Curtonotum floridense Klymko & Marshall, 2011

Klymko, John & Marshall, Stephen A., 2011, Systematics of New World Curtonotum Macquart (Diptera: Curtonotidae) 3079, Zootaxa 3079 (1), pp. 1-110 : 27-31

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.3079.1.1
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/8F1187DF-685B-FFD2-FF38-FD13FD5FF8F3
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Curtonotum floridense Klymko & Marshall
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Curtonotum floridense Klymko & Marshall View in CoL , sp. n.

Figures 14–27 View FIGURES 14–16 View FIGURES 17–19 View FIGURES 20–25 View FIGURES 26–27 , and 204

Etymology. The specific epithet reflects the distribution of this species, which is known only from Florida.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from C. helvum by the taller gena and broader parafacial (compare Figures 26 View FIGURES 26–27 and 38 View FIGURES 38–39 ), absence of a ctenidial comb, a longer, more slender distiphallus, a female tergite 10 that is well sclerotized medially, a relatively squat rugose or pock-marked spermatheca, which tapers into a narrow apex (as compared to an elongate spermatheca with very small scattered spinules), and a bulb-shaped ventral receptacle.

Description. Length: 4.0– 6.9 mm.

Head: Frons orange-beige with moderate to strong bulge ventrally and scattered pale and dark setulae, width 1.3–1.5 times length, slightly wider ventrally, lateral margin narrowly yellow-white microtomentose. Ocellar triangle and narrow lateral strip yellow-white microtomentose, microtomentum extending well anterior of anterior ocellus, broadly acute apically, narrow lateral strip extending from median occipital sclerite to midway between proclinate seta and ventral margin of frons or further, proclinate seta slightly posterior to, or at midpoint of sagittal distance from anterior ocellus to ventral margin of frons, anterior to and slightly medial of major reclinate seta; minor reclinate seta anterior to and slightly lateral or medial of major reclinate seta. Face yellow-white microtomentose, ground colour beige; vibrissa 2–4 times longer than adjacent subvibrissals. Parafacial and gena extremely broad and tall, respectively, moderately yellow-white microtomentose, ground colour beige, eye height 3.3–4.7 times gena height. Clypeus, palpus and prementum with beige ground colour, clypeus and palpus yellow-white microtomentose and microtrichose, prementum lightly yellow-white microtomentose. Scape, pedicel and first flagellomere with beige ground colour, scape and pedicel moderately white microtomentose, first flagellomere densely yellow-white microtrichose, subequal to or distinctly longer than pedicel in length.

Thorax: Ground colour yellow-beige. Scutum white microtomentose proximally with 2 narrow pale goldbrown vittae, otherwise pale gold-brown microtomentose. Scutellum pale gold-brown microtomentose. Pleura white microtomentose. Scutum moderately arched. Postpronotal lobe with 2 subequal setae (1 in a specimen from Archbold Biological Station); notopleuron without setulae; scutellum with 2 pairs of marginal setae. Anepisternum with 2 large setae on posterior half, in some specimens up to 3 smaller setae present; katepisternum with 2 prominent lateral setae, anterodorsal seta relatively much weaker, linear tuft of setulae under fore coxa pale yellow. No fringe of dark setulae ventral and posterior to posterior spiracle, meron bare.

Legs: Pale beige in ground colour, lightly microtomentose except heavily white microtomentose coxae. Chaetotaxy black, except for very dense, regularly spaced transverse rows of straw coloured setulae anteroventrally on apical half of fore tibia and similar, but slightly darker, setulae on fore tarsomere 1. Fore femur with 3–4 posterodorsal setae, ctenidial setae not differentiated from other femoral setulae; mid femur with 4–8 anterior setae, these weak and only moderately differentiated from adjacent setulae; hind femur with 1–2 subapical dorsal setae. Mid tibia with 2 very strong, 1 moderately strong, and several weaker apical ventral setae, the moderate seta posterior to the strong setae. Row of short cuneiform setae present on entire anteroventral margin of mid and hind tarsomere 5. Wing: Lightly grey-brown infuscate, infuscation slightly darker in narrow area of membrane around crossvein dmcu. Alula relatively broad.

Abdomen: Ground colour yellow-beige with white microtomentum. Vittae and maculae with dark brown microtomentum and ground colour. Tergite 2 with faint to well-defined dark brown medial vitta, dark brown macula in anterolateral corner, additional macula lateral of median, anterior margin of latter at proximal ca. third, posteriorly reaching margin. Tergites 3 through 5 with maculae in proximolateral corner, narrow central vitta and irregular lateral vitta, lateral markings on each tergite apostrophe-shaped (as in Figure 6 View FIGURES 6–7 ).

Male terminalia: Sternite 5 broadening posteriorly, apical margin concave; tergite 6 completely atrophied; tergite 7 very narrow, dorsal length much less than one-tenth hypandrial dorsal length, membranous left laterally, not fused to left portion of sternite 7; sternite 6 well sclerotized, with recurved, transverse flap sub-basally, flap base width more than half posterior width of sternite 5, small left lateral extension fused to left portion of sternite 7; sternite 7 separated into right and left portions, right portion broad and relatively long (as long as portion of sternite 6 posterior to flap), left portion very small, fused to small left extension of sternite 6. Epandrium relatively large, setulose, setulae longest posteroventrally; surstylus very elongate, freely articulating with epandrium, triangular in lateral profile, with slightly upturned apex, lateral margin of apex rounded in posterior profile, posteroventral corner with medially facing acute tooth, minutely setulose ventrally. Cerci separate dorsally, setulose (longest cercal setulae shorter than longest epandrial setulae), fused to opposite cercus ventrally, forming a ventrally oriented process flat in lateral profile and expanded in posterior profile, process bare, but for a few scattered setulae and 2 subapical elongate setulae, apex bulbous, invaginate on apical margin, with forward facing, short spinules (this fused structure often upturned in dried specimens). Hypandrium with broad-based, rounded dorsobasal projection, posterior bridge extending slightly ventrally, hypandrial arm straight, with 2–3 very long ventrally oriented setulae proximal to postgonite, fused with opposite epandrial arm distally, articulating with postgonite at level of epandrial posteroventral margin; postgonite very slender and elongate, with slightly upturned apex, equaling or slightly exceeding surstylus distally. Phallapodeme with laterally expanded basal process in place of “fan”, margin opposite this process concave; basiphallus well sclerotized and slightly expanded basally, elongate; distiphallus slender and elongate, unlobed and unornamented, composed of 2 heavily sclerotized plates twisted slightly more than 180º. Ejaculatory apodeme outside of basiphallus, slightly bulbous and with small pores apically, broadening basally.

Female terminalia: Sternite 5 length 2.0–2.7 times width, sternite 6 length 0.9–1.0 times width. Ovipositor relatively stout (as in Figure 32 View FIGURES 32–37 ). Tergite 7 well sclerotized medially. Tergite 8 and sternite 8 well sclerotized proximally. Sternite 8 very squat, convex, without heavily sclerotized posterior margin, sparsely setulose, microtrichose throughout. Sternite 10 broad apically, the lateral margins relatively straight proximally, with scattered setulae and microtrichia, deeply invaginated medially, proximally with very heavily sclerotized apodeme, narrow laterally, broadened in dorsoventral plane, free of setulae and microtrichia. Tergite 10 greatly reduced, fused with cerci. Cerci free posterior of tergite 10, with stout setae, these longer posteriorly and laterally. Spermatheca relatively squat to moderately elongate, rugose or with small pock marks, broad basally, narrowly pointed apically. Ventral receptacle bulb-shaped, uniformly sclerotized, duct with minute transverse ridges.

Comments. This species is apparently endemic to Florida’s scrub habitat.

The alula of this species appears wider than in C. helvum . However, it would require many wing mounts to thoroughly evaluate the variability within and between these species. This was not undertaken as it is not important to species identification given the number of reliable characters available to distinguish this species (see diagnosis).

The spermathecae differ between the two female specimens dissected. In the Archbold Station specimen the spermatheca is relatively squat with coarse rugae ( Figure 23 View FIGURES 20–25 ), while in the Orlando specimen the spermatheca is more elongate and with pock marks ( Figure 25 View FIGURES 20–25 ). In both cases the overall shape of the spermatheca is similar, both are wide basally with a long tapering apex. The ventral receptacles of these two specimens are as described above.

Type material. Holotype: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Florida : ♂, Polk Co., TNC Tiger Creek Preserve , Florida scrub habitat, Townes Trap, 27.82158°N, 081.47717°W, 6–7.vii.2009, M. Deyrup, A. May, H. Otte ( DEBU) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Florida: ♂, Highlands Co., Archbold Biol. Sta. , 6.x.1964 , ♂, 7.x.1964, 5♂, 8.x.1964, 3♂, 9.x.1964, 2♂, ♀, 11.x.1964, ♂, 12.x.1964, ♀, 14.x.1964, all P.H. Arnaud, Jr. (all CASC) ; ♂, Highlands Co., Archbold Biol. Sta., Lake Placid , 3.xi.1986 , ♂, 16.xi.1984, ♂, 23.xi.1984, all Malaise trap, “Trail 2 SSo”, all M. Deyrup, same data except ♂, 14.vi.1989, Malaise trap, partly burned cutthroat grass [ Panicum abscissum ], pond, R.L. Shumate, same data except ♂, 23.x.1998, in yellow bowl trap, west side of Lake Annie , area of chironomid and spider abundance, M. Deyrup (all ABSC) ; ♂, Orange Co., Orlando, U[niveristy of] C[entral] F[lorida], Long Leaf Pine-Saw Palmetto , Malaise trap, 21.vi.1991 , ♀, 25.vi.1991, same data except Sand Pine-Rosemary Scrub , ♂, 25.vi.1991, all S.M. Fullerton (all UCFC) ; 45♂, 8♀, Polk Co., TNC Tiger Creek Preserve, Florida scrub habitat, Townes trap, 27.82158°N, 081.47717°W, 6–7.vii.2009 GoogleMaps , M. Deyrup, A. May, H. Otte (8♂, 3♀, ABSC, 8♂, 2♀, FSCA, 29♂, 3♀, DEBU) .