Argentinomyia berthae
Creators: name: Montoya, Augusto L.
name: Wolff, Marta
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Argentinomyia
Argentinomyia berthae

description: Argentinomyia berthae (Lima, 1946)
Proposed standard English name: Berthae’s long-antennae flower fly.
(Figs 18, 19 and 92B)
Rhysops berthae Lima, 1946:155. Type locality: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. HOLOTYPE Male ENA. Refs.: Lima, 1946:155 (Fig. 1, head; Fig. 2, abdomen; Fig. 3, wing)
Rhysops berthae. Thompson et al. 1976, 42
Argentinomyia longicornis. Miranda (2017) misidentification
NEOTYPE. Adult male, pinned, deposited at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia. Original label: “ BRAZIL, Amazonas, Igarapé Acará, Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke” / “ -2.963343, -59.922834, 110 m, Malaise suspensa sobre lâmina d’água” / “ 30.ix.2001, Vidal, Jo„o Leg.” “ NEOTYPE / Argentinomyia berthae / Lima, 1946 ” [blue except the first line] (INPA-DIP 000095).
Length (n= 2): Body, 6.1–6.5 mm; Wings, 5.8–6.1 mm.
Diagnosis. Face with tubercle low, one transversal groove; frontal triangle with a transversal brownish pollinose fascia, pile black; basoflagellomere longer, a little longer than scape and pedicel together; scutum blue metallic without pollinosity, except white pollinose on lateral sides; metafemur brown except yellow on basal 1/4; abdomen narrowed toward the base, with two pairs of oval maculae on 2 nd to 3 rd terga; surstylus with dorsal margin slightly concave and ventral margin slightly convex; hypandrium narrowed laterally towards the apex; aedeagal lobe circular, apex rounded.
Redescription. MALE. Head (Fig. 18A): Face black, sides of face whitish-pollinose and pilose; tubercle low with a single transversal groove. Frontal triangle with a transversal brownish pollinose fascia, pile black. Gena orange, covered with white pollen. Ocellar triangle opaque, with a brown cross band which is narrow in the anteromedial half, without a point projecting downwards in the middle, yellow whitish pilose. Occiput white pollinose and pilose. Antennae yellow, short, ratio 1.5:1.0:2.3; basoflagellomere brown dorsally, longer than pedicel; arista yellow at base and dark on apical third, pilose. Thorax (Figs 18C): Black aeneous, scutum blue metallic without a pollinose pattern, except white pollinose on lateral sides of notopleuron and postpronotum. Pleura shining aeneous, white pollinose and pilose, sparse. Scutellum shining greenish-brassy to aeneous, yellow pilose. Wing (Fig. 18C): Hyaline, stigma yellow, membrane microtrichose, except cell c bare on basal 1/4, cells bm bare on basal 1/2 and cell r bare on basal 1/2, cell cua bare on anterior 1/3; calypter wholly white; plumula yellow; halter yellow, capitulum yellow. Legs (Fig. 18C): Yellow, pro- and mesolegs light yellow; pro- and mesofemora yellow, metafemur brown except yellow on basal 1/4; metatibia brown, pro- and mesocoxae yellow, metacoxa brown; pile yellow. Abdomen (Figs 18C): Abdomen narrowed toward the base, 2 nd tergum with a pair of lateral rounded maculae, covered by the entire lateral margin but attenuated posteriorly; 3 rd tergum with a pair of elongate, slightly oblique, yellow maculae, reaching the lateral margin and slightly touching each other toward the middle; 4 th and 5 th terga black; yellow pilose, with blackish pile on black areas, male genitalia: surstylus in lateral view (Fig. 19A) with dorsal margin slightly concave and ventral margin slightly convex; hypandrium in ventral view (Fig. 19C) narrowed laterally towards the apex; aedeagal lobe in ventral view (Fig. 19C) circular, apex rounded.
FEMALE (Figs 13D–F). Similar to male except for usual sexual dimorphism and differing in the frontal triangle with a transversal black macula, 4 th tergum with a pair of oblique, yellow maculae.
Taxonomic notes. Argentinomyia berthae is similar in appearance to A. festiva and A. lanei, differing from them by the following combination of characters: Face with tubercle low, one transversal groove; frontal triangle with a transversal brownish pollinose fascia, pile black (Figs 18A, C, D, F); basoflagellomere longer, a little longer than scape and pedicel together (Figs 18A, C, D, F); scutum blue metallic without pollinosity, except white pollinose on lateral sides (Figs 18B, E, F); metafemur brown except yellow on basal 1/4 (Figs 18B, D, F); abdomen narrowed toward the base, with two pairs of oval maculae on 2 nd to 3 rd terga (Figs 18B, E, F-G). Argentinomyia festiva differs from A. berthae by the presence of a golden and very thick facial pubescence, frontal triangle yellow pilose, face with dorsal part forked by a broad dash of pollen reaching to the tubercle base (Figs 32A, C, D-F); metafemur black, only yellow on basal 3/4 (Figs 32A, C, D-F); abdomen with three pairs of yellow vittae on 2 nd to 4 th terga of male, 3 rd tergum with a pair of elongate, slightly oblique, yellow maculae, reaching the lateral margin and slightly touching each other toward the middle (Figs 32B, E). In A. lanei the female frontal triangle with two rounded maculae (Figs 40 D-F); mesonotum punctulate, shining bronze to aeneous, with brownish vittae on anterior half (Figs 40B, E); pro- and mesolegs light orange-brown; metafemur brown except for yellow on basal 1/2 and the tip (Figs 40A, C, D-F); abdomen with a pair of oblique maculae on 3 rd to 4 th terga (Figs 40B, E). Based on males, A. berthae differs from A. festiva and A. lanei in having the surstylus in lateral view (Fig. 19A) with dorsal margin slightly concave and ventral margin slightly convex, shorter than broad [versus surstylus with dorsal and ventral margins approximately of the same width in the whole length, elongated, at least two times longer than broad in A. festiva (Fig. 33A) and shorter than broad in A. lanei (Fig. 41A)]; aedeagal lobe in ventral view (Fig. 16C) circular, apex rounded [versus aedeagal lobe, with acute apex in A. festiva (Fig. 33C) and A. lanei (Fig. 41C)] (see “differential diagnosis” under each species or key).
Remarks. Argentinomyia berthae was originally described from a unique male, collected in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by Dr. Bertha Luz, Nº9790 and deposited in the Coleҫao da Escola Nacional de Agronomia (ENA, now Colección Costa Lima, Universidad Federal Rural de Río de Janeiro) (Lima 1946). However, attempts to trace the type material at this institution failed, suggesting that the original material was destroyed, or lost (Dr. Francisco Racca Filho of Colección Costa Lima de la Universidad Federal Rural de Río de Janeiro and Dr. José Pujol Luz of Universidade de Brasília: personal communication).
Another relevant issue about A. berthae is that despite the original description was brief but illustrated the frontal view of head as well as the dorsal habitus of abdomen and wing (Lima 1946, figs 1-3), the lack of a detailed diagnosis resulting in uncertain status, with the erroneous identification of this species as the widespread A. longicornis by Miranda (2017; http://syrphidae.inpa.gov.br/syrphidae/index.php/generos/syrphi?id=63). This taxonomic confusion could be caused by the scarcity of specimens of this rare species in collections as well as not being included in a key since its description; indicating indeed the difficulty to recognize it (ICZN 1999, Art. 75.3.1). Therefore, since the name-bearing original type specimen was confirmed to be lost as well as the uncertain taxonomic status, the Neotype designation is deemed needed to ensure the stability of this taxon (ICZN 1999, Art. 75.3.4).
We selected Neotype specimen that are consistent with the original description and illustrations provided by Lima (ICZN 1999, Art. 75.3.5). To fulfill the qualifying criteria, we provide unique identifying information associated with the Neotype, including redescription, taxonomic notes, habit photographs as well as the illustration of male genitalia, with the inclusion in a new key as well as a comparative diagnosis to clarifying the taxonomic status (ICZN 1999, Art. 75.3.1–75.3.3).
We designated a Neotype for A. berthae, using a male specimen collected in Brazil (Amazonas, Igarapé Acará, Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke), in a location closer to the natural location of the original type (ICZN 1999, Art. 75.3.6). The Neotype is deposited in the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, Brazil (ICZN 1999, Art. 75.3.7).
Non-type material examined. BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro, -22.763426, -43.688251, 27 m, i.1939, R.C. Shannon Leg. (1♀, USNM ENT 01443843; headless). VENEZUELA. Amazonas, T. F. Amazonas, Basecamp, Cerro de la Neblina, T.F.A., 0.804185, -66.006645, 2645 m, Malaise trap over a small stream at the side of basecamp, 20- 24.iii.1984, O. Flint and J. Louton (1♀, USNM ENT 01443843) ”.
Geographical range. Argentinomyia berthae (n= 2) is distributed in Brazil (Amazonas and Rio de Janeiro) and Venezuela * (Cerro de la Neblina) (Fig. 92B). The species is present at low and middle altitudes (27 and 2655 m) in the following biogeographical domains and provinces: Amazonian: Imerí (2655 m); Paraná: Atlantic Forest (27 m).
description: Published as part of Montoya, Augusto L. & Wolff, Marta, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Argentinomyia Lynch-Arribálzaga, 1891 (Diptera: Syrphidae), with description of 16 new species, pp. 1-157 in Zootaxa 5234 (1) on pages 38-41, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5234.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7609993