Neoacanthoneura Hendel

Kameneva, Elena P., 2012, Revision of Aciuroides Hendel and Neoacanthoneura Hendel (Diptera: Ulidiidae: Pterocallini), Zootaxa 3227, pp. 1-33 : 11-13

Genus Neoacanthoneura Hendel

Neoacanthoneura Hendel 1914 . Type species Neoacanthoneura magnipennis Hendel 1914 (by original designation). Hendel 1914 b: 82 (description); 1914 c: 32; Hering 1941 a: 123, 126; 1951: 119, 122; Aczél 1950: 182; Foote 1967: 57.31 (catalogue); 1980: 36 (comments on the familial position). — Aciuroides: Kameneva & Korneyev 2010: 896 (key to genera, misidentification), 900 (genus characters, misidentification); Figs. 60 & 84 .

Diagnosis. All species differ from other Pterocallini by the following combination of characters: head ( Figs. 4–7 ) with anterior orbital seta long and situated at middle of distance between ocellar triangle and lunule; sides of frons usually (except in N. trypetina : Fig. 3 ) with 1–3 inclinate frontal setae in front of the anterior fronto-orbital seta; arista short pubescent; ocellar, medial and lateral vertical setae long (except in N. trypetina ); mesonotum with 0 acrostichal, 2 dorsocentral, 0 presutural and 1 postsutural supraalar setae, and 2 pairs of scutellar setae ( Fig. 7 ); wing with vein R1 setulose only on distal half (setulose over whole length in N. geomyzina , N. euphrantina and N. subapicalis ), straight or slightly curved in both sexes, pterostigma in both sexes almost as wide as, and as long as costal cell, not widened posteriorly in ♂; R2+3 almost straight (in N. euphrantina and N. geomyzina ), or strongly (in N. magnipennis and N. trypetina ) or slightly undulate, R4+5 bare; cell bcu closed, with arcuate crossvein, without posteroapical lobe; male costal vein sometimes strongly widened and bearing denticle-like thickened setulae (in N. magnipennis , N. apicalis , N. brachioptera , N. chiroptera , N. steyskali ); abdomen shining, non-microtrichose, with all tergites and sternites well-developed, including tergite 6 of female, which is short, but conspicuous, and ♂ without membranous pouches between tergites; male terminalia: epandrium oval with moderately or very short surstyli bearing 2 prensisetae ( Figs. 61 , 63 , 69 , 77 ), ejaculator relatively small ( Figs. 78–79 ); female aculeus moderately long, uniformly wide, bearing blunt (rarely elongate oval) cercal unit with short setulae ( Figs. 67 , 73 , 80 , 85 ).

Neoacanthoneura is similar to Pterocerina , Coscinum , Apterocerina , Micropterocerus and Aciuroides in having the arista pubescent, the male pterostigma moderately narrow, non-expanded posteriorly, cell bcu without a posteroapical lobe, and the male abdomen without membranous pouches between the tergites. It differs from these genera, first of all, by usually having the frontal seta present, and from all except Aciuroides , by not having prescutellar acrostichal seta. Species of Neoacanthoneura further differ from species by the non-specialized aculeus, which is neither flattened nor widened, and with a blunt cercal unit.

Description. Head ( Figs. 3–6 ) in lateral view higher and wider than long (in male and female); compound eye large, more than 4 times higher than gena; frons gradually curved anteriorly, forming blunt fronto-facial angle; face nearly flat, vertical or slightly receding; clypeus low, slightly convex; antenna moderately long and wide, flagellomere 1 nearly reaching ventral margin of face; arista conspicuously short pubescent; palpus usually elongate triangular (except in ♂ of N. geomyzina : Fig. 6 ), widest at middle and slightly curved dorsally, often flattened. 1 medial vertical, 1 lateral vertical, 1 pair almost proclinate ocellar and moderately long divergent postocellar setae; 2 reclinate orbital setae of various length, anterior always shorter; often 1–3 inclinate frontal setae more than 2 times as long as surrounding frontal setulae ( Fig. 7 ). Genal, postocellar and postvertical setae moderately or well developed. Head setae and setulae all black.

Thorax longer than wide, sparsely and uniformly whitish microtrichose; 1 postpronotal seta; 1 proepisternal seta and 2 anepisternal setae well-developed; 1 intraalar, 1 postalar, 1 supraalar and 2 dorsocentral setae, all postsutural; prescutellar acrostichal setae absent; 2 pair of scutellar setae; subscutellum subshining ( Fig. 7 ). All setae and setulae of thorax black.

Legs unmodified, with coxae, femora and tibiae uniformly yellow to brown; fore femur with 2 posterodorsal and 1 posteroventral row of setae; midtibial spur nearly twice as long as width of tibia; hind femur with 2 dorsal preapical setae nearly as long as width of femur; all tarsal setulae black.

Wing moderately wide, elongate, 1.8–5.0 mm long, usually sexually dimorphic, with brown or brownish yellow pattern with various hyaline bands, spots or triangular incisions, or sometimes hyaline with 3-4 brown crossbands. Costal vein evenly arcuate, with thin, non-modified setulae or in ♂ of some species costal vein bowed in medial or apical part, with setulae of ventral row, and sometimes in dorsal row, thickened, spur-like and often perpendicular to vein. Vein R1 setulose on dorsal side over its whole length in five species and bare in proximal half in others; vein R2+3 slightly undulate; vein R4+5 bare. Pterostigma moderately long and narrow, non-expanded posteriorly in both sexes. Crossveins r-m and dm-cu usually widely separated, closely approximated in apicalis group. Cell bcu closed by arcuate crossvein, without posteroapical lobe; vein A1+CuA2 reaching or almost reaching posterior margin of wing; anal lobe and alula moderately narrow, vein A2 developed as fold, sometimes almost inconspicuous.

Abdomen shining, non-microtrichose; all tergites and sternites well-developed, tergites 3–5 subequal in length in both sexes and not widened ( Figs. 64 , 82 ), tergite 6 of female short, but conspicuous, bearing setae.

Male postabdomen: sternite 8 setulose ( Figs. 62 , 76 ), epandrium elongate oval, with short surstyli (0.13–0.50 times as long as epandrium itself) bearing 2 prensisetae (in N. euphrantina new species with additional thickened seta); in intact ♂ epandrium appearing like a narrow bar; cerci very short, oval; phallus simple, without apical glans, bare or with sparse fine seta-like scales, neither epiphallus (as in Otites ) nor metaphallic plate (as in Myennidini) developed; phallapodeme short, Y-shaped; sperm pump section allied to sperm sac short, elongate, 0.5–0.7 times as long as ejaculatory apodeme; hypandrium U-shaped, with short apodeme; gonites soft, subequal, bearing no visible trichoid sensilla.

Female terminalia: Eversible membrane similar dorsally and ventrally, with 2 pairs of equal taeniae 0.5 times as long as whole membrane, without spine-like scales, posterior half of membrane uniformly covered with multidentate scales ( Figs. 66 , 72 ). Aculeus moderately long (4–8 times as long as wide), narrow and soft, bearing blunt ( Fig. 85 ) or elongate oval ( Fig. 60 ) cercal unit with moderately short setulae ( Figs. 67 , 73 , 80 ); only 2 lateral subapical setulae slightly longer, at most 0.5 times as long as width of cercal unit. Ventral receptacle ( Fig. 74 ), simple, not morula-like, with sclerotized apical “cap” and slightly folded or knobby basal “peduncle”. 3 spherical spermathecae ( Figs. 68 , 75 , 81 , 86 ).

Figures

FIGURE 61. Neoacanthoneura apicalis new species, paratype 3 (Guatemala), epandrium and phallus, posteriorly.

FIGURES 55 – 60. Neoacanthoneura, habitus, laterally (55 – 59) and ovipositor, dorsally (60 )): 55, N. euphrantina new species, holotype 3 (Costa Rica, Santo Domingo, INBio Park (INBio )); 56, N. geomyzina new species, paratype 3 (Costa Rica, San José, San Gerardo de Dota (USNM )); 57, N. magnipennis, 3 (Colombia, Anolama (USNM )); 58, N. trupaneina new species, holotype 3 (Ecuador, Napo, USNM ENT 00054716); 59 – 60, N. trypetina new species, holotype Ƥ (Dominican Republic, Barahona (CM).

FIGURES 82 – 86. Neoacanthoneura magnipennis (Colombia: Blonay (USNM), 3 (82 – 83) and Ƥ (84 – 86): 82, abdomen (dissected), ventrally; 83, epandrium and phallus, posteriorly; 84, eversible membrane; 85, aculeus; 86, spermathecae.

FIGURES 1 – 7. Heads, left (1 – 6) and head and mesonotum, dorsally (7 )): 1, Aciuroides gephyra; 2, A. insecta; 3, Neoacanthoneura trypetina; 4, N. magnipennis; 5, N. euphrantina; 6, N. geomyzina; 7, N. euphrantina. Abbreviations: dc—dorsocentral seta, fr—frontal seta, oc—ocellar seta, or—orbital seta.

FIGURES 62 – 68. Neoacanthoneura chiroptera new species, paratype 3 (Trinidad, Arima Valley (USNM) (62 – 63) and paratype Ƥ (Trinidad, Simla (USNM) (64 – 68): 62, terminalia, laterally; 63, epandrium and phallus, posterior; 64, abdominal sternites 2 – 6 and spermatheca, ventrally; 65, ovipositor, ventrally; 66, eversible membrane, ventrally; 67, aculeus; 68, spermathecae.

FIGURES 69 – 75. Neoacanthoneura goniata new species, paratype 3 (Trinidad, Blanchisseuse Rd. (AMNH) (69 – 71) and paratype Ƥ (same but (AMNH) (72 – 74): 69, epandrium and phallus, posteriorly; 70, same, laterally; 71, hypandrium, epandrium, ejaculator and phallus, ventrally; 72, eversible membrane, ventrally; 73, aculeus; 74, ventral receptacle; 75, spermathecae. Abbreviations: ceu—cercal unit, eja—ejaculatory apodeme, ls—lateral surstylus, pr—prensisetae, spp—sperm pump, tataeniae.

FIGURES 76 – 81. Neoacanthoneura euphrantina new species, paratype 3 (Costa Rica, Santo Domingo (SIZK) (76 – 79) and paratype Ƥ (same but (SIZK) (80 – 81): 76, terminalia, posteriorly; 77, epandrium and phallus, posteriorly; 78, same, laterally; 79, hypandrium, epandrium, ejaculator and base of phallus, ventrally; 80, aculeus; 81, spermathecae.