Culicoides (Diphaomyia) tzotzil, Huerta & Spinelli & Grogan Jr, 2025

Huerta, Herón, Spinelli, Gustavo R. & Grogan Jr, William L., 2025, An atlas of wing photographs and a key to species of the genus Culicoides Latreille from Mexico (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), including new records, new synonymy, two new species and new status of Culicoides neghmei Vargas and C. propinquus Macfie, Zootaxa 5566 (1), pp. 1-51 : 9-10

Culicoides (Diphaomyia) tzotzil sp. nov.

( Figs. 21 , 119–126 )

Diagnosis. Wing with reduced pattern of pale spots, without distal pale spots in cells r 3 and m 1; pale spots straddling middle of vein M 2 and cell cua 1 at the same level of poststigmatic area. Female unknown.

Description male. Head ( Fig. 119 ) dark brown. Eyes bare. Flagellum dark brown ( Fig. 120 ); flagellomeres 1–10 and base of 11–13 pale; flagellomeres 1–10 vasiform, 11–13 subcylindrical; AR 0.77; sensilla coeloconica on flagellomeres 1, 6–9. Palpus dark brown; third segment slightly swollen, with small, sensory pit opening by small pore; PR 2.1; P/H ratio 0.42. Cibarial armature with small spicules.

Thorax dark brown. Legs ( Figs. 121–123 ) pale brown, femurotibial joints brown; all the tibiae with subbasal pale spots and fore femur with subbasal and subapical pale spot; hind tibial comb with four spines.

Wing ( Fig. 21 ), length 0.90 mm; width 0.32 mm; CR 0.55. Second radial cell in a dark spot; pale spot over r-m crossvein extending to anterior radial vein and to base of vein M 2; without distal pale spots in cells r 3, m 1; cell m 2 with small, very faint distal pale spot; pale spots straddling middle of vein M 2 and cell cua 1 at the same level of postsigmatic area; pale spot in cell cua 1 reaching wing margin 1; veins CuA 1 and CuA 2 dark to apex; anal cell with broad basal and distal pale spots. Macrotrichia present on distal 1/3 of wing. Halter pale.

Abdomen dark brown. Male genitalia ( Fig. 124 ). Tergite 9 long and tapering with short, pointed, apicolateral processes; sternite 9 narrow with broad, shallow, caudomedian excavation, ventral membrane not spiculate. Gonocoxite long and tapering, ventral root sword-shaped, curved, mesally directed with pointed tip; dorsal root moderately well developed, simple. Gonostylus slender slightly curved, with bent, pointed tip. Parameres ( Fig. 126 ) separate, each with large basal knob; midportion moderately slender, sinuate distally, apparently without ventral lobe; distal portion abruptly curved ventrad and expanded in a broad leaflike blade with four distal fringing spines and slender, pointed tip. Aedeagus ( Fig. 125 ) with basal arch broad, rounded, extending 0.5 of total length, bearing a pair of pointed submedian processes on posterior margin of basal arms; distal median process elongated, slender with truncated tip.

Female. Unknown.

Remarks. This new species is typical member of the subgenus Diphaomyia by the characters given by the male genitalia and the cibarial armature, but with reduced wing pattern of pale spots. This Mexican species is related to two Nearctic species, Culicoides erikae Atchley & Wirth ( USA: New Mexico, Utah, Arizona,) and C. footei Wirth & Jones ( USA: Virginia; Ontario and Quebec south to Nebraska, Mississippi and Florida). Culicoides erikae is differs from these related species by the absence of the pale spots in the cell cua 1. Culicoides footei and C. tzotzil have a very similar pattern of pale areas in the wing, but this new species is distinguished by the pale spots straddling middle of vein M 2 (absent in C. footei ) and by the absence of a pale spot lying in front of mediocubital fork, which is present in C. footei . The male genitalia is very similar except by the distomedian process of aedeagus with conspicuously serrations in C. footei , absent in C. tzotzil . At the moment no Neotropical species of this group has a reduced pattern of pale spots and the species Nearctic are included in the Culicoides haematopotus group ( Atchley & Wirth 1979).

Type material. Male HOLOTYPE. MEXICO, Chiapas, Chiapa de Corzo, Locality Framboyanes , 29-oct- 2023, CDC trap, slide mounted ( CAIM).

Etymology. The name “ tzotzil ” is a reference to indigenous people from Chiapas.

Distribution. Known only from the type-locality in Chiapas, Mexico.

Figures

FIGURE 16–21. Wings, dorsal view. Female and male. Subgenus Diphaomyia: 16. Culicoides baueri Hoffman, 17. Culicoides blantoni Vargas & Wirth, 18. Culicoides evansi Wirth & Blanton, 19. Culicoides haematopotus Malloch, 20. Culicoides iriartei Fox. 21. Culicoides tzotzil sp. nov. (male) Scale: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 119–126. Culicoides tzotzil sp. nov. Male. 119. Head, frontal view, 120. Antenna, lateral view, 121–123. Legs (fore, middle, hind), lateral view, 124. Male genitalia, ventral view, 125. Aedeagus, ventral view, 126. Parameres, ventral view. Scale: 119–120, 124= 0.1 mm; 121–123= 0.5 mm; 125–126= 0.04 mm.