia sapaici are males and originally had their terminalia slide-mounted between cover slips, pinned with the respective specimens. The terminalia of both species are identical in every aspect and as well as the general colour of the specimens. Lane’s (1948, fig. 8) illustration of the gonocoxite and the gonostyle of E. elegans makes clear its identity with Lane’s (1952, fig. 3) illustration of the male terminalia of N. sapaici (Figs 5 G–I, 6E,F). Along the original description of Eudicrana elegans , Lane (1948: 252) mentioned the interrupted M1, but did not comment on the lack of R4, which would immediately raise suspicious of the generic position of the species. We propose a new combination of the Eudicrana elegans and the synonymy of Neuratelia sapaici .