Robustagramma brevicauda Cui and Marshall, 2005

Marshall, Stephen A. & Cui, Yongsheng, 2005, Systematics of Robustagramma, a new genus of New World Sphaeroceridae (Diptera), Zootaxa 1026 (1), pp. 1-122 : 97-99

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.1026.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3EDC6787-C73B-4969-BA06-022D0532364F
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10532551
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/0392570D-FFC7-4219-FEDA-ACF480E1FC92
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Robustagramma brevicauda Cui and Marshall
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Robustagramma brevicauda Cui and Marshall View in CoL , new species

( Figs. 302–308 View FIGURES 302–308 , 373 View FIGURES 371–378 )

As described for Robustagramma flavistylum except as follows.

Body length 1.3–1.9 mm. Gena and lower frons reddish yellow; face and antenna brown. Postocellar bristle slightly shorter than postvertical bristle. Eye height ca. 2.2 times genal height. Dorsocentral bristles in 2 postsutural pairs, anterior pair similar in length to middle prescutellar acrostichal bristles. Posterodorsal katepisternal bristle half as long as distance between bristle base and wing base. Wing almost clear. Length of second costal sector ca. 0.53–0.63X length of third. Distal quarter of R 2+3 gradually curved forward (nearly straight in one male specimen from Ecuador). Discal cell with a short stump vein CuA 1.

Male terminalia: Sternite 5 twice as long as sternite 4. Dorsomedial length of epandrium ca. 0.4X length of sternite 8. Surstylus mainly setose, with a tapering apex. Cercus exceptionally broad and short, half as long as surstylus. Distiphallus with nodes on dorsal whiplike sclerites. Postgonite with a slightly expanded, convex apex.

Female terminalia: Sternite 8 reduced to 2 small sclerites. Spermatheca with several wrinkles on distal portion, and a few spicules on basal portion.

Holotype (♂, DEBU) and paratypes (29 ♂, 58 ♀, DEBU): VENEZUELA: Bolívar. Km 40 Sta. Elena, Icabaru Rd. , 100m, 4–6.viii.1986, B. Gill.

Other paratypes: Same data as holotype, but 220m (7 ♂, 19 ♀, IZAV) , 1000m (13 ♂, 21 ♀, DEBU) . ECUADOR: Napo. Yasuní Natl. Pk., Yasuní Res. Sta. , rain forest, malaise trap, 3–20.xi.1998, Pape & Viklund (1 ♂, NHRS) . Napo. 17 km NE Baeza , 1400m, dung trap, 3–6.iii.1976, S. Peck (1 ♀, DEBU) . VENEZUELA: Bolívar. Quebrada de Jaspe , 19– 20.vii.1986, B. Gill (2 ♂, 9 ♀, DEBU) .

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the exceptionally short cerci of the male.

Comments: Robustagramma brevicauda differs obviously from all of the other species of this group because the vein R 2+3 is less curved forward, and the cercus of the male is exceptionally short. Other characters of Robustagramma brevicauda leave little doubt that the species is correctly placed in the R. flavistylum group.