Scatophila viridella Sturtevant and Wheeler

Zatwarnicki, Tadeusz & Mathis, Wayne N., 2024, Revision of the Nearctic Species of the Shore-Fly Genus Scatophila Becker (Diptera: Ephydridae), Zootaxa 5487 (1), pp. 1-100 : 45-49

10. Scatophila viridella Sturtevant and Wheeler

Figs. 76 , 82–88

Scatophila viridella Sturtevant and Wheeler 1954: 200 .— Deonier 1964: 110 [key; Iowa].— Wirth 1965: 759 [ Nearctic catalog].— Zatwarnicki 1987: 295 [checklist].— Zatwarnicki and Mathis 1994: 362 [phylogeny; mesogramma group].— Mathis and Zatwarnicki 1995: 287 [world catalog].

Description.—This species is distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: Body brown to blackish brown with some grayish microtomentose areas; small to moderately small shore flies, body length 1.45–2.10 mm.

Head ( Figs. 82–85 ): Mesofrons tannish gray, darker around ocellar triangle. Face gray to whitish gray, uniformly colored; face of ♂ with flattened to shallowly concave area mediodorsally, setulae longer and clustered at lateral margins of concavity; face; gena-to-eye ratio 0.26.

Thorax ( Figs. 89, 91 ): Mesonotum ( Fig. 89 ) mottled, gray with considerable brown, especially medially and toward posterior portion; scutellar disc dark brown on apical portion, basomedial area gray. Wing ( Fig. 91 ) moderately dark colored with evident spotting; costal vein ratio 0.22–0.25; M 1 vein ratio 0.62; knob of halter yellow. Legs generally dark colored except for tarsi; femora dark with gray microtomentum; male midfemur lacking row of spine-like setulae along posteroventral margin; tibiae similar to femora; tarsi with amber to yellowish tarsi.

Abdomen ( Figs. 86–88 ): Tergites gray with darker anterior margin; tergite 5 mostly black, with light investment of grayish microtomentum. Male terminalia ( Figs. 86–88 ): Epandrium in posterior view ( Fig. 86 ) generally broadly oval except for truncate ventral margin, width nearly 0.80 epandrial height, lateral margins shallowly and regularly curved, width of truncate ventral margin about equal to height of cercal opening; dorsal margin of epandrium in posterior view ( Fig. 86 ) evenly and shallowly rounded; epandrial setae about equal in length, sparser laterally, much more abundant along ventral margin; height of cercal opening less than half epandrial height; cerci in posterior view ( Fig. 86 ) hemispherical; aedeagus in lateral view ( Fig. 88 ) as wide as long, ventral margin deeply and more or less narrowly rounded, posterior margin narrowly truncate, length of truncation equal to length of opening of basal cavity, basal portion of dorsal margin excavated, cavity deep and oriented posteriorly, otherwise dorsal margin moderately straight, in ventral view ( Fig. 87 ) broadly obovate, posterior margin with shallow, medial point; ventral aedeagal process shallowly C-shaped; phallapodeme in lateral view ( Fig. 88 ) elongate, narrow, elbowed, dorsal and ventral extensions about equal in length, in ventral view ( Fig. 87 ) T-shaped, length of basal crossbar about half length of medial process, crossbar straight but with a medial V-shaped notch; postgonite in lateral view ( Fig. 88 ) irregularly and asymmetrically V-shaped, dorsal arm robust, somewhat rectangular, anterior margin slightly flared and margin emarginate, both dorsal and ventral corners produced, posterodorsal corner distinctly produced, process relatively robust, slightly curved and with a short, nipple-like apical process, ventral arm elongate, narrow, parallel-sided, nearly straight, in ventral view ( Fig. 87 ) with posterodorsal corner oriented medially, apex flared laterally, bearing setulae along medial margin and a setula along lateral margin; neohypandrium in lateral view ( Fig. 88 ) narrow, elongate, parallel-sided, distinctly elbowed.

Type Material.—The holotype male of Scatophila viridella is labeled “Montebello[,] Calif[ornia]. Feb. 9 1950 [handwritten]/M.R. Wheeler/ HOLOTYPE Scatophila viridella Stvt & Whlr [pink]/6688 TYPE [dark pink; number handwritten].” The holotype is double mounted (glued to a paper point), is in good condition, and is deposited in the ANSP (6688).

Other Specimens Examined.— CANADA BRITISH COLUMBIA. Langley (49°04.5'N, 122°33.5'W), 9 Aug 1917 , A. L. Melander (1♀; USNM) .

UNITED STATES. ARIZONA. Cochise: Fairbank (31°43.4'N, 110°11.3'W), 13 Jun 1951 , A. H. Sturtevant (1♂; USNM); Portal ( Southwest Research Station ; 31°53’N; 109°12.5'W), 1–9 Jun 1973 , W. W. Wirth (6♀; USNM). Pima : Sabino Canyon (32°15'N, 110°50.5'W), (1♂; USNM) .

CALIFORNIA. Los Angeles: Pasadena (34°09.4'N, 118°07.9'W), 7 Mar–24 Apr 1950, A. H. Sturtevant (3♂, 4♀; USNM) ; Rio Hondo (33°55.9'N, 118°10.5'W), 13 Apr 1950, A. H. Sturtevant (17♂, 13♀; USNM) . Orange: Corona del Mar (33°35.9'N, 117°52.4'W), 10 Mar 1950, A. H. Sturtevant (1♂, 7♀; USNM) . Riverside: Riverside (33°57.2'N, 117°23.8'W), 3 Feb 1935, A. L. Melander (1♂, 3♀; USNM) . San Francisco: Baker Beach (37°47.6.2'N, 122°29'W), 29 Aug 1953, P. H. Arnaud, Jr. (1♀; USNM) .

NEBRASKA. Dawes: Chadron (42°49.8'N, 102°59.9'W), 20 Aug 1950, A. H. Sturtevant (1♂, 1♀; USNM) .

NEVADA. Clark: Las Vegas Wash (36°05.4'N, 114°58.7'W), 11 Apr 2005, D. and W. N. Mathis (1♀; USNM) .

NEW MEXICO. Grant : Mimbres River (32°43.8'N, 107°52'W), 13 Aug 2007, D. and W. N. Mathis (1♂; USNM) .

OREGON. Lane: Haceta Head (44°08.1'N, 124°07.4'W), 1 Aug 2005, D. and W. N. Mathis (1♂; USNM). Tillamook: Cape Kiwanda (45°12.9'N, 123°58.3'W), 3 Aug 2005, D. and W. N. Mathis (3♂, 7♀; USNM) .

UTAH. Salt Lake: Butterfield Canyon (40°29.2'N, 112°08.2'W; 1890 m), 14 May 2007, D. and W. N. Mathis (1♂, 2♀; USNM)

WASHINGTON. Snohomish: Verlot (48°05.4'N, 121°46.6'W), 3 Aug 1951, A. H. Sturtevant (1♀; USNM) .

WYOMING. Park: Yellowstone National Park, Sylvan Pass (44°27.9'N, 110°07.7’W, 28 Jul 1934, A. L. Melander (1♂; USNM); Yellowstone National Park , Lake (44°25.8'N, 110°35.1'W), 18 Jul 1923, A. L. Melander (1♂; USNM) .

Type Locality.— United States. California. Los Angeles: Montebello (34°01'N, 118°06.8'W) .

Distribution ( Fig. 92 ).— Nearctic : Canada (British Columbia), United States (Arizona, California, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming).

Remarks.—This species is placed in the mesogramma group.

The noctula Group

Diagnosis.—Most of males have lower portion of face with medial process. Tergites of abdomen shining black; ventral margin of epandrium broadly convex with lateral lobes, or flat, sometimes with small medial process ( Fig. 122 ); neohypandrium band-like, conspicuously deflected, exceptionally reduced ( S. unicornis Czerny ); postgonite elongate; proximal margin rounded or slightly convex; distal process of postgonite lobate, ventral process band-like; aedeagus with ventral process in dorsal view oval, in lateral view ( Fig. 124 ) anterior portion of ventral margin convex or slightly incised; distal margin of the dorsal aedeagal opening upturned, incised medially or broadly rounded; phallapodeme in lateral view slightly arcuate, sometimes with proximal lobe medially, in dorsal view narrow with proximal broadening.

Nearctic species included in the noctula group are: Scatophila bolwigi sp. nov., S. hirtirostris Sturtevant and Wheeler , S. tuberculosa Cresson , S. unicornis Czerny , and S. variofacialis Sturtevant and Wheeler.

Figures

FIGURE 92. Distribution map of Scatophila viridella Sturtevant & Wheeler.

FIGURES 72–76. Head, thorax and wing of Scatophila. 72–73. Head of S. ordinaria Sturtevant & Wheeler. 72. Latero-oblique view. 73. Lateral view. 74. S. ordinaria Sturtevant & Wheeler, head and thorax, dorsal view. 75–76. Wing, dorsal view. 75. S. ordinaria Sturtevant & Wheeler. 76. S. viridella Sturtevant & Wheeler. Scale bar = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 82–85. Head of Scatophila viridella Sturtevant & Wheeler. 82. Male, latero-oblique view 83. Male, lateral view. 84. Female, latero-oblique view. 85. Female, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 86–88. Male terminalia of Scatophila viridella Sturtevant & Wheeler. 86. Epandrium and cerci, posterior view. 87. Internal male terminalia (gonite, phallapodeme, aedeagus, neohypandrium), ventral view. 88. Same, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 89–91. Head, thorax and wing of Scatophila. 89. Scatophila viridella Sturtevant & Wheeler, head and thorax, dorsal view. 90–91. Wing, dorsal view. 90. S. bolwigi sp. nov. 91. S. hirtirostris Sturtevant & Wheeler. Scale bar = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 122–124. Male terminalia of Scatophila unicornis Czerny. 122. Epandrium and cerci, posterior view. 123. Internal male terminalia (gonite, phallapodeme, aedeagus, neohypandrium), ventral view. 124. Same, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.