Eucelatoria hafelei Burington 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Burington, Zelia L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tachinidae
Eucelatoria
Eucelatoria hafelei

description: Eucelatoria hafelei sp. nov.
(Figs 42, 87, 137, 153, 170, 176)
Type material. Holotype male, labeled “ BOLIVIA Cbba Chapare / Villa Tunarí – Cochabamba / road - km 365 -1800m / G. & M. Wood 3–10.xii.96”, “ HOLOTYPE / Eucelatoria / hafelei/ Z.L. Burington [red label]”, “ZLB_ E.Ferox 00386” (DMW).
Paratype, 1 ♂. Bolivia — Cochabamba: 1 ♂, labeled “ BOLIVIA Cbba Chapare / Villa Tunarí – Cochabamba / road - km 358 -1300m / Pruett & Wood 23.III.95”, “ PARATYPE / Eucelatoria / hafelei/ Z.L. Burington [red label]”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00387” [genitalia in vial under specimen] (DMW).
Recognition. This species is closest to E. ritavargasae sp. nov.; in both species the palpi are dark, the presutural thoracic vittae are fused into two, the postsutural thoracic vittae are fused into one, and the scutellum bears visible tomentum only at the extreme apex. Males of E. hafelei sp. nov. are distinguished from E. ritavargasae sp. nov. by the broader, denser dorsal abdominal bands, the less dilated cercus apex in lateral view, the more narrowly separated basal lobes of the cercus, the long setae at the apex of the surstylus, and the more rounded, shallower anterior emargination of the postgonite.
Etymology. This species is named in honor and memory of Dr. Joseph C. Hafele (1944–2014), physicist, grandfather of the author, known for conducting the first experimental test of time dilation under special relativity with Dr. Richard Keating in 1971.
Description. Male [described from 2 specimens]. Length 8.9–9 mm.
Head. Parafacial, fronto-orbital plate, vertex, upper half of post-ocular plate, and vibrissal angle tomentum dense yellow, appearing gold. Genal dilation, lower half of post-ocular plate, postgena, and occiput tomentum ashgray, diffuse on gena such that it appears close to black. Pale occipital setae gray on lower half, merging to yellow on upper half. Ocellar setae three-fours to subequal to length of posterior reclinate orbital seta. Gena with 4–5 setae, subvibrissal ridge with 2 setae. Facial ridge with setulae on lower one-third to one-half. Postocellar setae one-half to three-fourths length of ocellar setae. Paravertical seta one-half length of postocellar setae. Outer vertical seta not differentiated from post-ocular row. Reclinate orbital setae 3. Frontal setae 9–10, last frontal seta level with base of arista or slightly beyond. Eye with short setulae, each setula no longer than four facets. Eye height to head height ratio 0.80–0.84. Postpedicel length 0.37–0.40 height of head. Facial ridge length 0.44–0.45 height of head. Parafacial width 0.12–0.13 lateral length of head. Pedicel 0.36–0.41 length of postpedicel. Postpedicel 1.7 times width of parafacial in lateral view. Vertex 0.22–0.23 width of head in dorsal view. Palpus black, slightly flattened and expanded at apex in male, with many short, stout dorsal and ventral setae, and several longer, thinner setae mediolaterally.
Thorax. Dorsomedial length 1.4 width of thorax. Lateral tomentum ash-gray, merging to yellow on anepisternum. Dorsal tomentum ash-gray to yellow, usually more gray medially. Presutural outer and inner vittae fused, at most with a narrow line of diffuse tomentum near notopleural suture; the two subquadrate bands separated medially by subtriangular region of tomentum, pointed anteriorly. Postsutural vittae merged into single vitta covering most of area, with only narrow region of tomentum visible between postsutural supra-alar and intra-alar setae. Scutellar dorsal tomentum diffuse, gray to yellow, visible only between subapical setae at apex in dorsal view. Postpronotum with 3 setae. Presutural area with 2 supra-alar setae. Postsutural area with 3 dorsocentral setae. Fore tibia with 3 posterodorsal setae. Wing infuscated in membrane adjacent to costa, radius, and in the dm cell. Calypters tan to cream colored.
Abdomen. Cuticle and setulae entirely black. Dorsal tomentum bands ash-gray to yellow, covering one-third to one-half length of T3–5; with wide median vitta. Ventral tomentum bands ash-gray, covering one-half to two-thirds of T3–5. T4 median marginal setae and lateral marginal setae forming continuous, widely spaced row of 5 or more pairs.
Male terminalia (Figs 137, 153, 170). Sternite 5 basal plate with median teeth separated 0.37 width of basal notch; apical lobes 0.8 times length of basal plate. Postgonite broadly rounded on posterior margin; broadened on basal third, then narrowed to parallel sided, digitiform apex; anterior emargination depth subequal width of postgonite at mid length. Surstylus paddle shaped; three times as wide as long; posterior and anterior margins gradually curved; apex blunt with long setae; basal lobe margin rounded. Cercus in lateral view gradually narrowed from base to mid length, then slightly dilated at apex; in caudal view narrowed to mid length then broadened to blunt apex. Upper lobe rectangular; inner margin between lobes u-shaped; 0.24 length of cercus. Median section 0.5 length of cercus. Apical cleft divergent at approximately a 20 degree angle, 0.28 length of cercus. Syncercus apex width in caudal view 0.51 width of syncercus base.
Female. Unknown.
Host(s). Unknown.
Geographic extent and seasonal occurrence. Individuals of E. hafelei sp. nov. have been collected from tropical montane forests in Bolivia at elevations of 2200 m (Fig. 176).
Discussion. Only two males are known for this species, but the genitalia and external characters are distinct enough from E. ritavargasae sp. nov. and other species with two presutural vittae and limited tomentum on the scutellum to warrant description. Females are likely similar in piercer length and shape to E. ritavargasae sp. nov. and should have wider abdominal bands as in males.
description: Published as part of Burington, Zelia L., 2022, A taxonomic revision of the Eucelatoria ferox species group (Diptera: Tachinidae), pp. 1-104 in Zootaxa 5143 (1) on pages 51-52, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5143.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6601404