Alepia fervida, Bravo, Freddy, 2008

Bravo, Freddy, 2008, Three new species of Alepia Enderlein (Diptera, Psychodidae, Psychodinae) from the Brazilian semi-arid region, Zootaxa 1805, pp. 52-60 : 57-58

Alepia fervida sp. nov.

Figs. 23–30

Type material. Holotype male, Brazil, Paulo Afonso, Raso da Catarina (09° 48´S 38°29´W), 07.VIII.2005, Cordeiro, D. (MZUEFS).

Habitat. The Raso da Catarina is one of the driest areas in the Bahia State and has an almost constant water deficit. The vegetation is an arboreal Caatinga (semi-arid) characterized as a deciduous seasonal forest, with terrestrial Bromeliads and high densities of tall cacti ( IBAMA 2007).

Etymology. fervida Latin , the name refers to the high temperatures common in the Raso da Catarina.

Diagnosis. Eyes separated by 0.5 facet diameters; wing membrane lightly infuscate, with darker areas at tips of some veins, and lighter areas at the end between veins; cercus L-shaped with narrow anterior lobe and presence of accessory tenacula with umbellate tips, the posterior portion with accessory tenacula with clavate tips distributed along the dorsal surface.

Description. Male. Head ( Fig. 23 ): vertex hair patch undivided; eyes separated by 0.5 facet diameters; interocular suture Y-shaped; frons hair patch divided in center. Antenna: scape cylindrical, 2.1X the length of pedicel ( Fig. 24 ); pedicel spherical ( Fig. 24 ); flagellum with 14 flagellomeres, fusiform; flagellomere 14 smaller than previous ones and with apiculus ( Fig. 25 ); ascoids not visible. Palpus formula = 1.0:2.4:2.2:3.2; last palpomere striated ( Fig. 26 ). Wing ( Fig. 27 ): wing membrane lightly infuscate with darker areas at tips of veins R4, M3, M4, CuA and on base of forks R s, R2+3, R5 and M1+2, with pale areas between vein tips; bristles absent in costal and cubital areas; Sc short; radial fork at the same level as medial fork; R5 ending at apex. Male terminalia: hypandrium reduced, only a post-hypandrial plate present, consisting of two narrow lateral sclerites and a bilobed apical sclerite ( Fig. 29 ). Gonocoxite with apical projection ( Fig. 29 ) and long bristles in mid lobe ( Fig. 29 ). Gonocoxal apodeme with fine rugosity of the integument in the apico-lateral area ( Fig.29 ). Gonostylus curved, with hook-shaped apex and with alveoli present along entire surface ( Figs. 28, 29 ). Epandrium subquadrate, naked, with only one central foramen. Cerci L-shaped ( Figs. 28, 30 ) with narrow anterior lobe ( Figs. 28, 30 ); accessory tenacula present along dorsal surface of the cercus ( Figs. 28, 30 ), basal accessory tenacula with umbellate tips and the distal ones with clavate tips ( Figs. 28, 30 ); cerci without apical tenaculum. Sternite 10 short, ending behind distal margin of epandrium; apex triangular and slender. Tergite 10 narrow. Aedeagus slightly curved, pointed at apex, with two sclerotized bands in the basal half; ending before the paramere ( Figs. 28, 29 ); aedeagus shows a clavate tip in ventral view ( Fig. 28 ). Paramere subtriangular, narrow apically ( Fig. 29 ). Aedeagal apodeme racquet-shaped, with apical surface narrower than basal surface ( Fig. 29 ).

Discussion. The new species A. fervida sp. nov. can be differentiated from other species of Alepia by the L-shaped format of its cercus ( Figs. 18, 20 ). No other known species of Alepia has a cercus with the anterior lobe seen in A. fervida sp. nov.

The two other new species of Alepia , A. montana sp. nov. and A. arenivaga sp. nov., present a gonostylus with a pilose basal tubercle, similar to the tubercles observed in A. bisubulata Duckhouse, 1968 (gonostylus protuberance of Quate & Brown 2004: Fig. 132) and A. litotes Quate & Brown, 2004 (globular protuberance of Quate & Brown 2004: Fig. 103). The cercus of A. bisubulata and the two new species ( A. montana sp. nov. and A. arenivaga sp. nov.) are piriform, with a basal cluster of accessory tenacula confined to a dark area near the base. The species A. lilotes can be distinguished from the other three species of Alepia by its elongated cercus without a cluster of basal accessory tenacula.

The species A. bisubulata was described by Duckhouse (1968) based on one specimen, the holotype, from Santa Catarina in southern Brazil. Quate & Brown (2004) re-described A. bisubulata based on specimens from Trinidad, Surinam, French Guiana, and Brazil (Amazon region); these authors mentioned examining the holotype of the species deposited in the British Museum of Natural History. There are, however, a number of incongruities between the original description and drawings of A. bisubulata by Duckhouse (1968) and the redescription and drawings of the same species published by Quate & Brown (2004): 1) according to Duckhouse (1968: 33) the gonocoxite is approximately as long as broad, while figures 132 and 133 of Quate & Brown (2004) shows the gonocoxite to be longer than wide; 2) Quate & Brown (2004) describe a gonocoxite with a subapical, ventral tubercle bearing a cluster of 10 or more hairs, although there is no mention or drawing of this structure in Duckhouse (1968); 3) according Quate & Brown (2004) the gonostylus of A. bisubulata ends in a small hook, but Duckhouse (1968) did not mention this character nor illustrate the gonostylus shape in his figure 12; 4) Quate & Brown (2004) describe the distiphallus as ending in a sharp, upturned apex ( Quate & Brown 2004: Fig. 133), while Duckhouse (1968) describes an “aedeagus with intromittent part comprising a long blade-like element with pointed tip” ( Duckhouse 1968: Fig. 12 ); 5) figures 132 and 133 of Quate & Brown (2004) show the aedeagus ending behind the gonostylus, while figure 12 of Duckhouse (1968) show the aedeagus ending before the gonostylus; 6) according Quate & Brown (2004) the head has an undivided hair patch, while Duckhouse (1968) states that this hair patch is divided in the center. On the other hand, Quate & Brown (2004) do not mention the small bristles in the costal and cubital areas that Duckhouse (1968) describes and illustrates for A. bisubulata .

Four similarities can be observed between the description of Duckhouse (1968) and the re-description of A. bisubulata proposed by Quate & Brown (2004): 1) interocular suture without a spur and separated in center ( Quate & Brown 2004:53, Duckhouse 1968: Fig. 9 ); 2) basal flagellomeres with very short internodes; 3) identical wing infuscation patterns; 4) presence of small pilose tubercles at the base of the gonostylus.

Based on the arguments presented above, and principally on the differences mentioned between the descriptions of A. bisubulata by Duckhouse (1968) and the re-description by Quate & Brown (2004) for the same species, the specimens studied by Quate & Brown (2004) probably constitute a new undescribed species of Alepia . However, a taxonomic decision can only be made following the examination of the specimens viewed by Quate & Brown (2004) as well as the holotype because these authors affirm that the holotype was examined.

The new species A. montana sp. nov. and A. arenivaga sp. nov. are morphologically similar to A. bisubulata (according to original description of Duckhouse 1968), having: 1) a vertex hair patch divided by a narrow medial band free of bristles, V-shaped; 2) wing membranes with small bristles in the costal and cubital regions; 3) R2+3 and M2 incomplete; 4) gonocoxite about as long as broad; 5) gonocoxite without small hairy tubercle; 6) apex of gonostylus straight; 7) base of gonostylus with hairy tubercle.

The new species A. montana sp. nov. and A. arenivaga sp. nov. can be differentiated from A. bisubulata by three characters: 1) the distance between the eyes (7 diameter rows in the latter species and 3 in the two new species); 2) the interocular suture without a spur but joined in the center; 3) the wing membrane (infuscate with clear spots between vein tips in A. bisubulata , while the two new species do not show this pattern of infuscation) (see the figures 6, 17).

The new species A. montana sp. nov. can be differentiated from the new species A. arenivaga sp. nov. mainly by the format of the aedeagus, being wider in A. arenivaga sp. nov. than in A. montana sp. nov. ( Figs. 9, 11, 12 , 26 ). Another difference can be seen in the shape of the gonocoxal bridge, which is wider and longer in A. arenivaga sp. nov. than in A. montana sp. nov. ( Figs. 9 , 26 ).

Three new species of the genus Alepia were described here: A. arenivaga sp. nov., A. fervida sp. nov. and A. montana sp. nov. These species were collected in three different localities and vegetation types in northern Bahia State (Pilão Arcado, Raso da Catarina and Senhor do Bonfim/Serra da Maravilha) within the Brazilian semi-arid Caatinga biome. This biome comprises an area of 800.000 km 2 in northeastern Brazil ( Fernandes 1996), characterized by a long dry season (6–11 months) and low precipitation levels (300–1000 mm /year), with rainfall usually occurring between November and March ( Behling et al. 2000, Queiroz 2006). Another five species of Psychodidae were previously recorded from this Biome, the Brazilian semi-arid, all of them of the Psychodinae subfamily: Psychoda divaricata Duckhouse, 1968 (Senhor do Bonfim), Psychoda zetoscota Quate, 1959 (Senhor do Bonfim), Psychoda dantilandensis Bravo, Cordeiro & Chagas, 2006 (Dantilândia, Vitória da Conquista), Psychoda serraorobonensis Bravo Cordeiro & Chagas, 2006 (Ruy Barbosa) ( Bravo, Cordeiro & Chagas 2006) and Australopericoma dissimilis Bravo, 2007 (Pilão Arcado) ( Bravo 2007) .

Figures

FIGURES 23 – 30. Alepia fervida Bravo, sp. nov., male. Figs. 23 – 30, holotype. 23. Head. 24. Antenna: scape, pedicel and basal flagellomeres. 25. Antenna: flagellomeres 12 – 14, holotype. 26. Palpus. 27. Wing. 28 – 30, male terminalia. 28. Lateral. 29. Dorsal. 30. Cercus.

FIGURES 13 – 22. Alepia arenivaga Bravo, sp. nov., male. Figs. 13 – 22 paratype, except of 16, 17, 18 (holotype); Figs. 13. Head. 14. Antenna: scape, pedicel and basal flagellomeres. 15. Antenna: flagellomeres 11 – 14. 16. Palpus. 17. Wing. 18 – 22, male terminalia. 18. Dorsal. 19. Lateral. 20. Accessory tenaculum with clavate tip. 21. Gonocoxite and gonostylus. 22. Apical tenaculum.

FIGURES 8 – 12. 8 – 11. Alepia montana Bravo, sp. nov., male terminalia. Figs. 8 – 11 holotype, except of 8 (paratype). 8. Lateral. 9. Dorsal. 10. Ventral. 11. Aedeagal apodeme. 12. Alepia arenivaga Bravo, sp. nov., male terminalia, aedeagal apodeme, holotype.