Nephochaetopteryx biculcita Dodge

Carvalho-Filho, Fernando Da Silva, Esposito, Maria Cristina & Mello-Patiu, Cátia Antunes De, 2021, Revision of Nephochaetopteryx Townsend, 1934 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), Zootaxa 4928 (1), pp. 1-83 : 15-17

Nephochaetopteryx biculcita Dodge

( Fig. 4 )

Nephochaetopteryx biculcita Dodge, 1968a: 279 (key), 282 (description of male). Type locality: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. Other references: Pape (1996: 260; catalog).

Material examined. Brazil. Rio de Janeiro: Jacarepaguá , Rep. Ciganos, Estrada dos Três Rios, 22.X.1984, leg. H.J. Guimarães (2 ♁♁, MNRJ) .

Redescription. Male. Length = 5.0 mm (n = 2).

Head. Fronto-orbital and parafacial plates, postocular strip, gena and postgena with golden microtomentum. Frontal vitta reddish-black with basal half reddish. Six frontal setae. Palpus brown.

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: dorsocentrals 2+4 (first two weak); intra-alars 2+2; supra-alars 1+3, anepisternals 5; merals 5. Mid femur with two median setae and without a differentiated posteroventral seta. Ctenidium consisting of four spines. Wing hyaline, with dark spot beginning in the terminal portion of vein R 1, filling the distal third of cell r 1 and the upper half of the distal half of cell r 2+3; vein R 4+5 setulose dorsally to crossvein r-m.

Abdomen. Tergites brown, with a band of gray microtomentum on anterior 4/5 of dorsal and lateral surfaces. Sternites 1 to 4 yellow, covered with yellowish setulae and marginal setae.

Terminalia. Sternite 5 brown, without a cleft; with thick setae concentrated in posterior half, mainly on lobe; lobe triangular, isolated by a membranous region and with a tuft of short setulae; arm finger-shaped and short (about the same length as lobe) ( Fig. 4E ). Syntergosternite 7+8, epandrium and cercus brown. Cercus elongate, tapering distally in lateral view, with quadrate tip ( Fig. 4A ). Cercal prongs slightly convergent ( Fig. 4B ). Cercus with a conspicuous dorsal excavation in the cercal base that is not covered with setulae ( Figs 4 A–B). Surstylus with distal portion narrowed and apex quadrate, with apical setae and a median patch of setulae ( Fig. 4A ). Pregonite shorter than postgonite, with basal portion enlarged and distal portion narrowed, perpendicular to base, with rounded apex, and bearing small pointed setae on anterior margin ( Fig. 4C ). Postgonite straight, tapering distally, with a long seta and small pointed setae on anterior margin ( Fig. 4D ). Basiphallus short, about half the length of distiphallus, gently curved dorsally ( Fig. 4F ). Distiphallus almost straight, with apical margin rounded and bearing a median fissure in lateral view ( Fig. 4F ). Vesica strongly angled, with a triangular projection on proximal half and serrated apex ( Fig. 4F ). Inner process of vesica with rectangular apex ( Fig. 4F ). Lateral and median styli short, of about one-fourth of width of widest portion of lateral wall of distiphallus, and both inserted at level of vesica ( Fig. 4F ). Median stylus with a basal projection. Lateral stylus with minute spines ventrally ( Fig. 4F ).

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL—Brazil (Rio de Janeiro).

Remarks. Nephochaetopteryx biculcita differs from other species in having cercus with a large excavation in proximal half; sternite 5 lacking a cleft and with lobe surrounded by a membranous region; apex of distiphallus with a fissure.

The holotype of N. biculcita , deposited in the U.S. National Museum of Natural History ( USNM), was not examined. However, we examined two males from Rio de Janeiro (the type locality), which exhibit the same diagnostic features found in the original description and in the illustrations of the terminalia and sternite 5 provided by Dodge (1968a) .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Nephochaetopteryx biculcita Dodge, 1968, male terminalia. Specimen from Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (MNRJ).A. Epandrium, surstylus and cercus, left lateral view; arrow showing excavation of cercus. B. Cerci, dorsal view; arrow showing excavation of cercus (setation omitted on the left side). C. Pregonite, left lateral view. D. Postgonite, left lateral view. E. Sternite 5, ventral view (setation omitted on the right side). F. Phallus, left lateral view; arrow showing fissure of apical margin of distiphallus. Abbreviations: bp = basiphallus; dp = distiphallus; ip = inner process of vesica; ls = lateral stylus; ms = median stylus; ve = vesica. Scale bars: A, B, E = 0.1 mm; C, D, F = 0.05 mm.