Himantigera superba
Creators: name: Fachin, Diego Aguilar
name: Hauser, Martin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Stratiomyidae
Himantigera
Himantigera superba

description: Himantigera superba (Lindner, 1949)
(Figs 3, 9, 19, 28, 35, 41, 50–51, 66–71, 96–98, 109, 115, 127, holotype of Sargus jamesi, SMNS, 129, holotype of Pedicella superba, BMNH)
Pedicella superba Lindner, 1949: 803 (original description). Type locality: Guyana, Upper Courantyne River, King Frederick William IV. Falls. Holotype ♀ [BMNH].
Sargus jamesi Lindner, 1969: 5 –6 (original description). Type locality: Brazil, Santa Catarina, Nova Teutônia, 27°11’S 52°23’W, 300– 500 m. Syntypes: 1 ♂ [SMNS]; 1 ♂ [unknown depository institution], 3 ♀ [Museu Entomológico Fritz Plaumann, Seara, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil]. Syn. nov.
Diagnosis (male). Species close to H. silvestris in having upper frons narrower than widest distal margin of frontal callus (Fig. 19), R 2+3 originating at or very close to r–m (Fig. 35), and abdomen subrectangular, being equally wide from second to fourth segments (Figs 50–51). In comparison to the similar H. silvestris, it has all legs darkened, with apical third of fore femur dark brown, mid and hind femora almost entirely brown, and all tibiae with basal and apical third dark brown, only medial third yellow (see Table 3).
Material examined. Type material: [Sargus jamesi] SYNTYPE (Fig. 127, A–D), ♂ labeled: “ Holotypus [printed on red paper]”; “ i.195 6 [in vertical position] / Brasilien [BRAZIL] / Nova Teutônia / 27°11’B [S] 52°23’L [W] / Fritz Plaumann / 300-500 m [in vertical position] [mostly printed on white paper]”; “ Sargus jamesi Lind [Lindner] / Lindner det. [species name and author handwritten on white paper]”; “Typus/ Lindner/ 1968 [in vertical position] [handwritten in red on white paper]” (SMNS). [Pedicella superba] HOLOTYPE (Fig. 129, A–F), ♂ labeled: “ Type [printed on small round white label with a light red margin]”; “BRIT. [British] GUIANA / Upper Courantyne R. [river] / King Frederick / William iv.Falls. / 14–22.iii.1936. [printed on white paper]”; “ G.A. Hudson. / B.M. 1936-360 [printed on white paper]”; “ Pedicella Type / superba / Lind. [Lindner] Lindner / 1940 [in vertical position] [handwritten in red on white paper]”; “ HOLOTYPE / Pedicella / superba Lindner / det. J.E. CHAINEY 1982 [handwritten on white paper] [glued small round white label with a light red margin printed Holotype on it]” (BMNH).
Additional material: 1 ♂, BRAZIL, Rondônia, 62 km SE Ariquemes, 05–16.xi.1996, W.J. Hanson (LACM). 1 ♂ (entirely slide-mounted), Campo Novo de Rondônia, Fazenda Amorim, 10°40’6”S 63°29’00”W, 248 m, 03– 15.xii.2011, Malaise trap, Amorim, Ament & Riccardi col. (MZUSP); 1 ♂, Shannon (MZUSP). 1 ♂, COLOMBIA, Amazonas, Amacayacu, NP [National Park], 3.82°S 70.26°W, 08–12.iii.2000, B. Brown, G. Kung, M. Sharkey, Malaise #6 (LACM). 1 ♂, ECUADOR, Pastaza, Pompeya, Napo R. [river], 14–22.v.1965, L. Pena (CNC). 2 ♂, Sucumbíos, Sacha Lodge, 0.5°S 76.5°W, 14–24.vi.1994, P. Hibbs, MT [malaise trap], 290m (LACM). 1? (head and terminalia are missing), FRENCH GUIANA, Maripasoula, Mitaraka, diferente sites nr [near] base camp and along trails, tropical most forest (diferente sites), 10.iii.2015 – 14.iii.2015, FIT, leg. Julien Touroult & Eddy Poirier (FR-GU/ Mitaraka /2015) – sample code: MITARAKA/192 (MNHN). 1 ♂ (head is missing), VENEZUELA, 1 ♂ T.F. Amaz. [Amazonas], Cerro de la Neblina Camp, 0°52’N 65°58’W, 1450m, 25–28.ii.1985, Malaise trap, P.J. & P.M. Spangler & R.A. Faitoute (USNM). 1 ♂ (head is missing), PERU, Madre de Dios, Avispas, 10–20.ix.1962, L. Pena, 400 m. (CAS); 1 ♂ (left antenna and wing slide-mounted), Tambopata Wildlife Res. [Reserve], 30 km SW Pto. [Puerto] Maldonado, 12°50’S 60°20’W (although this coordinate erroneously leads to the state of Rondônia, Brazil), 29 m, 14.xii.1982, Joseph J. Anderson, Coll. (USNM).
Redescription. Male. Length: body, 10.0–12.0 mm; wing, 8.5–9.0 mm. Head (Fig. 19). Upper frons narrower than widest margin of frontal callus. Arista-like terminal flagellomere with 4–7 setae basally (Fig. 3). Thorax (Fig. 9). Legs mostly yellow, with mid coxa proximally, hind coxa and dorso-apical third of fore femur dark brown, mid and hind femora almost entirely brown, and all tibiae with basal and apical third dark brown, medial third yellow. Wing (Fig. 28). R 2+3 originating almost at or very near r–m level (Fig. 35). Alula with microtrichia along anterior half (Fig. 41). Abdomen (Figs 50–51). Abdomen subrectangular, less than two times longer than wide, equally wide from second to fourth segments; tergites and sternites strongly metallic green, polished, with long white pilosity laterally on tergites 1–2; short yellow pilosity on tergites 3–5 and sternites. Terminalia (Figs 66–71, 96– 98). Genital capsule as wide as high, its posterior margin rounded dorsally; medial process of synsternite strongly developed, more or less rhomboidal in shape (although much longer than high) (Fig. 98), thin setae on its distal half; anterior end of gonocoxal apodeme slightly exceeding anterior margin of genitalia. Anterior end of phallus at same level as anterior margin of genitalia. Gonostylus slightly longer than wide, pointed apically. Phallus with thin setae ventrally. Epandrium slightly wider than long (Fig. 66).
Female. Only known from the original description (Lindner 1949) and the type specimen at the BMNH collection. Photographs of the type specimen provided here (Fig 129).
Geographic distribution. Colombia (Amazonas), Venezuela (Amazonas), Guyana, French Guiana (Maripasoula), Ecuador (Pastaza, Sucumbíos), Peru (Huánuco, Madre de Dios), Brazil (Rondônia) (Fig. 130).
Comments. Examining the photographs of the male type specimen of Sargus jamesi from south Brazil and a few additional male specimens from northern South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and northern Brazil) we conclude that it is conspecific with Pedicella superba. Their morphology is identical, with both resembling H. silvestris (one of the Central American species), but with darker legs (see Table 3). The only record of P. superba is the female type specimen from Guyana, which falls well within the distribution of the other South American specimens.
Lindner (1949) indicated in the original description of Pedicella superba that the presence of eye micropilosity and some microsculpture on the thorax (what he called punctuations) were diagnostic features of H. superba. After examining additional material and the female type specimen, there is no clear difference between the thorax of H. superba and the thorax of the other Himantigera species (they are all blue or green metallic, with mostly short golden pilosity), and we did not find micropilosity on the eyes of this species. Some specimens of Himantigera, however, seem to have only minute and sparse micropilosity on the eyes, but this can also be found in other Sarginae. Lindner (1969) based the description of Sargus jamesi on two males and three females, all syntypes, of which one male is deposited in the SMNS (Fig. 127). The three female syntypes, of which the depository was previously unknown (Woodley 2001), are currently housed in the Museu Entomológico Fritz Plaumann, Seara, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil (Fig. 127, E). This museum was raised in honor to Fritz Plaumann in 1988, a great entomologist and collector in southern Brazil, who sent part of his specimens to experts (e.g., Thomas Borgmeier, Erwin Lindner); in exchange, he received back some of those identified specimens to keep in his own collection, now named after him. Lindner (1969) indicated that this species was closely related to H. nigrifemorata (the other Central American species), but he said it was big, being distinguished from H. nigrifemorata in having a fore femur that was dark brown apically (not entirely yellow) in males and tarsomeres that were yellow with dark pilosity.
Lindner (1951: 248–249) published an additional record of this species from Peru (Huánuco, Tingo Maria) as Merosargus superbus.
description: Published as part of Fachin, Diego Aguilar & Hauser, Martin, 2018, Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Himantigera James, 1982 (Diptera: Stratiomyidae: Sarginae), including the description of two new species and a key to the known species, pp. 451-498 in Zootaxa 4531 (4) on pages 471-474, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4531.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2614794