Hemerodromia brevicercata, Câmara, Josenir T., Takiya, Daniela M., Plant, Adrian R. & Rafael, José A., 2015

Câmara, Josenir T., Takiya, Daniela M., Plant, Adrian R. & Rafael, José A., 2015, Neotropical Hemerodromia Meigen (Diptera: Empididae), a world of discovery II: New species from Atlantic forest, Brazil, Zootaxa 4028 (2), pp. 197-214 : 198

Hemerodromia brevicercata sp. nov.

( Figs 1–7 )

Diagnosis. Black species with legs whitish yellow, except fore trochanter and femur brownish. Head rounded ( Fig. 1 ); cercus much shorter than length of epandrium ( Fig. 3 ); epandrium rather narrower apically, with median row of spine-like setae on inner face ( Figs 5, 7 ).

Description. Male. Head. Dark brown to black, mouthparts yellow with all setae whitish. Rounded ( Fig. 1 ); ocellar triangle with 1 pair of proclinate setae; anterior ocellus larger. Eyes iridescent black, close together on face bearing fine reclinate setulae. Frons with 1–2 frontal setulae; 1 pair of distinct vertical setae contiguous with uniseriate row of smaller postocular setae. Occiput bearing scattered fine hairs. Clypeus with rather dense, short downwardly directed pile. Proboscis slightly curved with yellow setae. Antenna with scape and pedicel bearing distinct, short dorsal setulae; postpedicel about 1.5X as long as wide, stylus ~ 0.8X as long as postpedicel. Thorax ( Fig. 1 ). Short, slightly arched ventrally; dark brown to blackish; antepronotum with anterior margin almost straight and scutum with yellow setae, very small and fine except one notopleural. Legs ( Fig. 1 ). Whitish yellow, except fore trochanter and femur brownish. C1 ~ 1.5X longer than distance between C1 and C2, 7X as long as wide with some pale dorsoapical setae. F1 about 1.1X as long as C1, 3.0–3.5X as long as wide. Femoral formula 6– 7 / 14–15/15–16/7–8; denticles confined to distal 0.6, becoming closer together distally, black, 2 rows linear, without distal discontinuity, converging at apex. T1 ~ 0.6X as long as F1, evenly curved, ventral face shallowly concave; about 9–10 sharply pointed spinose setae ventrally; dorsal ciliation of decumbent short, pale setulae, denser distally; without apicoventral extension on T1 but with strong, black subapical spine. Mid- and hind legs slender with fine setae; T3 with ‘comb’ of short setae posteroapically. Wing ( Fig. 2 ). Membrane slightly yellow, veins yellowish; R2+3 long and straight, not strongly curved towards C apically, joining C ~ 0.6–0.7 distance between end of R1 and R4+5; R4+5 fork acute (~ 60°), distal to position of M1+2 fork by shorter than length of R4; R5 and M1 convergent distally; R5 ~ 2.5X as long as R4; cell bm+dm short, ending at level of R1, ~ 2X as long as cell br. Halter whitish yellow. Abdomen. Tergites and sternites brownish; tergite 8 shorter than sternite 8. Terminalia. Dark brown to black. Cercus very short ( Fig. 3 ), not reaching half length of epandrium, wide basally and pointed at apex, left and right cerci closely approximated dorsally, distinctly setose. Epandrium wide, rounded at apex ( Fig. 3 ), distinct strong setae on outer face; median row of stronger setae on inner face ( Figs 5, 7 ); articulated to hypandrium by weak point anteriorly. Surstylus absent. Hypandrium inflated, rather rounded, with strong setae; gonocoxal apodeme projecting as narrow process just beyond anterior margin of hypandrium. Subepandrial sclerite with short triangular anterior projection; 2 posterior fine and long finger-like processes with long setae at apex ( Fig. 4 ). Phallus strongly sclerotized ( Fig. 6 ), extending well beyond hypandrium apex, bluntly pointed apically, with apical membranous area, covered with spicules and 2 dorsal hook-like processes apically ( Fig. 7 ). Ejaculatory apodeme absent. Specimen length: 2.8 mm; wing length: 2.1 mm. Female. Unknown.

Geographic distribution. Brazil (Ceará State).

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, “ Brazil, CE[Ceará], Ubajara, P.[arque] N.[acional] Ubajara, Cachoeira do Cafundó. 03º50'13''S – 40º54'35''W, Malaise, 13–17.xi.2012. F.Limeira-de-Oliveira, D.W.A.Marques, cols.” ( CZMA). Paratypes: Same data as holotype (3 ♂, CZMA, 3 ♂, MNWC, 2 ♂, MNRJ). Idem, 18–30.xi.2012, F. Limeira-de-Oliveira, J.S. Pinto Júnior, cols. (4 ♂, INPA). Idem, 01–15.xii.2012 (8 ♂, INPA).

Holotype condition. Good. Not dissected.

Etymology. From the Latin brevis, referring to short length of the cercus.

Variations. Paratypes with body length varying from 2.1–3.1 mm and wing length varying from 1.6–2.6 mm

Remarks. Hemerodromia brevicercata sp. nov. appears to belong to the informal empiformis species group proposed by MacDonald (1998), on the basis of the short cercus, but differs from other species of this group by having a rounded head and different shaped epandrium. Hemerodromia brevicercata sp. nov. is similar to H. coleophora Melander in sharing a similar shaped cercus ( Fig. 10 vs. fig. 17 in MacDonald, 1998). In H. brevicercata sp. nov. the head is rounded ( Fig. 1 ), fore trochanter and femur are brownish ( Fig. 1 ) and epandrium rather narrower apically, with median row of stronger setae on inner face ( Figs 5, 7 ). In H. coleophora the head is flattened dorsoventrally, legs yellowish and epandrium slender and straight basally, and then abruptly enlarged at or slightly beyond the distal third ( MacDonald, 1998, fig. 17).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. Hemerodromia brevicercata sp. nov., 1 – 2, holotype ♂. 3 – 7, paratype ♂. 1, habitus, lateral view; 2, wing; 3, terminalia, lateral view; 4, subepandrial sclerite and epandrium, dorsal view; 5, terminalia, ventral view; 6, phallus, lateral view; 7, apex of the phallus and apex of epandrium, dorsal view.

FIGURES 8 – 14. Hemerodromia carioca sp. nov., holotype ♂. 8., habitus, lateral view; 9, wing; 10, terminalia, lateral view; 11, terminalia, dorsal view; 12, subepandrial sclerite, epandrium and surstylus, dorsal view; 13, phallus, ejaculatory apodeme, gonocoxal apodeme, hypandrium, lateral view; 14, terminalia, ventral view.