Paleotelmatoscopus formosa
Creators: name: Curler, Gregory R.
name: Skibińska, Kornelia
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Psychodidae
Paleotelmatoscopus
Paleotelmatoscopus formosa

description: Paleotelmatoscopus formosa (Meunier, 1905)
Pericoma formosa Meunier, 1905, in part (see Table 1).
Diagnosis. Species known only from Eocene Baltic amber. Male with the following combination of character states: head with corniculi inserted at postocciput (Figs. 2; 5; 8; 10; 12); antennal scape with prominent, bulbous mesial lobe at apex (Figs. 2; 5–8; 12); flagellomere 1 fusiform, with node broader than remaining flagellomeres; posterior wing margin convex between Cu and A 1, changing abruptly to straight between A 1 and alula (Figs. 1; 5; 9); gonopods at point of articulation between gonocoxite and gonostyli conspicuously wider than all preceding abdominal segments (Figs. 3; 4; 9).
Description. Male. Outline of head pyriform in frontal view, narrowing from vertex to postocciput; simple, mushroom-shaped cornicula inserted on either side of postocciput; eyebridge comprised of four complete facet rows, separated by two facet diameters at median; interocular suture arched toward vertex, not distinctly U-shaped; frons, vertex, occiput covered with setae alveoli; frons conspicuous, bulging between antennae; clypeus with ventral margin straight; labrum inconspicuous, triangular in frontal view; labellum bulbous, equal in width or narrow compared to clypeus; palp with segments cylindrical, nondescript; apical palp segment elongate, approximately twice the length of preceding segment; scapus elongate, more than three times longer than wide, with prominent mesial lobe at apex; mesial surface of scape covered in dark, spatulate setae; pedicel with basal half cylindrical, apical half globular, narrow compared to node of flagellomere 1; flagellomere 1 broad-fusiform, symmetrical, with node broader than that of remaining flagellomeres; flagellomeres 2–13nodiform, with nodes and internodes narrowing progressively from base to apex of antenna; apical flagellomere with node spherical, apiculus digitiform, setose. Thorax with lateral sclerites poorly visible in most specimens; expandable lobes and other remarkable features ab-sent; legs with femora and tibiae increasing in length from foreleg to hindleg; wing with C approximately equal in thickness compared to longitudinal veins; Sc extending to base of R 2+3; radial fork placed slightly apical to medial fork, both placed slightly basal to apex of Cu. Terminalia with hypandrium band-like, without increase in length at median, not extending beyond anterior margins of gonocoxites; gonopods at point of articulation between gonocoxite and gonostyli conspicuously wider than all preceding abdominal segments; gonocoxite reniform in dorsal view; gonostylus acuminate, progressively tapered from base to apex, with slight bend at midlength, longer than gonocoxite; parameres membranous, fused into sheath, completely surrounding aedeagus; epandrium narrowing from base to apex in dorsoventral view, emarginate posteriorly, with paired aperture ventrally; surstyli elongate, curved dorsally, slightly inflated at base, with cluster of more than 10 tenacula inserted dorsoapically; hypoproct conspicuous, triangular in dorsoventral view, narrowing from base to apex.
Female. Head without corniculi; eye bridge comprised of four complete facet rows; scape cylindrical, approximately 2.5 times longer than wide, pedicel globular, flagellomere 1 of similar shape to flagellomeres 2–13; ascoids palmate, with three branches.
Type material. A male specimen of Pericoma formosa Meunier, 1905 numbered Z2681 (GZG. BST 06169) is here designated as the lectotype.
Other material examined. See Table 1 and the corresponding folio in Morphobank: http://morphobank.org/ permalink/?F895
Comments. The lectotype male shows all diagnostic characters for this species, which is why this specimen was chosen, despite the fact that the genitalia is not clearly visible. Considering the diagnostic characters listed above, an examination of the original series of specimens as listed by Meunier (1905) shows that “ Pericoma ” formosa included at least two species. Some of these specimens are identified here as Paleotelmatoscopus formosa, while others are identified as a new species, described below.
P. formosa has a significantly broader wing and longer scape than P. madrizi, and a wider head capsule in at least the male, but probably the female as well (see measurements in Table 1). Unfortunately, there are no female specimens of P. madrizi in the material studied by us, of which the head capsule could be accurately measured for comparison.
description: Published as part of Curler, Gregory R. & Skibińska, Kornelia, 2021, Paleotelmatoscopus, a proposed new genus for some fossil moth flies (Diptera Psychodidae, Psychodinae) in Eocene Baltic amber, with description of a new species, pp. 505-524 in Zootaxa 4927 (4) on pages 508-509, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4927.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/4543045