Mberu amorimi, Silva & Capellari & Oliveira, 2025

Silva, Paulo Cesar, Capellari, Renato S. & Oliveira, Sarah S., 2025, Revision and morphological phylogeny of the Neotropical genus Mberu Capellari & Amorim (Diptera: Dolichopodidae), with description of twelve new species, Zootaxa 5637 (3), pp. 469-514 : 486-487

Mberu amorimi sp. nov.

( Figs 8 , 9 )

Description. Male. Body length: 2.32–2.50 mm. Wing length: 2.10–2.44 mm long, 0.67–0.73 mm wide (n = 3). Body mostly brown, with slight blue or green reflections. Head ( Fig. 8B, C ). Frons width 1/3 head width; at narrowest part, slightly wider at ventral and dorsal ends; eyes separated on face, converging at middle, narrowest distance as broad as diameter of mid ocellus; face and clypeus with dense silver pruinosity; palpus brown, whitish on edges and apex, covered by 1–2 setulae on apex; proboscis light brown, with short whitish hairs; one proclinate, convergent vt s, one reclinate, slightly divergent, strong oc s, nearly two as long as vt s; pair of poc s, 0.5 times length of vt s; occiput distinctly concave above, shiny dark brown, lower surface of occiput covered by one complete row of white pocl s, increasing in size ventrally, ventralmost sparse and straight, as long as vt s; lower occiput covered by some white, straight ocp s, increasing in size ventrally, 1.3 times as long as lower pocl s. Scape short, yellow, dorsal surface bare; pedicel yellow, with crown of apical dark setae; postpedicel dark yellow, triangular, pubescent, about 1.5 times longer than basal width; stylus about 4.3 times longer than postpedicel, dorsally inserted, bare, displaced laterally, bi-articulated at base. Thorax ( Fig. 8C ). Brown, with some green or blue reflections, 0.7 times as long as abdomen, posterior slope of mesonotum distinctly flattened, postpronotal lobe with lower pale spot. Short scattered setae from anterior end of mesonotum to slightly beyond transverse suture; two rows of 13–15 small ac, ending at mesonotal slope, last two diverging; 6–7 dc, increasing in size posteriorly, posterior five conspicuously longer than anteriormost; one psut ial s, one presut spal s, one large psut spal s; two white pprn s, one strong and one tiny; two npl s; two pal s, one strong and one setula anteriad; one pair of strong l sctl s, one pair of smaller laterad setae, about half as long as l sctl s; two white prepst s. Wing ( Fig 8A ). Membrane hyaline, veins brown. C ending on M 1, before wing apex; Sc ending at basal third of R 1; R 1 ending at about basal third of wing; R 2+3 and R 4+5 strongly displaced towards anterior margin as compared to R 1, anterior cells strongly compressed, R 2+3 ending in C at apical fourth of wing; R 4+5 and M 1 convergent beyond dm-m, parallel at wing apex; M 4 complete, reaching wing margin; CuA+CuP strong, not reaching wing margin. Cilia of calypter pale, long. RMx ratio = 3.2, CuAx ratio = 0.3. Lower calypter and halter whitish. Legs. Completely yellow, except coxa II and III brown, sclerotized. Claws unmodified. Pulvilli small. Leg I. Coxa I ( Fig. 8B, C ) covered with white setae increasing in length towards apex, but smaller than ocp s; femur I with one ventral row of small white setae, posterior surface bare, except one white preapical seta; tibia I covered by small, fine setae; tarsus I with ventral surface entirely bare, dorsal surface covered by dark setae; tarsomere 1 smaller than remaining tarsomeres combined. Leg II. Coxa II with a few white setulae anteriorly, bare laterally; femur II covered by small setulae, ventral surface completely bare and one strong brown pv seta near apex; with ventral excavation at apex (all MSSC); tibia II with major setae at dorsal 1/2 and 3/4 and one apical seta dorsally; IIt1–4 with one av seta, one ventral and one pv small black seta at apex. Leg III. Coxa III with one conspicuous, long, white seta near base; femur III with one dorsal row of setae, decreasing in length towards apex and av row of 7–8 pale setae increasing in size towards apex, last four conspicuously longer than basalmost (MSSC) (e.g. Fig. 16D ); tibia III with one row of dorsal pale setae and one ventral seta at apex; tarsomere 1 with one row of ventral setae, without ventral excavation at base. Relative podomere ratios: I: 6.1/ 6.8/ 3.4/ 2.2/ 1.6/ 1/ 0.8; II: 7.7/ 7.7/ 4.7/ 2.6/ 2/ 1.2/ 1; III: 6.9/ 8.1/ 2/ 2.5/ 1.7/ 1/ 1. Abdomen. Mostly light brown, with some dark blue to green reflections. Tergites 1–5 covered by short setae. Segment 6 partially hidden under tergite 5, tergite 6 bare; segment 7 forming short peduncle, tergite and sternite 7 bare; sternite 8 small, triangular. Sternites 1–3 visible, sclerotized, sternite 4 membranous. Hypopygium ( Fig. 9 ). Epandrium elongate, twice longer than high, dark ( Fig. 9B ). MEp stout, approximately 2.5 times less than VSur height, with dorsal face rough, with 2 small dorsal setae near apex ( Fig. 9C, F ). DSur and VSur covering internal appendages ( Fig. 9A ); VSur ( Fig. 9C ) enlarged, twice higher than DSur, sclerotized at apex; DSur ( Fig. 9D ) elongated, twice wider than height. Hypandrium basally fused to epandrium. Phallus straight, without apical projection ( Fig. 9G ). Cercus ( Fig. 9E ) divided in two parts, ventral part curved and stout, with 3–4 spines ventrally and one long, anterior seta, dorsal part rounded, covered by fine setae, with two long setae apically. Female. Body length: 2.72–2.93 mm. Wing length: 2.6–2.8 long, 0.92–0.94 mm wide (n = 3). Habitus similar to male, except for MSSCs and as noted. Head. Face slightly broader (about as broad as ocellar tubercle), slightly wider towards apex, clypeal suture evident. Thorax. Two strong, white prepst s. Wing. RMx ratio = 4.5, CuAx ratio = 0.34. Legs. Leg I. Coxa I covered with white setae increasing in length towards apex; femur I without row of setae. Leg II. Tibia II with major setae at ad 1/4 and 1/2, one pv at 2/3, one av, one ventral and one pv dark seta at apex; It1–4 with one av, one ventral and one pv small black seta at apex. Relative podomere ratios: I: 6/ 6.9/ 3.5/ 2.3/ 1.6/ 1/ 1; II: 18.3/ 16.9/ 12.9/ 6.9/ 4.5/ 2.7/ 1; III: 10.8/ 11.5/ 3/ 4.1/ 2.5/ 1.7/ 1. Abdomen. Mostly light brown, with some dark blue to green reflections. Oviscapt as in M. bodoquena sp. nov.

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♂, “ BRASIL, RS [Rio Grande do Sul], São Lourenço do Sul | Foz do Antônio Grande: Mata nas dunas próximo à Lagoa dos Patos | Malaise - 31.x-8-xi.2011 | S31.4816 W52.00817 [31°28′53.8″S 52°00′29.4″W] | F.D. Kirst & R.F. Kruger col.”; “HOLOTYPE | Mberu amorimi | Silva, Capellari & Oliveira [red label]” ( MZUSP) . Holotype in good condition, genitalia not dissected. PARATYPES. Brazil. Rio Grande do Sul. Same data as holotype (2 ♂, one dissected, 3 ♀, MZUSP) .

Etymology. Named after the Brazilian entomologist Dalton de Souza Amorim, one of the authors of the genus Mberu and who provided the material for the study.

Remarks. Mberu amorimi sp. nov. is similar to M. britoi sp. nov. but can be differentiated by legs completely yellow in M. amorimi sp. nov. ( Fig. 8A ), and MEp stout, approximately 2.5 times less than VSur height, with dorsal face rugose ( Fig. 9C, F ). In M. britoi sp. nov., the legs are completely dark brown ( Fig. 10A ) and MEp is narrow, approximately 4.5 times less than VSur height, with dorsal face straight ( Fig. 11C, E ).

Distribution ( Fig. 24 ). Brazil: state of Rio Grande do Sul (Pampa biome).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Mberu amorimi sp. nov., male holotype. A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Head, anterior view; C. Head and thorax, lateral view.

FIGURE 9. Mberu amorimi sp. nov., male hypopygium of paratype in left lateral view. A–B. Hypopygium not dissected and dissected, respectively; C. VSur and epandrial lobes; D. DSur (dotted line represents broken part); E. Cercus; F. MEp (arrow pointing to rough dorsal surface); G. Phallus. Abbreviations: cerc = cercus; DSur = dorsal surstylar lobe; hypd = hypandrium; LEp = lateral epandrial lobe; MEp = medial epandrial lobe; ph = phallus; VSur = ventral surstylar lobe.

FIGURE 10. Mberu britoi sp. nov., male holotype. A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Head and thorax, oblique lateral view; C. Head, anterior view.

FIGURE 11. Mberu britoi sp. nov., male hypopygium of holotype in left lateral view. A–B. Hypopygium not dissected and dissected, respectively; C. VSur and epandrial lobes; D. DSur; E. MEp (arrow pointing to smooth dorsal surface); F. Cercus; G. Phallus; H. Postgonite. Abbreviations: cerc = cercus; DSur = dorsal surstylar lobe; hypd = hypandrium; LEp = lateral epandrial lobe; MEp = medial epandrial lobe; ph = phallus; VSur = ventral surstylar lobe.

FIGURE 16. Mberu periotoi sp. nov., male holotype. A. Habitus, lateral view; B. Head, anterior view; C. Head and thorax, lateral view; D. Leg III, lateral view.

FIGURE 24. Geographic distribution of Mberu Capellari & Amorim, 2011 through South America and the phylogenetic hypothesis in the lower left corner. Savannas are represented by the Cerrado and Chaco biomes, fields by the Pampa biome, flooded fields by the Pantanal biome, and tropical forests by the Atlantic Forest biome.