Scutops peruanus Hennig, 1952

Freitas, Geovânia & Ale-Rocha, Rosaly, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Scutops Coquillett, 1904 (Diptera: Periscelididae), Zootaxa 5244 (5), pp. 401-427 : 416-418

Scutops peruanus Hennig, 1952

( Figs 13–14 , 19H , 21 )

Scutops peruanus Hennig, 1952: 615 ( Figs. 21 –23); Prado, 1975: 2 (Neotropical catalog); Amorim & Vasconcelos, 1989: 43 (key); Mathis & Rung, 2011: 359 (world catalog).

Diagnosis: Frons yellow; ocellar triangle brown; face whitish yellow, dorsal portion as high as wide, flattened, with apical margin rounded in frontal view and with dense silvery pruinescence below bases of antennae; gena and postgena brown; silver pruinescent band adjacent to posterior margin of eye longer than half of height of occiput, but not reaching the gena; scutum yellow, pleura brown, anepisternum shiny, dark brown.

Holotype male. Redescription. Body length: 3.3 mm; wing: 3.5 mm. Head ( Figs 13A–C ). Frons yellow; ocellar triangle brown; fronto-orbital setulae inconspicuous, sparse, very short, thin, and brown. Face whitish yellow; dorsal portion as high as wide, flattened, distal margin rounded in frontal view, with dense silvery pruinescence below bases of antennae; lateroventral margin of face brown with series of thin brown setae. Gena and postgena brown with long, thin, brown setae. Occiput with brown, conspicuous setae; silver pruinescent band adjacent to posterior margin of eye longer than half the height of occiput but not reaching the gena. Antenna yellow; pedicel with three robust dorsal, dark brown setae; arista with eleven dorsal and four ventral branches. Buccal pieces dark brown. Thorax ( Figs 13A, C ). Scutum yellow; postpronotal lobe whitish yellow with dense silvery pruinescence; notopleuron brown, with dense silvery pruinescence; scutellum yellow and subscutellum brown; pleura brown, anepisternum dark brown, shiny. Setae: anterior dorsocentral postsutural 2/3 the length of posterior seta; anterior katepisternal 2.5 times longer than posterior seta; distal scutellar seta five times longer than basal seta. Legs ( Fig. 13A ). Coxae dark brown; trochanters yellow; femora dark brown with apex yellow; foretibia brown with apex and base yellow; midtibia and hind tibia yellow; tarsus yellow. Forefemur with posteroventral setae developed; midtibia with apicoventral spine black. Wing ( Fig. 19H ) brown in the distal half and yellow in the remaining; transversal preapical hyaline band incomplete. Halter yellow with knob pale brown. Abdomen ( Fig. 13A ). Tergites dark brown; sternites brown. Terminalia ( Figs 14A–C ): epandrium wider than high in posterodorsal view; cercus ellipsoid in posterodorsal view, subrectangular in lateral view; postgonite small, triangular in lateral view, with dorsal posterior process acuminate; hypandrium + phallapodeme short and narrow in lateral view; phallus long, about three times longer than hypandrium + phallapodeme, membranous, sclerotized laterally; ejaculatory apodeme with apical portion rectangular.

Female. Similar to male. Terminalia ( Fig. 14D ): tergite and sternite 7 forming a ring slightly compressed laterally in posterior view; sternite 8 hemispheric with dorsal margin slightly concave; cercus subrectangular with rounded corners.

Locality records: Ecuador * (Orellana), Peru (Madre de Dios, Meshagua) , Brazil * (Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia) ( Fig. 21 ).

Type material examined: Holotype male ( DEI). PERU, [Cusco], Meshagua [11°25′00.0″S 72°27′00.0″W], Urubambafl., 29. 09. [19]03, [Leg. W. Schnuse]. Green labell printed with the handwritten date; type label red. Holotype condition: left wing torn in the apical part of cell r 4 + 5; scutellum partially detaching from the scutum; left midleg lost; not dissected . Paratypes. PERU, [Cusco], Meshagua , Urubambafl., 27.ix.[19]03, [Leg. W. Schnuse], 1 male ( DEI) ; idem, 29.ix.[19]03, [Leg. W. Schnuse], 2 males ( DEI) .

Additional material: ECUADOR, Orellana, Res. Etnica Waorani 0º39.4′S, 76º27.2′W, 216m, lot# 717, 20.vi.1994 ( T. L. Erwin), 1 male ( NMNH) ; idem, lot# 681, 21.vi.1994, 1 male ( NMNH) ; idem, lot# 866, 4.x.1994, 1 female ( NMNH) ; idem, lot# 1490, 2.vi.1995, 1 female ( NMNH) ; idem lot# 1490, 10.ii.1996, 1 male ( NMNH) ; idem, 22.vi.1996, 1 male ( NMNH) . PERU, Madre de Dios, Manu, Rio Manu, Cocha Salvador [12°00′12.1″S 71°12′56.5″W], 240 m, 14.ix.1988, 1 female ( NMNH) ; idem, Pakitza [11°56′40.5″S 71°16′58.8″W] (5 Km E), Aguajal, 19.ix.1988, (A. Freidberg), 1 female ( NMNH) ; idem, BIOLAT Bil. Sta. Pakitza , 356 m, 21.ix.1991, 11º56′47″S 071º17′00″W, ( T. L. Erwin), Insetcticidal fog of large tree with many lianas and accumulated debris, Tr. Tachigali /9, allvial terrace forest Lot 91, 1 female ( NMNH) ; idem, 04.x. 1991 ( T.L. Erwin e M.G Pogue), 1 male ( NMNH) . BRAZIL, Amazonas, Reserva F [lorestal] Adolpho Ducke [2°57′33.2″S 59°55′27.0″W], Platô Trilha Norte / Sul, 21.vi.06–11.vii.07, Arm [dilha] suspensa amarela, Dossel (Feitosa M. & Freitas G. cols), 1 female ( INPA) ; Pará, Sítio Curio , 14º70′35′′S, 55º 07′05′′W, 29.viii–08.ix.01, Suspensa (Rafael & Vidal), 1 male ( INPA) ; Rondônia, Nova Mamoré, Parque Estadual de Guajará- Mirim , Rio Formoso 10º19′26′′S–64 º33′88′′W, 20–27.x.1995, (J. Vidal & L. S. Aquino), Arm [adilha] Malaise, 1 male ( INPA) .

Variations: some specimens present dark brown pleura, postpedicel slightly darkened dorsally and coxae pale brown.

Comments: A female from the type series of S. peruanus was misidentified and is S. flavithorax sp. nov. (See comments in the latter). Our study of the remaining specimens of the type series of S. peruanus revealed that the legs of females have the same coloration pattern as males, with coxae and femora brown. The legs are completely yellow in S. flavithorax sp. nov.. These two species can also be distinguished by the hypandrium + phallapodeme being short and narrow in lateral view, the phallus is elongated, about three times longer than hypandrium + phallapodeme, and the ejaculatory apodeme is truncate apically in S. peruanus . Whereas S. flavithorax sp. nov. has the hypandrium + phallapodeme widened ventrally, the phallus is short, similar to the length of the hypandrium + phallapodeme, and the ejaculatory apodeme has a rounded apex.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Scutops peruanus Hennig, 1952. A–C (holotype). A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Head, frontal view; C. Thorax, dorsal view.

FIGURE 14. Scutops peruanus Hennig, 1952. A–C male, D female (Peru, Madre de Dios). A. Epandrium, postgonite and cercus, posterodorsal view; B. Same, plus hypandrium+phallapodeme and phallus, lateral view; C. Ejaculatory apodeme; D. Female terminalia, posteroventral view.

FIGURE 19. Wings. A. Scutops chapmani Curran, 1934; B. Scutops fascipennis Coquillett, 1904; C. Scutops flavithorax sp. nov. (paratype male); D. Scutops ipixunensis sp. nov. (paratype female); E. Scutops lopesi Amorim & Vasconcelos, 1989; F. Scutops marcgrafi Amorim & Vasconcelos, 1989; G. Scutops melinus sp. nov. (holotype female); H. Scutops peruanus Hennig, 1952; I. Scutops robustus sp. nov. (paratype female). J. Scutops spinophallus sp. nov. (holotype male).

FIGURE 21. Distributional map with records of S. chapmani, S. fascipennis, S. lopesi, S. melinus sp. nov., S. peruanus and S. spinophallus sp. nov..