Pseudosympycnus palpiger (Van Duzee)

Soares, Matheus M. M. & Capellari, Renato S., 2020, Review of the Neotropical genus Pseudosympycnus (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) with description of six new species from Brazil and Peru, Zootaxa 4881 (2), pp. 231-256 : 245

Pseudosympycnus palpiger (Van Duzee)

( Figs 7 , 14 , 30–32 , 55–57 , 86 )

Sympycnus palpiger Van Duzee, 1931: 177 , figs 14–15. Type locality: Barro Colorado Island, Panama.

Diagnosis (male). Metepimeron yellow ( Fig. 7 ). Femora entirely yellow ( Fig. 7 ). Tibia I not compressed. Tarsus I ( Figs 55, 56 ) brown, but anterior surface of It 4–5 (sometimes also It 3) covered by whitish pubescence: It 2 with 4 long ventral setae and 2 bristles at apex. It 4–5 laterally flattened (sometimes also It 3). Tarsus II unmodified. Tarsus III ( Fig. 57 ): IIIt 3–4 with row of setae decreasing in size towards apex.

Type material. PARATYPE Ƌ, labelled: “ Barro Colo [Colorado] Isld. [ Island] / Canal Zone / 4.i.1929 ” “Col-lector / C. H. Curran ” “MCVanDuzee / Collection” “ Sympycnus / palpiger / Paratype Van Duzee” ( CAS). PARA-TYPE ♀ : same data ( CAS) .

Additional material examined. BRAZIL. Acre, Mâncio Lima, Parque Nacional Serra do Divisor, Malaise , 5.vi.2007, L. Menezes leg. (3 Ƌ, 1 ♀) ; same data except, 5.viii.2007 (3 Ƌ, 5 ♀) ; same data except, 5.ix.2007 (4 Ƌ, 2 ♀) ; same data except, 5.x.2007 (3 Ƌ, 1 ♀ all MZUSP) ; same data except, Igarapé do Amor, Malaise , 04.iii– 04.iv.2007, Calor, A. R . & D. Viana (2 Ƌ, INPA, 1 Ƌ MZUSP) . Amazonas, Manaus , Res. Km 41, PDBFF , Trilha CI-SB, 07–08.vii.2004, R . Querino col. (1 Ƌ INPA, 1 Ƌ, MZUSP).

Remarks. Couplet 2 in Robinson’s (1967) key states that the male hind tarsus of P. palpiger is devoid of series of erect setae, which is indeed inferred by Van Duzee’s (1931) figure 15. Nevertheless, Van Duzee’s original description states: “ third and fourth [tarsomeres of hind tarsus] long, bearing a row of curved hairs, which are rather long ” (p. 177). Examination of the male paratype (CAS) enabled us to confirm the presence of such setae on the hind tarsus of this species ( Fig. 57 ).

We found specimens of Pseudosympycnus from Acre ( Brazil) with It 3–5 flattened and covered by dense whitish pubescence ( Fig. 56 ) in sympatry with specimens of P. palpiger . Otherwise those specimens fit very well in P. palpiger , including hypopygial morphology. We concluded this is part of intraspecific variation of the species, so that we refrained to describe them as new. Nevertheless more specimens from different localities are needed to confirm it as populational variation.

Distribution. Panama, Brazil (States of Acre and Amazonas) ( Fig. 86 ).

Figures

FIGURE 86. Known geographic distribution of species of Pseudosympycnus Robinson.

FIGURES 7–11. Pseudosympycnus Robinson. Habitus. 7. P. palpiger (Van Duzee, 1931), paratype Ƌ; 8. P. perornatus Robinson, 1967, paratype Ƌ; 9. P. robinsoni sp. nov., holotype Ƌ; 10. P. sehnali sp. nov., holotype Ƌ; 11. P. singularis (Parent, 1934), syntype Ƌ (photo: Erica McAlister). Scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURES 12–15. Pseudosympycnus Robinson. Male palpus under scanning electron microscopy. 12. P. bickeli sp. nov., holotype Ƌ; 13. P. latitibia sp. nov., paratype Ƌ; 14. P. palpiger (Van Duzee, 1931), paratype Ƌ; 15. P. robinsoni sp. nov., holotype Ƌ. Scale bars = 0.1 mm. Photogaphs: L.C. Dias.

FIGURES 30–39. Pseudosympycnus Robinson. Head. 30–32. P. palpiger (Van Duzee, 1931). 30–31. Paratype Ƌ. 30. Anterior view. 31. Lateral view. 32. Paratype ♀, anterior view. 33–35. P. perornatus Robinson, 1967. 33–34. Paratype Ƌ. 33. Anterior view. 34. Lateral view. 35. Paratype ♀, anterior view; 36–37. P. robinsoni sp. nov., holotype Ƌ. 36. Anterior view. 37. Lateral view; 38–39. P. sehnali sp. nov., holotype Ƌ. 38. Anterior view. 39. Lateral view. Scale bars = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 55–65. Pseudosympycnus Robinson. Male tarsus I and III. 55–57 P. palpiger (Van Duzee, 1931). 55, 57. Paratype Ƌ. 55. Tarsus I. 57. Tarsus III. 56. Identified specimen from Acre, Brazil, tarsus I. 58–59. P. perornatus Robinson, 1967, paratype Ƌ. 58. Tarsus I. 59. Tarsus III; 60–61. P. robinsoni sp. nov., holotype Ƌ. 60. Tarsus I. 61. Tarsus III; 62–63. P. sehnali sp. nov., holotype Ƌ. 62. Tarsus I. 63. Tarsus III; 64–65. P. singularis (Parent, 1934), syntype Ƌ (photo: Erica McAlister). 64. Tarsus I. 65. Tarsus III. Scale bars = 0.2 mm.