Mesorhaga Schiner 1868
Creators: name: Santos, Ednaldo Bezerra Dos
name: Capellari, Renato Soares
name: Limeira-De-Oliveira, Francisco
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Dolichopodidae
Mesorhaga

description: Mesorhaga Schinerurn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 2D4EF16C-BFCA-4126-A535-305FE0B46543
Mesorhaga Schiner, 1868: 217.
Type species: Mesorhaga tristis Schiner, monotypy.
Aptorthus Aldrich, 1893: 48.
Type species: Aptorthus albiciliatus Aldrich, 1893 (subsequent designation by Coquillett, 1910: 509). Synonymized by Aldrich (1900): 531.
Identification key to males of South American Mesorhaga
For notes on other Neotropical species and a key for Mesoamerican and Caribbean species, see Bickel (2007).
1 Femora mostly or entirely black.......................................................................... 2
- Femora yellow....................................................................................... 5
2 Wing vein M 1 with gentle curve (Naglis 2000, fig. 1b); fore and mid tibiae with rows of conspicuous setae (Naglis 2000, fig. 1a); cercus with three digitiform projections at apex (Naglis 2000, figs 1c–d) (Brazil: Amazonas)......... M. saetosa Naglis
- Wing vein M 1 distinctly curved, almost right angle bend (see Fig. 12); fore and mid tibiae without conspicuous rows of setae; cercus without remarkable projections (Fig. 16) or with apical notch (Bickel 2007, fig. 1f)........................... 3
3 Ventral occiput with long black setae; wing membrane hyaline; halter black; all legs entirely black (Venezuela).................................................................................................. M. tristis Schiner
- Ventral occiput with short whitish setae, wing membrane with dark brown cloud along anterior margin; halter black or yellow; apex of fore and mid femora, all tibiae and base of tarsi yellow................................................. 4
4 Cercus with some long, lateral setae near medial bend of appendage, apex with notch (Bickel 2007, fig. 1f) (Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela)............................................................................ M. funebris Parent
- Cercus without long, lateral setae at middle of appendage, apex homboid (Figs 15 and 16) (Brazil: Piauí)..................................................................................................... M. gomesi sp. nov.
5 Wing membrane with grayish cloud on apical fourth, between end of R 2+3 and M 1, wing vein M 1 distinct curved, almost right angle bend (Becker 1922, fig. 146) (Paraguay).................................................. M. laeta Becker
- Wing membrane hyaline, wing vein M 1 both distinctly (right angle) or gently curved................................ 6
6 Thorax with 2 pairs of acrostichal setae; surstylus much shorter than epandrial lobe (Naglis 2000, fig. 2b–c) (Brazil: Amazonas)............................................................................. M. aurata Naglis
- Thorax with 3 pairs of acrostichal setae; surstylus as long as epandrial lobe (Figs 7, 8, 23, 24, 31, 32)................... 7
7 Wing vein M 1 distinct curved, almost right angle bend (Fig. 4); apex of cercus not noticeably enlarged and covered by setae similar in length (Figs 22–24) (Brazil: Piauí)................................................ M. parnasete sp. nov.
- Wing vein M 1 gently bent towards apex (Figs 20, 28); apex of cercus noticeably enlarged, with 2–3 larger setae at apex (Figs 23, 24, 31, 32)........................................................................................ 8
8 Fore tarsomere 5 slightly expanded; apex of cercus with small subrectangular expansion (Brazil: Piauí).................................................................................................... M. danbickeli sp. nov.
- Fore tarsomere 5 as broad as preceding segments; apex of cercus triangular (Brazil: Piauí)............. M. laetitia sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Santos, Ednaldo Bezerra Dos, Capellari, Renato Soares & Limeira-De-Oliveira, Francisco, 2024, Four new species of Mesorhaga Schiner (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Northeastern Brazil, with an identification key to South American species of the genus, pp. 243-256 in Zootaxa 5519 (2) on pages 244-245, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5519.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/13915824