Mimapsilopa xingu Mathis
Creators: name: Mathis, Wayne N.
name: Costa, Daniel N. R.
name: Marinoni, Luciane
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Ephydridae
Mimapsilopa
Mimapsilopa xingu

description: Mimapsilopa xingu Mathis, Costa & Marinoni n. sp.
Figs. 39–46, 52.
Diagnosis. This species is distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: Mostly shiny black; medium-sized shore flies, body length 3.45–3.70 mm. Head (Figs. 39–41): Frons black, moderately densely microtomentose, subshiny to dull; 1 proclinate fronto-orbital seta, about 2/3 length of reclinate seta, inserted anterior of reclinate. Basal flagellomere yellowish, height subequal to length, apex broadly rounded; arista with 9–10 dorsal rays. Face black, polished, shiny, swollen on dorsal 2/3, ventral 1/3 with transverse striae. Clypeus exposed, black; maxillary palpus black. Eye ratio: 0.58–66; gena-to-eye ratio: 0.19–0.21. Thorax: Mesonotum microsculptured; anepisternum black, shiny. Wing (Fig. 46) mostly hyaline but with distinct and conspicuous pattern; subcostal, costal, and cell r1 uniformly infuscate, light brown; crossvein dm-cu with slightly brown halo; apical 1.3 with 2 curved, transverse bands, subapical band extended from apex of vein R2+3 and extended into cell dm; apical band connected with subapical band near anterior margin in cell r2+3 transverse, moderately wide, brownish band at level of crossvein dm-cu, apical almost 1/3 of wing also infuscate, otherwise mostly hyaline; wing length 2.55–265 mm; costal ratio 0.86–0.90; M vein ratio 0.65–0.68. Knob of halter white, stem brownish black. Foreleg entirely black; mid- and hindfemora mostly black, apex yellowish; mid- and hindtibiae black; mid- and hindtarsi yellowish brown to yellowish, apical tarsomere brownish black. Abdomen: Tergites sparsely microtomentose to mostly bare, shiny; tergites 1–2 subequal in length; length of tergite 3 subequal to combined length of 1 and 2; tergite 4 slightly longer than 3; tergite 5 at most 1/3 length of tergite 4. Male terminalia (Figs. 42–45): Epandrium in posterior view (Fig. 42) moderately thin dorsally above cercal cavity, lateral arms robustly developed, in lateral view (Fig. 43); presurstylus bilobed, dorsal lobe much larger than ventral lobe, tapered to point, ventral lobe digitiform; pregonite short, bearing numerous short setulae on apical half; postgonite short, somewhat bar-like, closely associated with lateral arms of subepandrial plate; postsurstylus with base in lateral view (Fig. 45) quadrate, with elongate, digitiform, anterior process and an angulate, process that is narrowed basally and rectangular apically with apical margin bearing 4–5 short setulae, with a great enlarged, wellsclerotized, darkened basolateral process, often process exposed, T-shaped with crossbar at apex of T and tapered to acute point at each end; subepandrial plate in lateral view (Fig. 45) elongate, lateral arm curved and pointed apically, in ventral view (Fig. 44) U-shaped; aedeagus narrowed basally and apically, middle portion somewhat quadrate, basal process narrow, acutely pointed, apical process digitiform, apex rounded; phallapodeme in lateral view (Fig. 45) with large keel, more or less rectangular, in ventral view (Fig. 44) I-like with just slight expansions at apices; hypandrium in lateral view (Fig. 45) broadly and shallowly U-shaped, with base robustly developed, anterior margin wide, bluntly rounded, posterior margin tapered to acute point, in ventral view (Fig. 44) shield-like, tapered from wide anterior margin to narrow, partially emarginate posterior margin.
Type material. The holotype male is labeled BRAZIL. Pará: RioXingu Camp (03°39'S, 52°22'W) ca 60 km S. Altamira[,] 8–16 Oct 1986 [,] P. Spangler & O. Flint/Igarape Jabuti malaise trap day collection/ Holotype ♂ Mimapsilopa xingu Mathis, Costa,& Marinoni DZUP [red]. The holotype is double mounted (minuten in a block of plastic elastomere), is in very good condition (some lepidopteran scales), and is deposited in DZUP. One male paratype (abdomen removed and dissected; USNM) bears the same label data as the holotype.
Type locality. Brazil. Pará: Altamira (ca 60 km S; 0 3°39'S, 52°22'W; Rio Xingu Camp, Igarapé Jabuti).
Distribution (Fig. 52). Neotropical: Brazil (Pará).
Etymology. The species epithet, xingu, has reference to the Rio Xingu in the state of Pará, Brazil, where the holotype was collected. The epithet is a noun in apposition.
Remarks. This species is easily distinguished from congeners by its large, robust size and the coloration of mid- and hindtibiae, which is mostly black (only the apex is yellowish).
Structures of the male terminalia of this species are unusual with extra processes and degrees of sclerotization. The postsurstylar basolateral process, for example, is uniquely developed in this species, being well sclerotized, darkened, elongated, T-shaped, and exposed as a process laterad of the presurstylus. Although other species of the metatarsata group, such as M. rugosa, have a postsurstylar process, it is usually short and largely unexposed, whereas in this species it is prominent, dark colored, and T-shaped with the crossbar at the ventral apex. Likewise, the basal portion of the postsurstylus has an angulate process and bears apical, short setulae in addition to the “normal extension, which apically, is digitiform.
description: Published as part of Mathis, Wayne N., Costa, Daniel N. R. & Marinoni, Luciane, 2015, A review of Mimapsilopa Cresson (Diptera: Ephydridae) from Brazil, pp. 499-522 in Zootaxa 3926 (4) on pages 517-519, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3926.4.3, http://zenodo.org/record/254464