Macrostomus fulvithorax (Curran)

Rafael, José Albertino & Cumming, Jeffrey M., 2009, Revision of the genus Macrostomus Wiedemann (Diptera: Empididae: Empidinae). I. The ferrugineus species-group, Zootaxa 2064 (1), pp. 39-56 : 52

Macrostomus fulvithorax (Curran)

( Fig. 9 )

Axelempis fulvithorax Curran 1931:10 .

Macrostomus fulvithorax ; Smith 1961: 54, fig. 7; 1967:30 (catalogued); Rafael 2001: 128, figs. 1–7, 10–11 (redescription); Rafael & Cumming 2004: 440, 441, 446 (citation); Yang et al. 2007: 145 (catalogued); Cumming & Sinclair, in press (citation).

Diagnosis. Thorax, abdomen and legs predominantly yellow to yellow-reddish; postcranium black, shining black with no gray pruinescence on upper third; fore tarsomeres 1–3 not whitish distally; male tergite 8 with distal projection moderately truncated. Female hind tibia with pinnate scales along most of dorsal surface and ventral basal half.

This species was redescribed and figured by Rafael (2001). It is known only from a pair (holotype male, allotype female) collected from Panama ( Canal Zone , Barro Colorado Island) ( Fig. 9 ), in copula and deposited at AMNH .

Discussion. Macrostomus fulvithorax has nearly the same shape of hypandrium as M. ferrugineus , but with no setae ventrally. It appears to be most closely related to M. occidentalis on the basis of the truncate male tergite 8 projection, the bifid posterior lobe of the male cercus and the hypandrium without ventral setae. It differs from M. occidentalis by having a subrectangular apical protuberance on the hypandrium and well sclerotized ventral surface of the hypandrium.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Distribution map of species belonging to the Macrostomus ferrugineus species-group with tergite 8 truncated or forked distally. Symbols represent the known collection localities as follows: diamond = M. longipennis, n. sp.; open circle = M. furcatus, n. sp.; open triangle = M. flavus, n. sp.; square = M. fulvithorax; star = M. occidentalis.