Ommatius geminus, 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 : 51-53

Ommatius geminus sp. nov.

( Table 1, Figs. 46, 53, 59–66)

Male. Black, pleura entirely tomentose, hind tibia blackish. Measurements, body 14.0 mm; wing 10.3 mm. Head: Face yellowish tomentose dorsally, white ventrally, sparsely pale setose, mystax white, slightly shorter than proboscis, 6 black bristles present; face at antenna 1/9 as wide as head. Palpus brown basally, paler brown with whitish setae apically. Proboscis black, narrow base paler brown ventrally, sparsely white setose basally. Antenna mostly brown or black, black setose; pedicel with narrow base yellowish, wider than flagellum, apex of stout bristle at apex of flagellum ventrally; scape partly yellow setose dorsally; flagellum black; style with several ventral setae extending from base to apex, none exceptionally short. Frons brownish-yellow tomentose, brown or yellow and brown mixed setose, parallel sided, slightly convergentdorsally. Ocellar tubercle, longer than wide, about 1/2 as wide as vertex, black setose, 2 setae slightly longer than scape and pedicel combined. Occiput yellowish-gray tomentose dorsally, gray ventrally, vestiture pale, setae most abundant ventrally, 5–6 thin blackish postocular bristles, proclinate, apex just beyond posterior margin of eye.

Thorax: Prothorax brownish-yellow tomentose dorsally, gray laterally, vestiture pale, 4 pale bristles; prosternum yellow. Scutum brownish or brownish-yellow tomentose dorsally, margins brownish-yellow or yellow; setae sparse, blackish dorsally, pale laterally; 4 long, thin, lateral bristles and 3 dorsocentral bristles blackish, 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 brownish-yellow tomentose, sparsely yellow setose, 2 blackish marginal bristles and 2–3 thin, marginal setae sometimes present. Pleura entirely tomentose, brownish-yellowish anteriorly, yellowishgray or gray posteriorly, vestiture white or yellowish, anepisternum sparsely setose posteriorly, anepimeron with long, stout, yellowish bristle, metacoxa blackish medially, yellow laterally. Halter yellowish, stalk whitish.

Wing ( Fig. 46): Hyaline, costal cell brownish; cells r 4 and m 1 moderately long; base of r 4 beyond apex of cell d, about 2/3 as wide as cell at wing margin, veins divergent just before apex; base of m 1 narrow, about 1/7 as wide as cell at basal 1/3, divergent apically, much wider at wing margin, base of M 1 angular. Cells d and m 3 narrow, former 1/3 as long as wing, latter about 1/4; r-m crossvein at apical 1/3 of cell d; cu-m angular, Cu joins M 3 slightly beyond base of cell m 3.

Legs: Fore coxa yellow, middle coxa mostly black, hind coxa blackish anteriorly; coxae grayish tomentose, vestiture yellowish, apical bristles thin. Fore and middle trochanters yellow, narrow margins brown; hind trochanter brown. Fore and middle femora mostly yellow, blackish anteriorly and posteriorly; hind femur mostly black, yellow ventrally and narrow ventral surfaces anteriorly and poseriorly; setae black, bristles mostly thin, short, and yellowish ventrally. Fore femur narrow apically, abruptly wider than hind femur, swollen posteriorly with sigmoid black bristle, and pale brownish-yellow callus-like groove. Middle femur with only 2 black bristles anteriorly. Hind femur narrow, 7 times as long as wide, 2 long yellowish posteroventral bristles basally. Tibiae with only black bristles, 2–3 on middle tibiae long and thin, dense setae yellowish; fore and middle tibiae yellow except basal 1/3 anteriorly and entire anterior surface, respectively; hind tibia black except basal 1/3 posteriorly. Tarsi black, black setose, bristles black except one on fore tarsus; basal tarsomere of fore and middle tarsi yellowish, narrow apex reddish or brownish; hind tarsus with basal tarsomere about 1/3 wider than second tarsomere, 3 stout bristles present apically.

Abdomen: Black, narrow apical margins of basal 4–5 segments and lateral margins of tergites yellow, grayish tomentose, basal 2–3 segments and lateral margins of tergites dense, setae largely yellow, long, somewhat stout on tergites 2–5, those laterally on sternites 3–5 somewhat bristly in 2 parallel rows; sternite 6 ( Fig. 53) with dense, cluster of long, overlapping, brown bristles apically, row of thin setae posteriorly; apical margin of sternite 7 produced ventrally with abundant bristly setae.

Terminalia ( Figs. 59–63): Black, yellow and black setose. Epandrium narrow, apex round, not pointed. Gonostylus yellow, with large spatulate lobes basally. Aedeagus wide basally, narrowed apically, curved dorsally, apex expanded. Hypandrium broadly rounded.

Female. Measurements, body 13.0– 13.1 mm; wing 10.0– 10.5mm. Face yellowish tomentose, sparse brown setae sometimes dorsally, width at antenna 1/8 as wide as head. Scutellum yellow tomentose, sparse brown setose; pleura yellow or yellowish tomentose, anepimeral bristle yellow or brown; metacoxa largely black. Legs normal, middle coxa black; middle and hind femur with black anteroventral bristles; fore and middle tibiae black anteriorly, bristles black. Tarsi blackish or black except basal tarsomeres of fore and middle tarsi brownish-yellow; bristles black; hind tarsus with basal 2 tarsomeres wider than apical 3tarsomeres. Abdomen without unusual vestiture; segments 6–8 black, sternite 7 black setose. Terminalia ( Figs. 64–66).

Types. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Vega prov., P.N. Armando / Bermúdez km 1.3 along trail / W of La Ciénaga 900–1100 m / 19 o 01.753'N 70 o 54.654'W / 22 June 2005 ~ S.W.Lingafelter / collector/ UV light (holotype ♂, USNM) . Paratypes, same data as holotype (2 ♀, USNM) ; RD-251 Los Tablones – La / Laguna, P.N. Armando Ber / múdez La Vega prov., 1270 / - 1,980 m. 30.vi.2004 D. / Perez (d) (1 ♂, MHND) ; RD-256 La Compartición - / Los Tablones, P.N. Armando / Bermúdez , La Vega prov., 2,450 – 1,110 m, 3.vii 2004, D.Perez (d) (1 ♀, USNM) .

Distribution. Captured in June and July at intermediate to high elevations (900 and 2450 m) in National Park Armando Bermúdez, La Vega province.

Etymology. Latin geminus for twin, referring to the similarity of this species and O. praelongus .

Remarks. Ommatius geminus is distinctive from congeners by the characters in the key, the largely black middle coxa, dense cluster of bristles in the apical corner of sternite 6 ( Fig. 53), the produced sternite 7, and the combined characters of the terminalia ( Figs. 59–66). Ommatius geminus is further distinguished from O. praelongus by the partially blackish metacoxa, shorter cell m 3 ( Fig. 46), the black palpus and proboscis, and sparse anepisternal setae. The male is also distinguished by the long sigmoid black bristle and grooved yellowish callus on the fore femur posteriorly, 2–3 apical bristles on the hind basotarsomere, and the numerous yellow bristles on tergites 3–5 laterally. In O. praelongus , these characters are absent. The pale yellow callus is narrow and limited to the dorsal margin of the fore femur and a capitate bristle is present on the apex of the hind basomere.