Paracanace Mathis and Wirth

Mathis, Wayne N. & Marinoni, Luciane, 2012, A conspectus on the Canacidae (Diptera) of Brazil, ZooKeys 162, pp. 59-92 : 69-70

Genus Paracanace Mathis and Wirth (8 species in the New World; 1 from Brazil)

Paracanace Mathis and Wirth 1978: 524. Type species: Paracanace hoguei Mathis and Wirth 1978, by original designation. Mathis 1989: 600-603 [review of Caribbean and nearby fauna]; 1992: 10 [world catalog]; 1997: 140-148 [review of hoguei group]. Munari and Mathis 2010: 24-24 [world catalog].

Canace , in part, of authors. Wirth 1975: 1 [Neotropical catalog].

Diagnosis.

Small to moderately small beach flies, body length 1.40-2.60 mm; generally densely microtomentose, gray, with face and gena usually whitish gray, frons light brown, mesonotum with some brown coloration. Head: Interfrontal setae 2; postocellar seta well developed, proclinate and very slightly divergent, subequal in length to interfrontal setae; ocelli arranged in isosceles triangle, with greater distance between posterior ocelli. Two to 3 large dorsoclinate genal setae; anteroclinate genal seta well developed, subequal in length to larger dorsoclinate genal setae; epistomal margin sinuous; clypeus low, width more than 4 × height; palpus yellowish. Thorax: Mesonotum darker than pleural areas, usually light to blackish brown, becoming lighter laterally. Acrostichal setulae in 2-4 irregular rows, with a distinctly larger prescutellar pair; scutellar disc lacking setulae; apical scutellar setae not oriented dorsally; anterior notopleural seta usually present (very weak or absent in one species); proepisternal seta(e) present; anepisternum with scattered setulae; katepisternal seta present. Femora and tibiae gray to blackish gray; tarsomeres yellow to dark brown, apical 2-3 tarsomeres darker; midfemur of male bearing comblike row of setae along posteroventral surface; midtibia bearing short evenly spaced setulae along ventral surface; hindtibia lacking spinelike setae apically. Wing with length of apical section of vein CuA1 twice or more that of crossvein dm-cu; M vein ratio 0.35-0.45. Abdomen: Male terminalia: Surstylus a simple, narrow, posteriorly shallowly curved, setulose process extended from ventral margin of epandrium.

Discussion.

Like Canacea , all of the described species of Paracanace occur in the New World, with primarily tropical or subtropical distributions ( Mathis and Wirth 1978).

Although two species groups are recognized in the key to species within Paracanace , adhering to the cladogram for the species of this genus ( Mathis and Wirth 1978: 535), these groups are mostly for convenience and no phylogenetic signal should be attributed.

Key to Species of Paracanace