Ommatius praelongus, Scarbrough & Perez-Gelabert, 2006

Scarbrough, Aubrey G. & Perez-Gelabert, Daniel E., 2006, A review of the asilid (Diptera) fauna from Hispaniola with six genera new to the island, fifteen new species, and checklist, Zootaxa 1381, pp. 1-91 : 66-70

Ommatius praelongus sp. nov.

( Table 1, Figs. 51, 58, 83–90)

Male. Black, pleura entirely tomentose, yellow setose, unsually long discal and m 3 cells. Measurements, body 11.8–13.5 mm; wing 9.5–10.5 mm. Head: Yellowish tomentose, yellow setose. Face narrow, sparsely setose dorsally, mystax dense, about as long as proboscis, 4–6 black bristles present; face at antenna 1/9 as wide as head. Palpus yellow apically, brown basally. Proboscis black, narrow base yellow ventrally, sparsely setose basally. Antenna with scape and pedicel yellowish, black setose, scape ventrally, sometimes yellow setose partially dorsally; flagellum blackish, about as wide as pedicel; style with several ventral setae extending from base to apex, none exceptionally short. Frons parallel sided, not convergent dorsally. Ocellar tubercle, longer than wide, about 1/2 as wide as vertex, with 5–6 short yellowish or yellowish and black mixed setae, 2 blackish setae slightly longer than scape and pedicel combined. Occiput yellowish-gray tomentose, vestiture pale, setae most abundant ventrally, postocular bristles thin, yellowish, sometimes one or 2 blackish, apices just beyond posterior margin of eye.

Thorax: Prothorax grayish tomentose, vestiture pale, one or 2 bristles blackish; prosternum yellow. Scutum brownish or brownish-yellow tomentose dorsally, wide apical and lateral margins yellowish-gray or grayish; setae sparse, blackish dorsally, pale laterally; 4 lateral bristles and 3 dorsocentral bristles blackish, long, thin, notopleural bristle short, about 1/3 or 1/2 as long as supra-alar and postalar bristles, dorsocentral bristles, thinner, shorter than lateral bristles. Scutellum sparsely yellow setose, 2 marginal bristles yellow or mixed brown, sparse, thin, seta sometimes present. Pleura entirely tomentose, yellowish or white, vestiture white or yellowish, anepisternum with abundant setae posteriorly, anepimeron with 2–3 bristly setae; metapleuron and metacoxa yellow. Halter yellowish.

Wing ( Fig. 51): Hyaline, cells r 4 and m 1 short; base of r 4 at apex of cell d, about 1/2 as wide as cell at wing margin, veins divergent just before apex; cell m 1 divergent apically, much wider at wing margin, base of M 1 curved or angular. Cells d and m 3 narrow, unusually long, former slightly less than 1/2 as long as wing, latter about 1/3; r-m crossvein beyond middle of cell d; cells d and m 3 and narrow base of m 1 opaque; M 2 short, joining base of cell m 3, Cu joins M 3 slightly beyond base of cell m 3.

Legs: Coxae yellow, base of middle coxa narrowly blackish, grayish tomentose, vestiture yellowish, apical bristles stout. Trochanters yellow, narrow margins brown. Femora and tibiae mostly yellow, largely blackish setose, bristles largely thin, yellowish. Fore femur slightly brownish anteriorly; apical 1/3 twice as wide as base, somewhat flat, concave anteriorly with abundant short pale setae, swollen posteriorly with 3 black bristles dorsally, abundant whitish hooked setae ventrally, one blackish basomedially. Middle and hind femora with long blackish spot dorsally, color extending ventrally onto anterior and ventral surfaces, spot about 1/2 as long as femora; middle femur with row of 4–5 black bristles anteriorly, basal 2 contrastingly long. Hind femur narrow, 6–7 times as long as wide; 2 long yellowish posteroventral bristles basally. Tibiae with long yellowish bristles, sparse short bristles black; fore and middle tibiae yellow, basal 1/3 and apical 1/4 of hind tibia yellow, blackish medially. Tarsi black setose, most bristles black, 2–3 bristles on fore and middle tarsi yellowish; fore and middle tarsi yellowish, darker brownish-yellow or brownish apically; hind tarsus yellowish-brown or blackish basally, basal tarsomere swollen, about 2 times as wide as second tarsomere, stout capitate bristle apically.

Abdomen: Black, narrow apical margins of basal 4–5 segments and lateral margins of tergites yellow, sparse yellowish or yellowish-gray tomentose, mostly yellow setose; tergites dorsally black setose, segments 6–8 black. Sternites 1–4 and 7–8 yellow setose, thin long bristles on apical 1/2 of sternites 3–4; apical 1/2 of sternite 5 with short, thin, brown bristles, each slightly bent apically, diameter about same except slightly pointed at apex. Sternite 6 with abundant short setae, slightly bent apically, apex blunt medially, latter margined with thinner, longer, yellow setae; apical 1/2 extremely dense mass of long, thin, brown or brownish-yellow bristles laterally, apices strongly curved medially, mass often concealing base of sternite 7. Sternite 7 with long thin yellow bristles laterally, apical bristles shorter.

Terminalia ( Figs. 83–87): Black, yellow and black setose. Epandrium narrow, apex round, not pointed. Gonostylus yellow, with large spatulate lobes basally. Aedeagus with distiphallus curved dorsally, tubular, with prominent ventral flange. Hypandrium broadly rounded.

Female. Measurements, body 11.3 mm; wing 9.5 mm. Face with sparse vestiture. Pedicel brownish apically. Frons slightly convergent dorsally. Ocellar tubercle with 2 setae as long as pedicel and scape combined. Pronotum with thin, white bristles. Marginal bristles black. Pleura grayish tomentose. Wing entirely hyaline, veins Cu and M fused just before apex of cell d. Legs normal with only thin bristles; brown color darker, often extending completely across anterior surface or connecting ventrally as band on hind femur. Tibiae with only black bristles, narrow apex of fore and middle tibiae brownish, hind tibia with apex narrowly brownish-yellow or reddish. Tarsi darker brown, hind tibiae almost entirely brown or blackish, bristles black, basal tarsomere of hind tarsus wider than second tarsomere, stout, apically capitate bristles absent. Abdomen normal, without unusual vestiture; apical sternites with scattered black setae. Terminalia ( Figs. 88–90). Sternite 8 longer than wide. Genital fork mostly membranous, narrow dorsal arms sclerotized. spermatheca oval.

Types. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: RD-266 Las Abejas, P.N. / Sierra de Bahoruco, Peder- / nales prov., 1,310 m, / 18 o 09.011'N 71 o 37.342'W, / 11.vii.2004, D.Perez (d/n) (holotype ♂, USNM). Paratypes , same data holotype (8 ♂, 1 ♀, USNM, MHND) .

Distribution. Captured at intermediate elevations (1310 meters) during July in Pedernales province.

Etymology. Latin adjective praelongus for 'elongated', referring to the long, narrow d and m 3 cells of the wing.

Remarks. Ommatius praelongus is distinguished from congeners by the characters in the key, the yellowish metapleuron and metacoxa, the posterior patch of long setae on the anepisternum, the exceptionally enlarged basal tarsomere and capitate bristle on the hind tarsus, distinctive vestiture of sternites 4–7 ( Fig. 58), and combined characters of the terminalia ( Figs. 83–90).