Pseudogaurax braoculatus Carvalho-Filho, Cruz & Monteiro, 2024

Carvalho-Filho, Fernando S., Cruz, Vanessa C., Monteiro, Nilton J. S. & Kloss, Thiago G., 2024, Description of new species of Pseudogaurax Malloch (Diptera: Chloropidae) from Brazil, with notes on natural history, Zootaxa 5433 (2), pp. 207-230 : 213-214

Pseudogaurax braoculatus Carvalho-Filho, Cruz & Monteiro , sp. nov.

( Figs. 5–6 , 14D )

Material examined. Holotype male labelled as follow: Belém, PA [= state of Pará], Brasil [= Brazil] / Campus MPEG [= Research Campus of Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi] / 11.IX.2018 / F.S. Carvalho-Filho [collector] // Ooteca / Stagmatoptera binotata [= reared from ootheca of Stagmatoptera binotata ]

Diagnosis. Scutum with dark yellow longitudinal stripes ( Figs 5A , 14D ); scutellum as long as wide, completely yellow ( Fig. 5A ); fore tarsus black; hind tibia with a dark brown median spot dorsally on posterior face; abdomen predominately yellow, with a small mesal dark spot on tergites 3 and 4 ( Fig. 5D ).

Description. Body length 2.0 mm; wing length 1.8 mm. Head ( Figs 5A–C ). Pale yellow; ocellar triangle yellow with a narrow median black stripe, reaching to about ¾ of apex of frons; frons with yellow setae; fronto-orbital setae yellow; occiput entirely yellow; ocellar setae reclinate and convergent; postocellar as long as the outer vertical setae, cruciate; a row of interfrontal setulae curved inwards, yellow; gena yellow with whitish microtomentum; vibrissa slightly distinct, yellow, as long as the genal pilosity; antenna yellow; first flagellomere rounded, yellow and with a small median black spot in the anterior margin of inner face, arista yellow, with short and sparse pilosity; palpus yellow, with pale yellow setulae; proboscis dark yellow, with pale yellow setulae.

Thorax ( Figs 5A–B, 5E , 14D ). Scutum pale yellow covered with yellow setulae, with slight indistinct dark yellow longitudinal stripes, acrostichal stripe complete and as wide as half width of scutellum, dorsocentral stripe divided by the transverse suture, intra-alar stripe absent; postpronotum entirely yellow; scutellum pale yellow, as long as wide dorsally, with yellow setulae; subscutellum dark yellow; pleuron yellow, with a large dark brown spot along lower margin of anepisternum; 1+2 notopleural setae; legs entirely yellow except dark brown fore tibia and tarsus and a mesal black spot on posterior face of hind tibia; tibial organ whitish yellow, reaching half length of hind tibia. Wing. Hyaline; tegula with yellowish setulae; halter pale yellow.

Abdomen ( Fig. 5D ). Syntergite 1+2 and tergite 3 yellow; tergite 4 yellow with an almost triangular median black spot in the posterior margin; tergite 5 yellow with a broad median black stripe. Male terminalia ( Fig. 6 ). Epandrium rounded, wider than long posteriorly; cerci about twice as long as wide in dorsal view diverging apically and separated by deep U-shaped ventral cleft, each cercus with quadrate apex with many small setae dorsally and a long slender seta apically; surstylus well-developed, shorter than epandrium, tongue-shaped in dorsal view, with rounded apex, with some long setae; hypandrium almost quadrate in lateral view; distiphallus long, membranous and striated; postgonite well-sclerotized, broad and rounded, with one seta basally; phallapodeme elongate and entire apically.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. The specific name is a combination of bra - from Brazil and oculatus , the species which the new one resembles.

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL – Brazil (Pará).

Natural history. This species was reared from an ootheca of Stagmatoptera binotata Saussure ( Mantodea : Mantidae ) found in a secondary forest in the Brazilian Amazon. Although Pseudogaurax is known to parasite the oothecae of Mantodea , the only Neotropical species recorded breeding on mantid eggs is P. longilineatus Sabrosky ( Sabrosky 1949, Travassos & Carrera 1949).

Remarks. The color patter of scutum and scutellum of the new species is similar to that of P. oculatus , P. rufus , P. oecetiphagus , P. mexoculatus , P. idiogenes , P. amazonica sp. nov., and P. cyclosa sp. nov. It differs from these species in having tergites 3 and 4 yellow with a small median dark spot. In the other six species, these tergites are predominately brown. In addition, P. braoculatus sp. nov. differs from P. idiogenes , P. rufus , P. oculatus , and P. oecetiphagus in having fore femur dak brown (yellow in these four species). The new species also differs from P. oecetiphagus by the yellow anepisternum with a dark brown mark (fully yellow in P. oecetiphagus ). The shape of cercus of P. braoculatus sp. nov. differs from that of P. cyclosa sp. nov. in being composed of a well-developed and quadrate lobe ( Fig. 6 ). In P. cyclosa sp. nov. the cercus is composed of two short lobes ( Figs 8 A–B ).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Pseudogaurax braoculatus sp. nov., holotype male. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Habitus, lateral view. C. Head, frontal view. D. Abdomen, dorsal view. E. Hind tibia, posterior view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 6. Pseudogaurax braoculatus sp. nov., holotype male terminalia. A. Posterodorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Ventral view. Abbreviations: cer = cercus; ep = epandrium; hyp = hypandrium; phal = phallus; phap = phallapodeme; pgt = postgonite; sur = surstylus. Scale bars: 100 µm.

FIGURE 8. Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. nov., holotype male terminalia. A. Posterodorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Ventral view. Abbreviations: cer = cercus; ep = epandrium; hyp = hypandrium; phal = phallus; phap = phallapodeme; pgt = postgonite; sur = surstylus. Scale bars: 250 µm.

FIGURE 14. Pseudogaurax species. A. Pseudogaurax flaviscutellatus Marques, Riccardi & Ale-Rocha, 2022, head, lateral view. B–F. Thorax, dorsal view. B. Pseudogaurax alvinae sp. nov. C. Pseudogaurax amazonica sp. nov. D. Pseudogaurax cyclosa sp. nov. and Pseudogaurax braoculatus sp. nov. E. Pseudogaurax primavera sp. nov. F. Pseudogaurax wheeleri sp. nov.