Phytobia corona Boucher 2025, n. sp.
Creators: name: Marc, Stéphanie Boucher
name: Pollet, Marc
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Agromyzidae
Phytobia
Phytobia corona

description: Phytobia corona Boucher, n. sp.
(Figs 12; 13)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 9E680B5E-336B-4E09-90EA-101D54BAB2A7
TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype. Guyane • ♂; Mitaraka, sampling site: MIT-E-savane roche 2; 02°13’59.8”N, 54°27’46.5”W; 471 m; open/ partially opened areas; 13-20.VIII.2015; MT (6 m); Pierre-Henri Dalens leg.; sample code: MITARAKA/230, sorted by M. Pollet; MNHN.
ETYMOLOGY. — The specific name is derived from the Latin “corona ” (crown), referring to the spinose ring-like sclerite on the distiphallus.
DIAGNOSIS. — This species can be distinguished by its bicolorous frons (black posteriorly and orange anteriorly), and the male genitalia, especially the long distiphallus with a spinose sclerite located a little before midpoint.
DISTRIBUTION. — French Guiana.
HOST. — Unknown.
DESCRIPTION
Male
Orbital plate not projecting in front of eye in profile; orbital plate 0.14 × width of frons at midpoint; frons width including orbital plates 0.32 mm at midpoint; lunule small; ocellar triangle extended anteriorly to level of anterior ors; two reclinate ors and two ori: upper ori reclinate and lower ori inclinate; orbital setulae reclinate, in one row; first flagellomere small, rounded apically with short pubescence; arista with long pubescence; gena extremely narrow, at midpoint about 0.03 × maximum eye height (Fig. 12B); clypeus narrow, with upper margin rounded; epistoma absent (Fig. 12D); 3 + 0 dc, with only two posterior ones well-developed, and anterior postsutural dc about 0.30 × length of second dc; prsc present; acrostichal setulae numerous, in about 8-9 rows; mid tibia with two posterolateral setae; wing length 2.3 mm; last section of M 4 approximately 0.7 × length of penultimate section; vein R 4+5 ending close to wing tip; distal margin of R 1 expanded near junction (Fig. 12A).
Colour
Similar to P. dalensi Boucher, n. sp. described below, with following differences: frons mat, bicolorous: black posteriorly at level of ocellar triangle and orange anteriorly (Fig. 12C); orbital plate brownish black to level of upper ori, yellowish below; clypeus black; face yellowish brown; antennae yellow, first flagellomere infuscated with brown (Fig. 12B, D); palpus yellow; mesonotum shiny brown except for posterolateral corner with distinct yellow patch (Fig. 12E, visible on one side due to the collapse of the mesonotum); calypter and calypteral margin yellow; fringe brown; abdomen yellow with dark brown spots medially on tergites 3-6 in addition to lateral brown spots on tergites 5-6 (Fig. 12F).
Male genitalia
Distiphallus separated into two long tubules, which are longer than the hypandrium and phallapodeme (Fig. 13A, B) (distiphallus possibly longer than illustrated considering that the distal end appears truncated in the holotype); tubules straight, without distinct curvature; phallus with a ring-like sclerite armed with teeth (Fig. 13 A-C); ring-like sclerite located slightly below midpoint (Fig. 13A); distal end of phallus (distal to ring-like sclerite) measuring 0.4 mm (possibly longer, see comment above); distal end of phallus (distal to sclerite) about 3 × longer than basal part (arrows, Fig. 13A); mesophallus short, oval, somewhat bean-shaped (Fig. 13A); hypandrium narrow, constricted near midpoint, with distal end bent (Fig. 13B, arrow); ejaculatory apodeme with very short stalk and medium-sized blade (Fig. 13E); surstylus, typical of the Phytobia unica group (see above) with multiple spines (Fig. 13D).
REMARKS
This species belongs to the Phytobia unica -group (Boucher 2010) and is morphologically most similar to P.guatemalensis Sasakawa, 2005 due to its bicolorous frons and the characteristic spinose sclerite on the distiphallus. It differs from P. guatemalensis by the small yellow patch on the posterolateral corner of the mesonotum (Fig. 12E) (mesonotum described as entirely black in P. guatemalensis), the presence of two posterolateral setae on the mid tibia (only one in P. guatemalensis according to original description) and the longer distiphallus with the spinose sclerite located slightly before the midpoint of the distiphallus. The phallus of P. guatemalensis is shorter and the spinose sclerite is located near the end of distiphallus. This species was listed as morphospecies Phytobia Mit- 5 in Boucher & Pollet (2021).
description: Published as part of Marc, Stéphanie Boucher & Pollet, Marc, 2025, New species and new records of leaf-miner flies (Diptera, Agromyzidae) from rainforest and inselberg at Mitaraka (French Guiana), pp. 13-42 in Zoosystema 47 (2) on pages 30-32, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2025v47a2, http://zenodo.org/record/14670952