Amazunculus francyae Marques, Skevington & Rafael, 2019

Marques, Dayse W. A., Skevington, Jeffrey H. & Rafael, José A., 2019, Revision of the genus Amazunculus Rafael (Diptera: Pipunculidae), with description of six new species, Zootaxa 4577 (3), pp. 439-472 : 456-460

Amazunculus francyae Marques, Skevington & Rafael , sp. nov.

Figs 108–123

http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ AC4EBCFA-95D7-4813-8028-F8CA3723E909

Diagnosis. Antenna brown. Wing base darkened. Syntergosternite 8 with a very small circular membranous area. Epandrium inflated. Surstyli symmetrical, with truncated apex, fused with epandrium. Phallic guide long, with parallel sides over most of its length and tapered at apex in ventral view. Basal processes of phallus long, surpassing the hypandrium width. Phallus with two apical projections.

Description of male. Body length 7.2 mm. Head ( Fig. 108). Eyes contiguous for a distance of eighteen facets. F, EM, V = 0.7 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.4 mm. Frontal triangle black, brown pruinose; face grey pruinose. Postcranium dark, brown pruinose dorsally and grey pruinose laterally and ventrally. Antennae ( Fig. 109) with scape dark brown; pedicel dark brown, with six dorsal and four ventral bristles; postpedicel brown with apex rounded below. LPP/WPP = 1.6. Labellum brown. Thorax. Postpronotal lobe brown, brown pruinose. Scutum and scutellum black with brown pruinescence. Notopleuron concolorous with scutum, brown pruinose. Mesopleuron black, mostly brown pruinose, except the anepisternum with grey pruinescence anteriorly; katatergite with grey pruinescence anteriorly and anatergite with brown pruinescence. Mediotergite black with brown pruinescence. Wing ( Fig. 110). Length 8.6 mm. LW/MWW = 3.6. LTC/LFC = 1.4. Membrane mostly hyaline except by darkened base. Halter with stem light brown and knob dark brown. Legs ( Fig. 108). All legs dark brown to black, with articulations and bases of the tibiae somewhat yellowish brown; femora with grey-brown pruinescence on the posterior face below (mainly brown). Pulvilli yellow. Abdomen ( Fig. 111). Slightly wider than long. Black, all tergites with interrupted bands of brown pruinescence posteriorly. Tergites 6, 7 and sternites 6 and 7 as in Fig. 113. Syntergosternite 8 mostly brown pruinose, about half-length of tergite 5 ( Fig. 111) and with a very small circular membranous area ( Figs 114–115). Terminalia. Epandrium yellowish brown, inflated ( Fig. 115). Surstyli ( Figs 115–116) yellowish brown, symmetrical, with truncate apex, fused with epandrium, elongated ventrally, widened ventrally and surpassing lateral margin of epandrium in lateral view ( Figs 117–118). Phallic guide ( Figs 119–121) very long and curved, slightly surpassing surstyli, about 1.8× the hypandrium length; with parallel sides over most of its length and tapered at apex in ventral view. Basal processes of phallus long and rounded, surpassing the hypandrium width ( Fig. 119). Phallus with two sclerotized and rounded apical projections ( Fig. 121). Ejaculatory apodeme as in Fig. 123.

Female. Unknown.

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂: “ECU[ ADOR]: Napo, Jatun Sacha Res.[erve], 6 Km E Misahuallí, 450 m, 1°4'S, 77°37'W, 30 Apr-8, May 2002, S.M. Paiero, debu00178402” “ J. Skevington Specimen #50730” “DW0143” “ Holotype ♂, Amazunculus francyae Marques, Skevington & Rafael ” ( DEBU) ( Fig. 112).

Holotype condition. Right wing detached, mounted on microslide. Terminalia placed in a microvial with glycerin.

Etymology. The new species name is dedicated to the first author’s grandmother, whose nickname Francy is derived from her name Francisca.

Geographical distribution. This species is known only from the type locality, Napo, Ecuador ( Fig. 183).

Habitat. This species was collected in a tropical rainforest reserve located on the south shore of the Napo river in the Ecuadorian Amazon.