Balbagathis Quate, 1996

Ibáñez-Bernal, Sergio, Suárez-Landa, Teresa & Inecol, 2015, Balbagathis janjezeki sp. nov., a new species of moth fly from Mexico (Diptera: Psychodidae: Psychodinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 55 (2), pp. 485-494 : 487

Balbagathis Quate, 1996

Balbagathis Quate, 1996: 31 . Type species: Balbagathis sylvatica Quate, 1996 , by original designation.

Balbagathis: QUATE & BROWN (2004) : 59 (diagnosis, original description of 8 species, keys); BRAVO (2004): 439 (description of a Brazilian species); IBÁÑEZ- BERNAL (2008): 92 (Mexican record of B. sylvatica and description of male).

Diagnosis. A Neotropical genus of Maruinini (sensu DUCKHOUSE 1987, 1990) by the presence of wing with R fork basad to M fork, and both placed rather basally of wing, by the form of basiphallus which is broad, dorso-ventrally flattened, and gonocoxal condyles large, with a median dorsal structure which is ball-like in dorsal view, fitting into a concavity on underside of basiphallus, which can be separated from other genera of the tribe by the following adult characteristics ( QUATE & BROWN 2004): vertex about twice to three times of eye-bridge height; eyes nearly contiguous with upper and lower corners angulated, separated by less than one facet diameter and with a short simple interocular suture; eye-bridge with 3–4 facet rows; antenna longer than wing width and shorter than wing length; flagellomere 1 reduced as an oval article, shorter than following flagellomeres; flagellomeres 2–13 strongly nodiform with long internode and nodes excentric to somewhat extent; ascoids simple, considerably longer than respective flagellomeres and curled; labella expanded; palpus much shorter than antenna; anepisternum with a patch of alveoli on posterior one-half; wings clear, radial fork basad of medial, both in basal half of wing; R 5 ending at wing tip; male hypandrium ‘a band between gonocoxites with posterior projections’ (see comments below), aedeagus asymmetrical, surstylus with one tenaculum, and ventral epandrial sclerites V-shaped.

Comments. Balbagathis can be considered as a member of tribe Maruinini only by the wing branch pattern of veins R and M, and in the male by the plate-like gonocoxal condyles. All other characteristics included in the diagnosis of this tribe by DUCKHOUSE (1987, 1990) cannot be appreciated in this genus.

Balbagathis is the sole Neotropical genus currently known to possess a small oval flagellomere 1. This characteristic combined with flagellomeres (except flagellomere 1) bearing a pair of extremely long (at least 3 times the length of the respective flagellomere) curled ascoids, a nearly contiguous eye-bridge with angulate corners, antenna shorter than wing length, wing with Sc short which ends before of the base of R 5, and R 5 ending at wing tip, suffice to separate it from all other known genera of Neotropical Maruinini .

Male terminalia are characteristic as well, but their complexity has been a reason of different interpretations according to authors. Female terminalia (at least in the species in which females are known) has a structure, mentioned as chitinous arch by QUATE & BROWN (2004) greatly exposed distally between the lobes of the subgenital plate.