Neopleurophora cauca Ament & Amorim 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ament, Danilo Cesar
name: Amorim, Dalton De Souza
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Phoridae
Neopleurophora
Neopleurophora cauca

description: Neopleurophora cauca, sp. nov.   
(Figs. 100–103, 219, 298–299)  
 Diagnosis (males). Hypopygium very large; epandrial medial process large, strongly curved ventrally, bifurcated into a right rounded branch and a left branch bearing an apical sclerotized tooth and a pointed projection near base.   
 Material examined. Holotype ♂, COLOMBIA: Cauca: PNN Gorgona: Mancora, 2.97ºN, 78.18ºW, 18.xii– 3.i.2001, Malaise trap, 60 m, H. Torres col. (IAVH).   
 Description. Male. Body length, 3 mm. Head. Frons dark brown, pubescent, without median furrow. Flagellomere 1 light brown, pubescent, oval. Arista pre-apical, pubescent. Palpus yellowish-brown; one lower genal and two upper genal setae. Thorax. Scutum and scutellum dark brown, pleural sclerites brown; anepisternum setulose dorsally, with one long seta. Legs light brown. Forefemur with ventral row of four strong setae near apex. Foretibia with one dorsal seta at basal third and an anterodorsal row of strong setae. Both midtibiae missing in the holotype. Hind femur swollen (height/length ratio, 0.44), without ventral, strong setae. Hind tibia with 3–4 anterodorsal and five posterodorsal setae (Fig. 219). Wing. Costa 0.5 of the wing length, other wing features as for the genus. Halter could not be observed. Abdomen. Tergites dark brown, with lighter posterior band and dense microtrichia producing a silvery sheen. Tergite 6 about three times longer than other tergites. Hypopygium light brown, very large (Figs. 100–103). Epandrial medial process large, strongly curved ventrally, bifurcated into a right rounded branch and a left branch bearing an apical sclerotized tooth and a pointed projection near base. Epandrial right posterior margin with one medial and one ventral short projections, with subepandrial setulose process. Hypandrium lobes of about the same size, left lobe pointed apically. Hypoproct with two setae. Phallus (Figs. 298– 299). Basiphallus with large dorsal process. Core plate flattened, bilobed. Epiphallus with large, transparent scales, connected to the right arm at the left of the phallus. Ventral plate well developed, trifurcated in the secondary scaled process, covered with large, sclerotized scales, medial lobe bearing large scales and ventral, sclerotized, setulose, pointed process.   
 Female. Unknown.   
 Geographic distribution. Known only from the type-locality in the western coast of Colombia.   
 Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the type-locality, Cauca, and should be treated as a noun in apposition.   
 Comments. Neopleurophora cauca is probably closely related to N. megalopyga and N. costaricana, as indicated by their large epandrial medial process. An even closer relationship may exist between N. cauca and N. megalopyga, suggested by the pointed sclerotized hypandrial left lobe and epandrial medial process left branch with a basal projection.
description: Published as part of Ament, Danilo Cesar & Amorim, Dalton De Souza, 2013, Taxonomic revision of the genus Neopleurophora Brown (Diptera: Phoridae), with the description of thirty seven new species, pp. 1-93 in Zootaxa 3657 (1) on pages 43-45, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3657.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5265587