Curtonotum murinum

Klymko, John & Marshall, Stephen A., 2011, Systematics of New World Curtonotum Macquart (Diptera: Curtonotidae) 3079, Zootaxa 3079 (1), pp. 1-110 : 50-51

The Curtonotum murinum species complex

Figures 8 and 70–72

Diagnosis. Species in the C. murinum species complex can be distinguished from all congeners by their lobed lower calypter. They are also the only Neotropical species that are beige in ground colour with white-grey microtomentum.

Nomenclatural note. Curtonotum impunctatum Hendel, 1932 is in the C. murinum species complex. Its name must be replaced as it is preoccupied by C. impunctatum Hendel, 1913 . Curtonotum perplexum Klymko & Marshall , nom. n., is here proposed as the replacement. The specific epithet comes from Latin, perplexus, meaning perplexing, referring to the cryptic nature of this species.

Comments. The lobed lower calypter shared by species in this complex is an unequivocal synapomorphy, marking a well-defined clade. The species complex includes four described species ( C. murinum Hendel , C. coriaceum Hendel , C. perplexum , and C. decumanum Bezzi ), and at least nine undescribed species ranging from southern Arizona to northern Argentina. Two of the five Musca gibba Fabricius syntypes also belong to a species in this species complex (refer to the discussion under C. taeniatum for more information on M. gibba Fabricius ). Most species in this group are superficially similar and the examination of male terminalia is required for species identification.

In addition to the lobed lower calypter, several other characters are useful for identification of this group. All species have three pairs of marginal scutellar setae (as in Figure 73 ) and in females the cerci and tergite 10 are fused and have stout short setae ( Figure 71 ). This character combination is otherwise only known in C. apicale (in this species the cerci have distinctly flattened marginal setae on the cerci) ( Figure 77 ). In addition, all but two Central American species in the group have a distinct posteroventral patch of short stout setae on male sternite 5 ( Figure 72 ), a character not expressed in other species of New World Curtonotum .

This species complex is under study though a revision is in a preliminary stage.

Figures

FIGURES 8–9. 8. Undescribed species in the Curtonotum murinum species complex. Dominical, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. 9. Curtonotum trypetipenne Hendel. Yasuni National Park, Orellano, Ecuador.

FIGURES 70–72. Curtonotum near murinum Hendel. 70. Habitus, left oblique view. 71. Ovipositor, dorsal. 72. Male sternite 5, ventral.

FIGURES 73–76. Curtonotum apicale Hendel. 73. Scutellum, dorsal. 74. Male terminalia, left lateral. 75. Male terminalia, posterior. 76. Distiphallus, dorsal.

FIGURES 77–81. Curtonotum apicale Hendel. 77. Tergite 8 and tergite 10 + cerci, dorsal. 78. Female sternite 8, ventral. 79. Female sternite 10, ventral. 80. Spermatheca. 81. Ventral receptacle.