Nephochaetopteryx spinosa Dodge

Carvalho-Filho, Fernando Da Silva, Esposito, Maria Cristina & Mello-Patiu, Cátia Antunes De, 2021, Revision of Nephochaetopteryx Townsend, 1934 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), Zootaxa 4928 (1), pp. 1-83 : 68

Nephochaetopteryx spinosa Dodge

( Fig. 31 )

Nephochaetopteryx spinosa Dodge, 1968b: 423 (key), 437 (description of male). Type locality: Panama, Canal Zone, Barro Colorado Island. Other references: Pape (1996: 262; catalog).

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE ♁ ( SEMC): PANAMA-Canal Zone / Barro Colorado Island / 24.IV.1956 / Carl W. & Morlan E. / Rettenmeyer No. [printed and handwritten on rectangular white label bordered with red] // HOLOTYPE / Nephochaetopteryx / spinosa / Dodge [printed and handwritten on rectangular white label bordered with red]. [Holotype in good condition, with terminalia extended and one detached wing glued to the specimen label.]

Additional material examined. Brazil. Rondônia: Vilhena , 15.X.1986, leg. C. Elias (1 ♁, DZUP) . Paraguay. Canindeyú: Reserva Natural del Bosque Ubaracajú: Jejui-mí , bosque bajo inundado [= lowland flooded forest], Malaise trap, 29.III–9.IV.1996, leg. A.C.F. Costa (1 ♁, DZUP) .

Redescription. Male. Length = 5.0–7.0 mm (n = 3).

Head. Fronto-orbital, parafacial plates and postocular strip with golden microtomentum. Frontal vitta black, with basal half reddish-brown. Five frontal setae. Gena and postgena with golden microtomentum. Palpus brown.

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: dorsocentrals 2+4 (first two weak); intra-alars 2+2; supra-alars 2+3, notopleurals 1 subprimary; anepisternals 7; merals 5. Ctenidium consisting of four spines. Mid femur with two median setae and a differentiated posteroventral seta. Wing hyaline; vein R 4+5 setulose dorsally to crossvein r-m.

Abdomen. Tergites brown with a band of grayish microtomentum on anterior 4/5 of dorsal and lateral surfaces. Sternite 2 yellow, sternites 3 and 4 brown with yellowish setulae and with marginal setae.

Terminalia. Sternite 5 brown, longer than wide; with a shallow cleft, not surpassing the anterior margin of lobe; lobe rounded, with a tuft of short setulae; arm small, with rounded apex ( Fig. 31E ). Cercus shorter than epandrium, in lateral view straight with rectangular tip bearing a small point on ventral margin ( Fig. 31A ). Cercal prongs parallel in dorsal view ( Fig. 31B ). Cercus without setulae on outer lateral and apical margins, with thick setae on proximal region ( Figs 31 A–B). Surstylus almost triangular, with rounded apex, a patch of setulae close to anterior margin and small and pointed setae restricted to posterior half ( Fig. 31A ). Pregonite widened, strongly curved anteriorly with some spine-like setae on posterior margin; sinuous anterior margin with a finger-like projection basally ( Fig. 31C ). Postgonite shorter than pregonite, tapering distally, curved anteriorly, with small, pointed setae and thick seta on anterior margin ( Fig. 31D ). Basiphallus short (about one third length of distiphallus), T-shaped ( Fig. 31F ). Distiphallus L-shaped with distal portion widened, ventral margin serrated ( Fig. 31F ). Vesica L-shaped with a conspicuous middle rectangular projection ( Fig. 31F ). Inner process of vesica short ( Fig. 31F ). Lateral and median styli short, of about one-third width as the widest portion of lateral wall of distiphallus, and both inserted close to apical surface of distiphallus ( Fig. 31F ).

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL—Brazil (Rondônia), Panama ( Panama), Paraguay (Canindeyú).

Remarks. This species is similar to N. pallidiventris and N. boruca sp. nov. in having a T-shaped basiphallus, an L-shaped vesica and male sternite 5 longer than wide. Nephochaetopteryx pallidiventris differs from N. spinosa in having vesica with a rounded middle projection. In N. spinosa this projection is rectangular. The differences between N. spinosa and N. boruca sp. nov. are mentioned in the remarks under the latter species.

Figures

FIGURE 31. Nephochaetopteryx spinosa Dodge, 1968, male terminalia. Specimen from Canindeyú, Paraguay (DZUP). A. Epandrium, surstylus and cercus, left lateral view. B. Cerci, dorsal view (setation omitted on the left side). C. Pregonite, left lateral view. D. Postgonite, left lateral view. E. Sternite 5, venral view (setation omitted on the right side). F. Phallus, left lateral view; arrow showing median rectangular projection of vesica.Abbreviations: bp = basiphallus; dp = distiphallus; ip = inner process of vesica; ls = lateral stylus; ms = median stylus; ve = vesica. Scale bars: A, B, E = 0.1 mm; C, D, F = 0.05 mm.