Morellia (Morellia) basalis Walker 1853
Creators: name: Pamplona, Denise
name: Nihei, Silvio S.
name: Couri, Márcia S.
name: Pont, Adrian C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Muscidae
Morellia
Morellia basalis

description: 5. Morellia (M.) basalis (Walker, 1853)
(Figs 21–26)
Musca basalis Walker, 1853: 347. Type locality: JAMAICA. Holotype Ƌ, BMNH (seen). Lucilia surrepens Walker, 1861: 312. Type locality: MEXICO. Holotype ♀, BMNH (seen). Pyrellia scapulata Bigot, 1878: 35. Type locality: MEXICO. Lectotype Ƌ, BMNH (des. Pont in Carvalho et al. 1993: 10; see
also Pont 2000: 25; seen).
Pyrellia flora Bigot, 1878: 36. Type locality: HAITI. Holotype ♂, BMNH (Pont 2000: 14; seen).
Redescription. Colour. Black, with violet reflections. Frontal vitta and upper half of fronto-orbital plate brown, lower half of fronto-orbital plate, face, parafacial, gena and antenna yellow, with silver pruinosity; arista yellow; palpus yellow; mesonotum metallic brown with a slight blue reflection and silver dusted in front of the acrostichals and dorsocentrals; postpronotal lobe yellow; pleura and legs yellowish-brown; haltere reddish-yellow; calypters whitish, upper one white and opaque on outer third; wing without dark markings. Abdomen bluish-black without pruinosity.
Male. Body length: 6.0–7.0 mm; wing length: 5.0–6.0 mm.
Head. Eyes bare, separated at level of anterior ocellus by about 0.10–0.12 of head width; frons divergent towards lunule; ocellar triangle with a pair of setae and a few setulae; 14–16 pairs of frontal setae; postpedicel about 2.3–3.0 times the length of pedicel; pedicel with 2 setae and few setulae; arista plumose, with 20–25 cilia, bare apicad, and with some secondary plumes as far as level of 5th to 7th cilia; vibrissa shorter than arista; 1 strong supravibrissal seta, half as long as vibrissa, and few other setulae that extend to level of middle of postpedicel; 4–5 subvibrissal setae followed by 7–9 genal setae. Palpus expanded at apex.
Thorax. Acrostichals 0+1; dorsocentrals 0+2; intra-alars 1+1; presutural 1; prealar 2, strong; supra-alars 2; postpronotals 4, the innermost weaker; notopleuron with 2 long, subequal setae and covered with ground-setulae; postalars 2; intrapostalar 1; scutellum with 1 basal, 1 latero-discal, 1 apical and 1 preapical pairs of strong setae, and latero-ventrally with many setae, the basalmost ones downcurved; postalar wall bare; suprasquamal ridge bare; proepisternal depression bare; proepimeron with about 3–4 long setae; prosternum broad and setulose; anepisternum with a posterior row of about 9 setae, with 1–2 weak upcurved setae on upper-anterior corner, and covered with long setulae; katepisternals 1+2; anepimeron extensively setulose on posterior half; katepimeron bare; anatergite bare; katatergite setulose. Legs: fore femur with complete rows of setae on posterodorsal and dorsal surfaces, and a posteroventral row of setae on apical two-thirds becoming shorter basad; fore tibia with an anterodorsal row of short and strong setae, 2 anterodorsal and 1 dorsal preapical setae, 2 posteroventral apicals, and on anteroventral to ventral surface with a brush-like golden ctenidium; fore tarsus with some long setae on basal segment; mid femur with a tubercle at apex of anterodorsal to posterodorsal surfaces bearing about 4 short spines that continue as about 6–7 posterodorsal to posterior setae, with an anterodorsal row on basal half, and 5 ventral setae on basal half; mid tibia with an anterior row of very short setae, 6 strong and short spine-like anterodorsal setae at base, 1 posterior seta on middle third, 3 strong posteroventral setae on basal two-thirds, 1 anterodorsal, 1 dorsal and 1 posterodorsal preapical setae, and 1 anteroventral, 2 anterior and 2 ventral apical setae; hind femur with 4–5 anteroventral setae on apical third, an anterodorsal row of setae that become shorter apicad, and 3 posterodorsal preapical setae; hind tibia with 5 anteroventral setae on apical half, a dorsal row of short but strong setulae, 1 on basal third and a long and strong posterodorsal seta on apical third, 2 posteroventral, 1 anteroventral and 2 ventral apical setae, and a posterior brush-like ctenidium on apical third; hind tarsus with a golden brush ventrally. Wing with a uniform covering of microtrichia; dm-cu sinuous; stem-vein bare dorsally before humeral cross-vein and with about 2–3 short setulae after humeral cross-vein, and bare on ventral surface; R2+3 bare on dorsal and ventral surfaces; R4+5 setulose from base to r-m on dorsal and ventral surfaces; basicosta with 4–6 strong setae.
Abdomen. With a lateral tuft of weak setulae on syntergite 1+2, other tergites with just ground-setulae; sternite 1 setulose. Sternite 5 with posterior margin narrow and with few setae (Fig. 21).
Terminalia. Inner middle third of cercal plate convex (Fig. 22); surstylus with a seta and short setae on apical half and a seta on basal half (Fig. 23); aedeagal apodeme a little enlarged apically; aedeagus with spicules on anterior membrane of distiphallus; gonopod with a long and strong seta and a small seta on basal third; paramere with many setae apically (Fig. 24).
Female. Body length: 5.5–6.0 mm; wing length: 5.0–6.0 mm.
Similar to male, differing as follows: frontal vitta reddish-black with little pruinosity; eyes separated at level of anterior ocellus by about 0.28–0.29 of head width; fronto-orbital plate with many proclinate setae and 2 reclinate setulae; mid femur with 4 dorsal-posterodorsal spines and some fine ventral setae.
Ovipositor. Tergite 6 golf-club-like; tergites 7 and 8 rod-like, anteriorly curved and posteriorly as two plates with small spines; sternite 6 very small; sternite 7 as three plates with spines, sternite 8 as 2 plates with setae; epiproct large, with many small setulae; hypoproct large with many setae, incised anteriorly; cercus cylindrical and long (Figs 25–26).
Material examined. MEXICO: holotype ♀ of Lucilia surrepens (BMNH) labelled as “ Mexico ”; lectotype Ƌ of Pyrellia scapulata (BMNH) labelled as “ Mexico ”; JAMAICA: holotype Ƌ of Musca basalis (BMNH) labelled as “Jamaica”; HAITI: holotype Ƌ of Pyrellia flora (BMNH) labelled as “Haïti”; CUBA: Havana, 1909, P. Serre, 1 Ƌ, 2 ♀♀ (MNRJ); " Comoapan, Ver ", 25.v.1951, A. Barrera, 1 Ƌ (MNRJ).
Distribution. NEARCTIC: south Texas and south Florida. NEOTROPICAL: Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Cuba, Haïti, Puerto Rico, Virgin Is., Venezuela.
description: Published as part of Pamplona, Denise, Nihei, Silvio S., Couri, Márcia S. & Pont, Adrian C., 2016, Taxonomy of Morellia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Muscidae): revision of the subgenera Morellia s. str. and Parapyrellia Townsend, pp. 1-110 in Zootaxa 4163 (1) on pages 22-24, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4163.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/259278