Ormiophasia morardi
Creators: name: Gudin, Filipe M.
name: Nihei, Silvio S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tachinidae
Ormiophasia
Ormiophasia morardi

description: Ormiophasia morardi (Séguy, 1926b)
(Figs 5G, 7G, 9G, 11G, 13G, 28–29, 40A)
Pseudoneoptera morardi Séguy, 1926b: 19 (description of female). Holotype female (MNHN), examined. Type locality: French Guiana.
Pseudoneoptera morardi: Séguy (1927a: 424; catalog).
Ormiophasia morardi: Townsend (1931: 82; placement of P. morardi in Ormiophasia); Townsend (1938: 236; catalog); Sa- brosky (1953: 182; catalog); Tavares (1964: 38; comments on synonymy), Guimarães (1971: 22; catalog).
Type material examined. HOLOTYPE ♀ (Fig. 29): “934”/ “ Guyane Françse [Française]/ Noveau Chautier”/ “Mu- seum Paris/ Guyane Française/ Coll. E. Séguy 1919”/ “Type”/ “aile preparation, no 1291 [handwriting]”/ “ Pseudoneoptera morardi Seguy / Genotype/ E. Seguy det. 19”/ “Type” [red label]/ “ P. morandi [misspelling], 112” (MNHN).
Additional material examined. Brazil: 1 ♀, Amapá, Amapari River, 29.vi.1959, I. Lane leg. (CEIOC); 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Amazon River, [no date], H.W. Bates leg. (NHMUK); 1 ♀, Amazonas, Castanho-Careiro, AM 359 [highway] Km 39, 3º43’59”S 60º20’09”W, 6–7.xi.2010, J.A. Rafael et al. leg. (INPA); 1 ♀, Amazonas, Manaus, Reserva Ducke, vi.1976, L. Albuquerque leg. (INPA); 1 ♀, Amazonas, Manaus, Km 14, 40 m, 2º35’21”S 60º06’55”W, 26.x.2003, J.A. Rafael et al. leg. (INPA); 1 ♂ [photographed] (Figs 5G, 9G, 11G, 28A, C, E, G), 1 ♀ [photographed] (Figs 7G, 13G, 28B, D, F), Amazonas, Manaus, Km 14, 40 m, 2º35’21”S 60º06’55”W, 21–24.i.2004, C.S. Mota et al. leg. (INPA); 2 ♀♀, Amazonas, Manaus, Km 14, 40 m, 2º35’21”S 60º06’55”W, 18–21.ii.2004, J.A. Rafael et al. leg. (INPA); 1 ♀, Amazonas, Manaus, Km 14, 40 m, 2º35’21”S 60º06’55”W, 16–19.iv.2004, J.A. Rafael et al. leg. (INPA); 3 ♀♀ [one dissected], Amazonas, Manaus, Km 14, 40 m, 2º35’21”S 60º06’55”W, 13–16.viii.2004, J.A. Rafael et al. leg. (INPA); 1 ♀, Pará, Altamira, Xingu River, 3º39’S 52º22’W, 13–21.x.1986, P. Spangler & O. Flint leg. (USNM); 1 ♀, Pará, Cachimbo, 6–14.vi.1956, Travasso & Adão leg. (CEIOC); 1 ♀, Pará, Jambuaçú, Mojú, vii.1967, E.P.D.Z. & M.G. leg. (MPEG). French Guiana: 1 ♀, Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Saut-Maripa, Oyapock, 26.xi.1969, Balachowsky & Gruner leg. (MNHN).
Distribution. Brazil (states of Amapá, Amazonas and Pará) and French Guiana (region of Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
Diagnosis. Ormiophasia morardi can be distinguished from other species of Ormiophasia by head with silver pruinosity (Figs 5G, 7G); clypeus darker than frontoclypeal membrane; thorax and abdomen dark brown (Figs 9G, 11G, 13G); wing with strong infuscation around veins R 1 and R 2+3 and weak infuscation around veins M 1 and dm-cu (Fig. 28G); and apex of male cerci about 1/3 length of cerci (Fig. 40A), subquadrate in posterior view and 1/3 width of cerci, gradually constricted. Ormiophasia morardi is very similar to O. buoculus sp. nov., from which it is distinguishable only in the male sex. Males of O. morardi have ocellar triangle visible in profile (Fig. 28A) and ocelli 1.5 times the size of the dorsal ommatidia (Fig. 5G), whereas males of O. buoculus sp. nov. have a very constricted ocellar triangle, not visible in profile (Fig. 37A), and ocelli smaller than the dorsal ommatidia (Fig. 6G).
Description of male. Body length 6.33–8.91 mm (mean = 7.14 mm); wing length 6.85–8.60 mm (7.34 mm) (n = 4).
Coloration. Head silver-pruinose (Fig. 5G). Frontal vitta dark brown. Ocellar triangle black. Fronto-orbital plate gray. Lunule yellowish-gray. Antenna yellowish-orange to brownish-orange. Parafacial gray. Gena, facial ridge and face brownish-gray. Mouthparts brown except clypeus (dark brown). Occiput dark brown in upper area, becoming light brown in lower area. Thorax silver-pruinose (Figs 9G, 11G). Scutum dark brown; presutural scutum with three silver-pruinose stripes merged posteriorly after suture. Postpronotal lobe and lateral surface of thorax dark brown to brown. Scutellum and subscutellum dark brown. Wing with strong brown infuscation around veins R 1 and R 2+3 and weak brown infuscation around veins M 1 and dm-cu (Fig. 28G). Tegula dark brown. Basicosta light brown. Veins and halter light brown. Calypteres brown. Legs dark brown. Abdomen entirely dark brown with silver pruinosity.
Head (Figs 5G, 28A, C). Elliptic in frontal view; ratio of head height/head width 0.40. Ocelli 1.5 times the diameter of dorsal ommatidia. Postocellar setae 2. Frontal vitta entirely obliterated. Frontal setae 7–9, convergent, posterior ones shorter and weaker. Arista weakly plumose. First flagellomere 2.1 times longer than pedicel. Face 1.5 times wider than facial ridge. Facial ridge 2.6 times wider than parafacial.
Thorax. Basisternum 0.66 times as high as wide (Fig. 28E); median upper margin rounded and long, subtriangular. Prosternal tympanal membrane 0.67 times as high as wide. Proepimeral setae 2, upcurved. Anterodorsal corner of anepisternum with 1 weak seta, about 1/2 length of first notopleural seta; posterior row with 7–8 setae. Meral setae 6–9. Wing. Subequal to body length, three times longer than wide. Basicosta subequal in width to tegula. Base of vein R 4+5 with 2–4 dorsal and 3–4 ventral setae. Section of vein M between crossvein dm-cu and M 1 straight. Legs. Fore femur with row of 13–15 dorsal setae from base to apex and row of 14–17 posteroventral setae from base to apex. Fore tibia with row of 4–5 equally-spaced anterodorsal setae and 1 preapical seta. Mid femur with 2–3 posteroventral basal setae. Hind femur with row of 12–14 anterodorsal setae from base to apex and 3–4 anteroventral basal setae. Hind tibia with 2–3 posterodorsal median setae and 1 preapical seta.
Terminalia (Fig. 40A). Sternite 5 subtrapezoidal; lateral distal lobes pronounced. Anteroventral epandrial process continuous with ventral epandrial margin. Dorsal surface of epandrium short, posterior margin higher than anterior margin; lateral ventral margin slightly curved; posterior area articulated to surstylus with closed, rounded arch. Surstylus stout, thicker than apex of cerci in lateral view; posterior outer surface covered with strong setae in upper two-thirds; posterior inner surface with few strong setae medially. Cerci: basal margin with distinct median projection; apex about 1/3 length of cerci, subquadrate in posterior view, narrow and tapered in lateral view; apex 1/3 width of cerci in posterior view, gradually constricted; apex with anterior surface V-shaped. Postgonite slightly curved, apex tapered in lateral view.
Redescription of female. Differs from male as follows. Body length 6.12–6.97 mm (mean = 6.66 mm); wing length 6.11–8.29 mm (mean = 7.25 mm) (n = 10). Head (Figs 7G, 28B, D). Frontal vitta 1.5 times width of frontoorbital plate. Frontal setae 8–9, from lunule to posterior orbital proclinate seta; second or third anteriormost frontal seta stronger and subequal to subvibrissal setae. First flagellomere 2.8 times as long as pedicel. Thorax. Basisternum 0.53 times as high as wide (Fig. 28F); median upper margin rounded and long, subtriangular. Prosternal tympanal membrane elliptic, 0.78 times as high as wide. Wing 2.7 times longer than wide.
Remarks. The males were associated with the females both by being from the same locality and through body color and infuscation of wing. In the original description, Séguy (1926b) mentioned the distinct infuscation of the wing (Fig. 29G): “Ailes fortement rembrunies le long du bord costal—une ombre plus pâle le long des nervures, surtout des deux grandes transverses”. Neither Townsend nor Tavares referenced this character in their studies. Séguy also assigned to O. morardi microscopic ocelli, which is a clear characteristic of the male of O. buoculus sp. nov. (Fig. 37C). However, it is not possible to know if this character is also present in females of O. buoculus sp. nov., since the female of this species remains unknown. Additionally, the holotype female of O. morardi does not present microscopic ocelli (Fig. 29B, D), showing no conspicuous difference in ocelli size when compared to any other female of Ormiophasia. As already detailed above in the diagnosis, the distinction between O. morardi and O. buoculus sp. nov. is based only on male characters. Since there were no male specimens from French Guiana available for this study and it was not possible to associate any female to the males described as O. buoculus sp. nov., the association between males and females of O. morardi should be considered provisional. The male and female specimens described here as O. morardi were associated with each other because this was the only series with female specimens available for comparison with the holotype. Therefore, the association between this series and this nominal species was justified. However, due to the lack of complementary information regarding French Guiana specimens and females of O. buoculus sp. nov., this issue could not be solved in the present study. A similar situation occurred with O. seguyi sp. nov. and O. townsendi sp. nov., as discussed in their respective descriptions. Ormiophasia morardi seems to be restricted to the Amazon rainforest.
description: Published as part of Gudin, Filipe M. & Nihei, Silvio S., 2019, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Ormiophasia Townsend, 1919 (Diptera: Tachinidae), with the description of eight new species, pp. 1-74 in Zootaxa 4643 (1) on pages 43-46, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4643.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4000443