Syringogaster carioca Prado, 1969

Marshall, S. A., Buck, M., Skevington, J. H. & Grimaldi, D., 2009, A revision of the family Syringogastridae (Diptera: Diopsoidea), Zootaxa 1996 (1), pp. 1-80 : 35-37

Syringogaster carioca Prado

Figs. 26–28; Plates 2B, 6A; Map 3

Syringogaster carioca Prado, 1969: 20 .

DESCRIPTION: Head orange except black ocellar tubercle, upper frons darker than lower frons and face. Vertex strongly convex at middle. Frons tomentose except for long, narrow, almost parallel-sided shining ocellar triangle; anterior apex separated from frontal margin by scape length; ocellar triangle bordered on each side by a row of 5–6 minute black setulae. Pedicel entirely and uniformly tomentose. Ocellar bristles present and strong. Face dull, parafacial with thin black bristles on ventral half; shining vibrissal angle with thin black bristles. Gena prominent, higher than subgena at middle, with weak brown bristles in three rows on anterior part, one row posteriorly. Supracervical collar strongly developed, 2–3X as long as pronotum at middle,

Thorax: Pronotum collar-like, short, dorsally black with an upturned anterior margin. Thorax mostly black or dark brown except for quadrate, partly bare reddish area centred on anterior spiracle and including propleuron, area between humeral and notopleural carinae, and extending to anterior anepisternum. Bare patch anterior to humeral carina small, extending less than half way to anterior margin of notum; bare area below anterior spiracle extensive. Most of anepisternum and anepimeron sparsely covered with white tomentum, ventral half of pleuron mostly shining including katepisternum, katepimeron, meron and metapleuron. Katepisternum with sparse long hairs on ventral half. Anterior prespiracular process very small, narrowly triangular, extending posteriorly towards much larger, triangular second prespiracular process. Subspiracular lamella deeply bilobed, anterior lobe low and shining, posterior lobe much larger and entirely tomentose. Fore coxa and trochanter white, otherwise fore leg yellow to pale brown. Fore femur with fine golden hairs and a row of 9–12 black anteroventral spinules in distal half (only 7 in specimen described by Prado, 1969). Mid femur white basally, rest of leg pale brown. Mid tibia with a strong, golden, preapical ventral bristle. Mid tarsomeres 1–3 and basal half of tarsomere 4 with anterior and posterior sawlines. Hind femur orange-brown, slightly paler at base. Hind femur with anteroventral row of 12–13 spines extending over distal 7/10 of femur, posterior row shorter. Hind tibia with apex weakly trilobate, lobes subequal. Sawlines present on basal four tarsomeres of hind leg (reduced to just 1–3 setulae on tarsomere 4). Wing as described for S. brunneina but bm-cu and fork closer together ( Plate 6A).

Abdomen: Syntergite 1–3 petiolate and very narrow, tergites 1–2 parallel-sided, tergite 3 twice as wide at apex as base. Syntergite 1–3 densely microsculptured, sculpturing forming transverse ridges on tergite 1, densely microsetulose. Abdomen dark brown. Tergite 4 clearly separate from tergite 3.

Male terminalia: Tergites 5 and 6 with ventrolateral margins strongly modified, ventrolateral margin of tergite 5 narrowed laterally then expanded ventrally to form a club-like base with a medially directed fingerlike process that runs anterior and parallel to each small, transverse, separate half of sternite 5. Tergite 6 tapred ventrolaterally, each corner articulating with a broadly triangular half of sternite 6. Each half of sternites 5 and 6 with two small posterior bristles. Synsternite 7+8 with left spiracle slightly more dorsal than right spiracle. Epandrium longer than wide, its ventrolateral lobes projecting far beyond hypandrial bridge unlike in other species. Cercus well developed; surstylus narrow, ribbon-like, apically strongly bent anteriorly almost at a right angle. Hypandrium with three pairs of breaks or weakenings: first between basal U-shaped portion and base of hypandrial arms, second between hypandrial bridge and mesal base of each hypandrial arm, third near middle of each hypandrial arm posterior to ventral hypandrial lobe. Anterior U-shaped portion robust, with short and inconspicuous apodeme on each side. Hypandrial bridge wider and more robust at and around articulation with basiphallus, with a distinct transverse median trough (lateral view). Ventral hypandrial lobe narrow at middle, expanding into a club-like, setose apex. Posterior part of hypandrial arm rectangular, with a small ventral lobe. Pregonite with three rounded, flat lobes. Basiphallus elongate, apex without lobe on left side unlike any other species in the brunnea -group. Distiphallus with a very short basal part and a broad multilamellate distal part.

TYPE MATERIAL: Holotype ♂ ( FIOC, #13.369, not examined): BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro, Guanabara, Grajaú, “2.ii.193” (presumably 1963), H.S. Lopes.

MATERIAL EXAMINED: BRAZIL. São Paulo, Atlantic Coast near Praia Maresias, W Ilha de São Sebastião , foot of coastal mountains “Serra do Mar”, 18.iii.1986, swampy area at forest edge, swept, eclector, M. v. Tschirnhaus, “X519” (1♀, FBUB) . ECUADOR. Napo, Tena , ii.1983, M.J. Sharkey (1♂, DEBU) ; Esmeraldas, Mayronga , 100 m, 14.xi.1993, G. Onore & E. Tapia (1♀, CMNH) . PERU. “Meshagua” [= Mishagua], Urubamba, W. Schnuse, 1901 (one specimen without abdomen, SMTD) ; Dpto. Huánuco, Río Llullapichis, right tributary of Río Pachitea , Station “Panguana” (of H.-W. Koepcke), 9°36’53”S, 74°55’57”W, 220 m, primary forest, 50 yellow pan traps in a 300 m long row, for 15 days in ix.1981, M. v. Tschirnhaus, “X274” (1♂, 1♀, DEBU) . SURINAME. Raleigh Vallen-Voltzberg Res., Voltzberg Camp , 90 m, 29.i–13.ii.1982, J. Carpenter & D. Trail (1♂, AMNH) . VENEZUELA. Monagas, 10 km S Guanaguana , 19.iv.1988, dry forest, near river, S.A. Marshall (1♀, DEBU) .

COMMENTS: We were unable to obtain type material for study, but this species can be recognized on the basis of Prado (1969). The strongly bent surstylus, clubbed ventral hypandrial lobe and strongly modified male tergites 5 and 6 make this species distinctive.