A new species of Psychodinae (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Argentina

Una nueva especie de Psychodinae (Diptera: Psychodidae) de Argentina

Guillermo H. Omad^*

Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Ecología y Sistemática Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco. Sarmiento 849, 9200 Esquel, Chubut, Argentina. * guillermoomad178@hotmail.com

Recibido: 01 abril 2014
Aceptado: 05 junio 2014

Abstract

A new species of Desmioza Enderlein, 1937 from Argentina is described: Desmioza biancae n.sp. Adults were collected with Malaise traps in the Nahuel Huapi National Park, in the Argentinean Patagonia. This is the third species of the genus described in the Andean region, Patagonian subregion. A dichotomous key for the identification of all known species of the genus is included.

Key words: moth fly, Desmioza, dichotomous key, taxonomy, Patagonia.

Resumen

Se describe una nueva especie de Desmioza Enderlein, 1937 de la Argentina: Desmioza biancae n.sp. Los adultos fueron colectados con trampas Malaise ubicadas en el Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapí, en la Patagonia argentina. Esta es la tercera especie del género descrita en la región Andina, subregión Patagónica. Se incluye una clave dicotómica para la identificación de todas las especies conocidas del género.

Introduction

The genus Desmioza was proposed by Enderlein (1937) to include a previously described species by Tonnoir (1929): Pericoma edwardsi from Bariloche, Argentina. Subsequently Quate (1963) treated Desmioza as a synonym of Pericoma Walker and mentioned that some of the unique characters of Desmioza species were "of no more than specific rank". Then, Quate and Brown (2004) re-established Desmioza as a valid genus, included D. edwardsi (Tonnoir), and transferred to Desmioza another species described by Tonnoir (1929): Pericoma speciosa; they also described for the first time the male of the latter species. Desmioza is distinguished by the following characteristics: head with same coloration above and below eyes, eyes separated, interocular suture present, eye bridge with 3 facet rows, antennae shorter than wing width, flagellomeres fusiform or barrel shaped, simple unbranched ascoids, wing with infuscate patterns, costa without second costal node, R₅ ending beyond the wing tip, a spur at the base of R_3, anterior gonocoxal apodemes expanded, plate like, paramere absent, and aedeagus asymmetrical (Quate & Brown, 2004). The 2 species described before and the one described here have been recorded for the southern part of South America, more specifically from Patagonian Argentina. In this paper I describe a new species of Desmioza, based on male and female characteristics, from Nahuel Huapi National Park, Río Negro province, Argentina.

Materials and methods

Sampling sites. Specimens were captured with Malaise traps located on the west side of the Nahuel Huapi National Park (NHNP). This National Park is one of the biggest in Argentina, with an extension of approximately 709.886 hectares, and extends between the provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén. According to Morrone (2004, 2006) this area is located in the Subandean Patagonia province, Andean region, Patagonian Subregion.

Specimen preparation. Specimens were macerated with hot 10% sodium hydroxide, dehydrated, cleared with clove oil, and mounted on a slide in Canada balsam. Specimens were observed using a Leica MZ6 magnifying lens and a Leitz wetzlar Dialux ocular microscope with micrometer. Drawings were made with the aid of a Canon Powershot® A590 camera, and digitally processed with Inkscape 0.48.4. General terminology for Diptera follows that of McAlpine (1981), while specific morphological terminology for Psychodidae follows Quate and Brown (2004) and Moya et al. (2012). Biogeographical regions are in accordance with Morrone (2001, 2004). The holotype and some paratypes were deposited in the collection of Museo de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina (MLPA).

Description

Male holotype (Fig. 1-8). Head (Fig. 1). About as long as broad (without considering mouthparts), piriform in frontal view; supra-ocular frontal and vertex area 3.1 times higher than eye-bridge width, with spaced alveoli all over the vertex surface, except for a slightly bare band over the interocular suture. Eyes separated by 2.1 facet diameters; interocular suture V-shaped, but slightly interrupted in center; eye-bridge with 3 facet rows. Front below eyes broad with a broad seta alveoli patch emarginated below, separated in the middle by a band without alveoli. Palpus (Fig. 2) about as long as the head width. Palpal segment proportion: 1.0: 1.3: 1.1: 1.6; mouthparts short, 0.15 times as high as the head. Cibarium as figured (Fig. 3). Labella bulbous, with shorts spiniform pointed setae on the distal margin. Antenna short, 0.3 times as long as the wing. Scape 2.1 times longer than wide, and 3 times longer than the globular pedicel (Fig. 4). Antenna with 14 flagellomeres, flagellomeres 1-8 flask shaped, 9-11 barrel shaped; distal 3 reduced (Fig. 5). Ascoids present, unbranched, very small. Last flagellomere with apiculus as long as node (Fig. 5).

Thorax. Wing (Fig. 6) 2.6 times longer than broad with infuscate pattern, with small, faint spots at vein tips, base of R₂₊₃ and R₅, and radial and medial forks; radial fork sligthly basal to medial fork; base of R₅ well distal of base of M3. Sc short ending before the base of R₁. R₅ ending beyond wing apex.

Male genitalia (Fig. 7-8). Aedeagus composed of 2 dark, sclerotized arms; one shorter than the other, reaching about 0.66 its length, wide at middle then tapering to the tip. The other arm slightly sinuous towards the tip. Anterior gonocoxal apodeme plate-like, nearly triangular, without touching at middle. Gonocoxite broad, with the internal margin concave and the external margin rounded, 1.1 times longer than the gonostylus, with seta alveoli all over its surface (Fig. 7). Gonostylus bilobed, with a dorsal lobe that is broad and rounded at the apex, and small bumps like "teeth" on the bottom, extending to the ventral lobe which is smaller, straight and ends in triangular shape as a "peak climber" (Fig. 8). Basiphallus long, 1.6 times longer than gonostylus, broad at base, with a circular foramen. Epandrium naked with anterior margin straight, posterolateral angles rounded, posterior margin slightly cut at middle in a triangular way, leaving the dome rounded tergum 10 visible. Sternum 10 tongue-shaped, longer than broad, with rounded apex. Surtylus long, 1.2 times longer than the basiphallus, with strong spiniform setae on inner margin and some setae alveoli all over its surface (Fig. 9). With 1 apical clavate tenaculum.

Measurements. Head height: 0.48, width: 0.47; mouthparts length (from clypeus inferior border to apex of labellum): 0.07; palpus length: 0.46; antenna length: 0.72; wing length: 2.21, width: 0.83; epandrium length: 0.12; surtylus length: 0.22; tenaculum length: 0.04; gonostylus length: 0.12; gonocoxite length: 0.13; aedeagus length (short arm): 0.10, aedeagus length (longer arm): 0.20. All measures are given in mm.

Female. (Fig. 10-14) Similar to male except for the following characteristics. Eyes separated by 3 facet diameters (Fig. 10). Palpus longer than the male (Fig. 11), about 1.2 times longer than the head height, fourth segment longer than others and striated. Palpal segment proportion: 1.0: 1.1: 1.2: 2.2. Wing (Fig. 12) and antenna (Fig. 13) as figured. Postabdomen (Fig. 14). Subgenital plate nearly triangular. Anterior margin reinforced, with micropubescense and setose hypovalve; hypovalve with the external margin nearly straight, leaving an almost triangular space in the middle. Both lobes with rounded apex. Chitinous arch extending beyond the anterior limit of the pubescence hypovalve and ending in a rounded apex. A small and irregular genital pouch with some clear pores in its surface. Genital ducts with longitudinal and lateral struts well developed (Fig. 14). Cercus long and tappered.

Taxonomic summary

Material examined. Holotype: Mallín Los Patos, Nahuel Huapi National Park. 10-20.xii.2006, Malaise trap. Coordinates: 41º15'48.6" S, 71º17'50.3" W. 1 020 m asl. Garré and Montes de Oca Leg. (MLPA). Paratypes 5 ♂, 4 ♀, same data as the holotype (MLPA). Other specimens studied: 16 males and 28 females, same data as the holotype.

Etymology. The epithet biancae is in honor to the beloved mother of the author Blanca Alegría de Omad.

Remarks

Desmioza biancae differs from the others known species of Desmioza by the unusual shape of the bilobed gonostylus and by the shape of the basiphallus. It has some similarities with D. edwardsi in the shape of gonocoxites and in the shape of the aedeagus, composed of 2 arms (one short and one long). However, the shape of the gonostylus in D. edwardsi differs from D. biancae, as the former presents a strongly curved gonostylus, with a series of small hairs in the most distal part (Quate and Brown, 2004). The female of D. biancae differs from other females previously described by the form of the hypovalve and the genital pouch shape. The lateral strout and the genital ducts of Desmioza biancae share some similarities with Desmioza speciosa (Tonnoir), but differs from it (from D. speciosa) by the characters mentioned above. Desmioza includes (with the new species herein described), only 3 species, all described for the Andean region of Argentina. Currently, the genus is considered endemic to this region; however, it should be noted that all species have overlapping distributions, and in most collections are found associated to Nothofagus forests.

Key to species of Desmioza.

Acknowledgments

This paper was partially founded by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas (CONICET). Gratitude is extended to all the people who worked on the project Darwinian Initiative "Capacity building for biodiversity studies of freshwater insects in Argentina" and also thanks to the staff of the División de Entomología, Museo de La Plata.

Literature cited

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