Pterocalla (Pterocalla) amnoni, Hernández-Ortiz & Hernández-López, 2019

Hernández-Ortiz, Vicente & Hernández-López, Mónica, 2019, Taxonomical notes on the Neotropical genus Pterocalla Rondani (Diptera: Ulidiidae), with description of a new species from Mexico, Israel Journal of Entomology (Oxford, England) 49 (2), pp. 169-177 : 171-174

Pterocalla (Pterocalla) amnoni n. sp.

( Figs 1–3, 7–11)

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F4A97DA8-5B14-4E7E-9E96-1ED43A8F7D64 .

Etymology: This species is named to honor Amnon Freidberg, a great friend and world citizen, fellow expert in the tropical dipterofauna and the organizer of the memorable First Symposium on Biotaxonomy of the Tephritoidea held in Israel.

Diagnosis: Body mostly reddish brown with irregular dark brown spots primarily on scutum, pleuron and abdominal tergites; orbital setae well-developed, ocellars nearly ½ length of orbitals; wing pattern mostly dark brown with numerous yellow spots, encircled by hyaline halo mostly occurring in cells r 1, r 3, r 5, br and dm; apical third of wing with three marginal hyaline spots, one in cell r 1, and two others in cell m; lateral surstylus apically rounded in posterolateral view; medial surstylus with robust sclerotized prensiseta, ca. ½ as long as lateral surstylus, preceded by 6–8 translucent spines; phallus membranous fitted with some cuticular spines scattered along the structure; distiphallus translucent or hyaline, without visible sclerites.

Description ( Fig. 1): Head. As wide as long in lateral view, mostly reddish brown with orbital margins and frons covered with fine whitish pollinosity and golden shade, extending anteriorly near the lunula; frons with lower margin somewhat darker than upper portion close to ocellar triangle, with scattered black setulae; scape and pedicel mostly yellow, flagellomere blackish, rounded apically extended to clypeal edge, arista bare; palpus yellowish, elongated, rather dark brownish in apical third; occiput and gena dark brown; one orbital seta reclined; ocellars present, ca. 0.5× as long as orbitals; medial and lateral vertical setae present.

Thorax. Measurements (mm): female length 1.93–2.24; male length 1.86–2.10. Scutum and scutellum reddish brown coated by golden pollinosity, and brownish black setulae arranged in longitudinal stripes; scutum surface with black spots, at points of insertion of setae and setulae, becoming larger in middle and close to posterior margin; postpronotal lobe yellow.One postpronotal, 2 notopleurals, 1 postsutural supra-alar, 1 postalar, 1 intra-alar, 2 dorsocentrals (anterior shorter than posterior), and 1 acrostichal setae present. Pleuron mostly dark brown with few paler irregular spots; anepisternum with three setae present in vertical line at posterior margin, the upper one being larger; katepisternal seta well developed; scutellum brownish yellow, with brown transverse stripe; two pairs of scutellar setae present. Legs. Mostly yellow, with brownish markings forming irregular rings on the femora and tibiae; fore femur with ventral row of 5 or 6 large black setae; tarsi yellow.

Wing ( Fig. 2). Measurements (mm): female 4.7–5.52 long, 1.67–2.19 wide (ratio length/width 2.71 ± 0.08); male 4.43–4.76 long, 1.62–1.86 wide (ratio length/width 2.59 ± 0.07); ratio thorax/wing 0.40–0.42 ± 0.01. Vein R 2+3 bent from level of r–m and curved forward at wing margin; vein M gently undulated just before apical margin of wing; length from r–m to dm–cu nearly as long as dm–cu; cell cup with posteroapical angle protruded, nearly as long as cell body. Pattern predominantly dark brown, with a series of paler yellow spots encircled by hyaline halo, arranged irregularly in cells r 1, r 3, r 5, br and dm; apical third of wing with two well-defined ocellar spots (described as small hyaline dot surrounded by black ring), one in cell r 3 and other in cell r 5 located near vein R 4+5, and diffuse hyaline dot (without surrounding black coloration) in r 5, at level of dm–cu; pterostigma dark brown; wing margin with hyaline stain contiguous to apex of cell sc; semi-circular hyaline spot at apex of vein R 1; two hyaline spots on margin of cell m, one in middle and other at end of vein Cu 1; lower half of cell cu 2 hyaline adjacent to lower edge of wing. Coloration pattern in both sexes seems similar; however, male pterostigma ca. 1.2× as wide as in female. Haltere whitish.

Abdomen. Predominantly yellow, with many irregular dark spots and blackish hair scattered on all tergites, except in tergite 1+2 which is largely yellow. Male with second abdominal tergite with 2 irregular light brown patches on the middle area.

Male terminalia ( Figs 3, 7–9). Epandrium brownish red, nearly spherical; medial surstylus with single sclerotized prensiseta sided by 6–8 sturdy hyaline spines; phallus coiled about three times, with dark edges throughout its length, and fitted with a few translucent teeth or spines scattered over its membrane, distiphallus membranous and fully translucent, without any visible internal or external sclerites.

Female terminalia ( Figs 10, 11). Oviscape heart-shaped, shining brownish covered with scarce black pilosity, 0.80–0.87 mm long (nearly long as two apical tergites combined), and 0.91–1.06 mm wide basally; aculeus 1.43–1.58 mm long, gradually tapering toward the apex with three pre-apical sensory spines.

Holotype: ♂ Mexico: Veracruz, Station of Tropical Biology Los Tuxtlas-UNAM ( STBLT) [18°34'56"N 95°04'37"W], 246 m, 17.xii.2013, M. Madora.

Paratypes: Mexico: same Data as holotYpe , 17.xii.2013 (1♂ 2♀ IEXA, 2♀ CNIN); same localitY [18°34'56"N 95°04'37"W], 246 m, M. MaDora : 30.xii.2013 (1♂ CNIN) , 3.iii.2014 (1♂ CNIN, 2♀ IEXA) , 16.iv.2014 (3♂ 2♀ IEXA, 2♀ CNIN) , 14.v.2014 (1♀ CNIN) , 15.viii.2014 (1♀ IEXA) ; same localitY [18°35'47"N 95°06'07"W], 204 m, 17.vi.2016, M. MaDora & F. RamíreZ (1♂ IEXA, 1♀ CNIN); same localitY [18°34'58"N 95°04'35"W], 231 m, M. MaDora : 17.xii.2013 (1♂ 1♀ IEXA, 1♀ CNIN) , 31.i.2014 (3♂ IEXA) , 14.ii.2014 (1♂ IEXA, 1♀ CNIN) , 3.iii.2014 (1♂ 1♀ IEXA) , 16.iii.2014 (1♀ CNIN) , 14.vii.2014 (1♀ IEXA) , no Date (1♀ IEXA) ; same localitY [18°34'55"N 95°04'35"W], 207 m, M. MaDora: 3.iii.2014 (1♀ CNIN) , 30.xii.2013 (1♀ CNIN) , 31.i.2014 (1♂ CNIN) , 31.iii.2014 (2♀ IEXA) , 30.vi.2014 (1♀ CNIN) ; same Data but 29.x.2013, F. AceveDo (1♂ 2♀ CNIN, 1♀ IEXA) .