Coniceps Loew

Wendt, Lisiane Dilli & Ale-Rocha, Rosaly, 2012, Redescription of the genus Coniceps Loew, 1873 (Diptera, Richardiidae), Zootaxa 3238, pp. 49-56 : 50-52

Coniceps Loew

(Figs. 1–32)

Coniceps Loew, 1873a: 177 ; Type species: Coniceps niger Loew (mon.). Loew, 1873b: 290 ( Coniceps carbonarius description), 292 (redescription); Osten-Sacken, 1878: 187 ( catalogue ); Aldrich, 1905: 598 ( catalogue ); Hendel, 1911a: 181 (key), 184 ( C. carbonarius transferred to Acrometopia Schiner, 1862 ); 1911b: 4 (key), 6–8 (redescription, note); Brues & Melander, 1932: 336 (citation); Curran, 1934: 273 (key); 1965: 273 (key, reprint); Hennig, 1937: 22 (citation); 1973: 54 (citation); Aczél, 1950: 7 ( catalogue ); Steyskal, 1958: 302 (key), 303 (note); 1968: 3 ( catalogue ); 1987: 833 (comment about the head), 836 (key); Hancock, 2010: 872 (figs. 5–6), 874 (key).

Diagnosis. Head slightly flattened dorsoventrally, conical in lateral view. Frons projected anteriorly. Scutum elongate and narrow, approximately twice longer than wide. Post metathoracic bridge completely sclerotized. Vein A1Cu2 long, becoming weaker towards margin. Only hind femur with spine-like anteroventral and posteroventral setae.

Redescription. Head: Slightly flattened dorsoventrally, conical in lateral view, anterior margin of frons about half height of occiput (Figs. 1, 5). Frons horizontally protruded, approximately one-third of total length of head (Figs. 1, 5), with central longitudinal groove (Fig. 3). Eye slightly oval, slightly wider than high in lateral view (Fig. 5). Posterior ocellus aligned with posterior margin of eye (Fig. 3). Ocellar triangle elongated, distance between posterior ocelli equal to half distance to anterior ocellus (Fig. 3). Occiput developed (Figs. 3, 5). Face flattened and prolonged, visible only in ventral view (Fig. 4). Scape reduced, not visible in dorsal (Fig. 3) and lateral views (Fig. 5). Arista with very short pubescence. Clypeus not developed (Fig. 4). Palpus rounded and reduced ( Fig. 27 ). Orbital seta aligned slightly anterior to anterior ocellus. Postocellar setae absent. Genal seta absent and postgenal present. Thorax: Scutum elongate and narrow, approximately two times longer than wide (Fig. 2). Subscutellum not developed. Katatergite ciliated, without pruinosity. Prosternum bare and reduced, heart-shaped (Fig. 8). Metasternum setulose. Postcoxal metathoracic bridge completely sclerotized. Metathoracic spiracle without differentiated setae. Setae: scapular present, one postpronotal, two notopleural, one postsutural supra-alar, one postalar, one postsutural dorsocentral aligned with post-alar, one anepisternal, one weak katepisternal, no intra-alar, proepimeral very weak, one pair apical scutellar setae. Legs: Long and slender (Figs. 1, 11). Fore coxa with one long apical anterior seta (Fig. 9); fore femur with one subbasal posterior seta. Mid coxa with one median and one apical anterior seta. Fore and mid femora without spine-like ventral setae. Only hind femur with spine-like antero and posteroventral setae. Wing (Fig. 6): Subcostal break distinct; costal setulae slightly developed; veins bare; veins R4+5 and M parallel; crossvein r-m exactly at midlength of cell dm; vein A1+Cu2 long, becoming weaker towards margin. Abdomen (Fig. 7): Elongate, about half length of body; with long setae on tergites 1–5. Syntergite 1+2 same length and width as tergite 3. Sternite 1 absent. Sternite 2 divided into two small plates, anterior plate much broader than long and posterior plate “Y”-shaped ( Fig. 12 ). Male terminalia: Lateral surstylus longer than medial surstylus ( Fig. 19 ). Medial surstylus with one apical prensiseta. Distiphallus long and flexible, with two sclerotized ribbons connected by membrane ( Fig. 21 ); apex of one of the ribbons modified in a spinelike ( Fig. 23 ). Ejaculatory apodeme as in figure 22. Female terminalia: Eversible membrane as long as oviscape ( Fig. 24 ). Aculeus tip broad and triangular ( Fig. 26 ).

FIGURES 1‒11. Coniceps niger Loew , lectotype, male. 1. General lateral view. 2. General dorsal view. 3‒5. Head. 3. Dorsal view. 4. Ventral view. 5. Lateral view. 6. Wing (arrow indicates vein A1+Cu2 long). 7. Abdomen, dorsal view. 8. Prothorax, anterior view (arrow indicates prosternum). 9. Fore coxae, anterior view (arrow indicates apical seta). 10. Calypter (arrow indicates long setae around the margin). 12. Hind leg (arrow indicates spine-like setae).

Remarks. In the identification key by Hendel (1911b), Coniceps was grouped with the genera of Epiplateinae and Setellia Robineau-Desvoidy (Richardiinae) , which were characterized by the hind femora lacking spines. Steyskal (1958) also presented an identification key in which Coniceps was characterized by hind femora with weak or no spines. However, in the recent key of Hancock (2010), Coniceps was grouped with genera of Richardiinae which have spines on the hind femur. Likewise, all specimens observed in this study showed the hind femur with spines (Fig. 11).

Coniceps can be easily confused with the Neotropical genus Ozaenina Enderlein (in part), due some similarities, especially the shape of the head ( Figs. 33–34 ) and the strait and elongated thorax and abdomen. Coniceps differs from Ozaenina in several characters: the orbital seta aligned anteriorly to the anterior ocellus; the prosternum bare; vein A1+CuA2 long, reaching the wing margin; and only the hind femur with spine-like setae ventrally.

Ozaenina has the orbital seta aligned to the posterior ocelli, the prosternum setulose, A1+CuA2 short and not reaching the wing margin, and all femora with strong spine-like setae ventrally. Moreover, other two genera also have protruded frons— Oceanicia Enderlin and Oedematella Hendel , but the frons is less protruding, the occiput is not expanded at dorsal half and all femora have spine-like setae. However, there is a great taxonomic confusion about Ozaenina and Oceanicia and probably these genera are not monofiletic. A comprehensive taxonomic review about these three genera is in progress (Wendt & Smit in preparation).

Remarks about abdomen and male terminalia. In Richardiidae the sternite 1 can be very reduced (i.e. Epiplateinae and Melanoloma Loew ) or completely absent, as in Coniceps or Richardia for example. In Epiplateinae the sternite 2 generally is wider than long with a basal unsclerotized region, forming a ring anteriorly. In almost Richardiinae, the sternite 2 is longer than wide and the basal ring is not complete, and a small plate is present. Therefore, the anterior plate present in Coniceps is part of the sternite 2 like in the ground plan of Richardiidae and the sternite 1 is completely absent.

In Richardiidae , abdominal segments 6–8 are asymmetrical ( Fig. 16 ) as in the other families of Diptera , but, unlike in upper Tephritoidea (sensu Korneyev 1999) Richardiidae has the sternite 6 very developed and always setulose ( Fig. 16 ). Sternite 7 is asymmetrically developed on left side, where it is fused dorsally with stenite 8 forming the syntegosternite 7+8 ( Fig. 16 ). Tergite 7 can be present and represented by a small plate on right side present in some genera (i.e. Melanoloma ), but absent in the majority of Richardiidae genera, including Coniceps . Abdominal spiracles 6 and 7 generally are present (except Hemixantha Loew in part) but not paired ( Fig. 16 ).

Coniceps , like most Richardiinae, has an apical area bearing several sclerotised spine-like appendices on distiphallus. This modified arrangement of the cuticular sctructure at the apex of the distiphallus is not considered homologous with the glands found in Platystomatidae , Pyrgotidae and Tephritidae ( Korneyev 1999) . In this manner, the homology and function of these structures remain unknown. Besides, the presence of denticles or modified setae on distiphallus can be characters highly subject to homoplasy, as in other families (i.e. Ulidiidae ) ( Kamaneva & Korneyev 2005).

Figures

FIGURES 24 ‒ 32. Coniceps niger Loew, paralectotype female. 24. Abdomen: sternites 4 – 6 and oviscape ventral view. 25. Eversible membrane, sternite 8 and aculeus, ventral view (arrow indicates denticles in details). 26. Sternite 8 and aculeus (in detail). 27. Palpus. 28. Spermatecae. 29. Sternite 3. 30. Sternite 4. 31. Sternite 5. 32. Sternite 6. Abbreviations: acul—aculeus; ev memb—eversible membrane; ovscp—oviscape; st—sternites; tae—taenia.

FIGURES 12 ‒ 23. Coniceps niger Loew, lectotype male. 12. Sternites 1 and 2. 13. Sternite 3. 14. Sternite 4. 15. Sternite 5. 16. Tergite 6 and syntergosternite 7 + 8, left lateral view. 17 ‒ 18. Epandrium, lateral and medial surstylus, and proctiger. 17. Lateral view. 18. Posterior view. 19 ‒ 20. Lateral and medial surstylus. 19. External, lateral view. 20. Internal, lateral view. 21. Hypandrium, phallopodeme and distiphallus, lateral view. 22. Ejaculatory apodeme 23. Apex of distiphallus. Scale 12 – 18: 0.2 mm; scale 19 – 23: 0.1 mm. Abbeviations: distph—distiphallus; epan—epandrium; hypd—hypandrium; l sur—lateral surstylus; m sur—medial surstylus; phapod—phallapodeme; prens—prensiseta; proct—proctiger; tg — tergite; syntgst — syntergosternite.

FIGURES 33 – 34. Ozaenina diversa Lopes, head. 33. Lateral view. 34. Dorsal view. Scale: 1.0 mm.