Hirtodrosophila jaenikei Grimaldi, 2018, new species
Creators: name: Grimaldi, David A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Drosophilidae
Hirtodrosophila
Hirtodrosophila jaenikei

description: Hirtodrosophila jaenikei, new species
Figures 7, 15F, 26
Drosophila (Hirtodrosophila) nigrohalterata Duda, 1925: Wheeler, 1981, pg. 53 (misidentification).
DIAGNOSIS: As for the H. nigrohalterata complex: notum light brown; thin, dark brown stripe just below notopleural suture; pleura mostly light but with dark brown katepisternum, anepimeron, and katatergite; halter bulb dark brown, wing short, hyaline, no markings. Differs externally from other nigrohalterata complex species: frontal vitta light, yellowish, ocellar triangle brown (vs. frons unicolorous), tergites 1–4 entirely brown (male only?), without pair of light spots on lateral margins. Anterior reclinate orbital seta anterolateral (vs. lateral or slightly posterior to) proclinate orbital seta; frons relatively long (frontal index 1.00), face deep (FD/FW 1.28); cheek shallow (CD/ED 0.12); anterior katepisternal seta relatively small (S-index 0.34); vein R 2+3 relatively short (C-index 1.59). Male genitalia differ from nigrohalterata and other species in complex as follows: cercus without small, setose medioventral lobe; ventral epandrial lobe with ca. 6 setae, lengths approximately same as lobe; surstylus with short row of 5 dorsal peg prensisetae (vs. 7–8); aedeagus apically pointed (vs. rounded), highly asymmetrical, with left margin having pointed lateral lobe (vs. rounded) and coarse serrations.
DESCRIPTION: Coloration: Head: Anterior portion of frons, frontal vittae cream colored, latter finely striate; ocellar triangle brown, matte (dark brown between ocelli), frontoorbital plates light brown, slightly shiny. Antennal pedicel light, with slightly infuscate mesal margin; basal flagellomere brown, with light setulae; arista with tiny basal articles light, branched portion dark. Face and cheeks whitish, with thin brown area near vibrissa. Clypeus light brown, palp dark brown, labellum light brown, rest of proboscis lighter. Thorax: Scutum light brown, anterior portion lighter, almost tan, with brown central area (approximately same color as ocellar triangle) between tangents through dorsocentrals, scutellum slightly lighter; notum slightly pollinose. Pleura largely light, cream colored, with several brown areas: a narrow stipe just under notopleural suture, most of katepisternum, all of anepimeron and katatergite. Wing entirely hyaline, no markings. Halter bulb dark brown; stem partially brown. Legs almost entirely light, cream colored, mid- and hind femora with slight infuscation at apex of femur and base of tibia. Abdomen (male only): tergites 1–4 entirely brown (male only?), without pair of light spots on lateral margins; sternites very light, cream colored; epandrium light.
Head: Antenna: Very close together, pedicels in contact medially; scape concealed by ptilinal suture; pedicel with setulae and two larger setae; basal flagellomere not quite reaching oral margin, with short setulae only, arista with 1 ventral, 7 long dorsal branches, terminal fork small. Eye egg shaped in lateral view (ventral portion smaller), interfacetal setulae dense, short. Face narrow, tall, slightly concave; carina very narrow, confined to upper half of face; one pair vibrissae, subvibrissal setulae very small. Frons: Fronto-orbital plate narrow, shiny; frontal vitta finely striate, narrow; ocellar triangle large, anterior corner extends nearly to ptilinal suture, lateral margin approximately midway between median ocellus and posterior reclinate seta. Fronto-orbital setae: proclinate seta slightly longer than posterior reclinate; anterior reclinate lateral and slightly anterior to proclinate, anterior reclinate ca. 0.6× length of posterior reclinate; posterior reclinate much closer to ipsilateral orbitals than to verticals; reclinates in line with ipsilateral inner vertical, proclinate slightly medial to this tangent. Ocellar seta not quite reaching to proclinate; postocellar setae relatively large, crossed for ca. 0.4× their length; directed posteriad. Vertical setae equal in length; inner verticals upright, strongly inclinate; outer verticals posteriad, slightly laterally.
Head measurements: CD/ED 0.12, ED/EW 1.37, FD/FW 1.28, FL/LFW 1.00, HW/HD 1.26, Ocellar S-index 1.23, OR1/OR3 1.13, OR2/OR1 0.41, VT-index 0.95.
Thorax: Setation: Acrostichal setae in approximately 6 (irregular) rows; anterior dorsocentral seta finer than and 0.6× length of posterior dorsocentral, posterior dorsocentral slightly closer to scutellar margin than to anterior dorsocentral. Anterior scutellar setae slightly convergent, ca. 0.75× length of posterior scutellars; posterior scutellars crossed for 0.3× their length. Postpronotal lobe with two setae; three notopleural setae, anterior and dorsal ones longest, equal in size; two supraalar setae, anterior one short; two postalar setae, anterior one very long. Posterior katepisternal seta very long,>2× length of anterior katepisternal; a fine, short seta between them.
Legs: Forefemur with ventral row of three longer setae on distal half, laterally with two such setae, setae not quite as long as femur width; mid- and hind femora without long setae. Male foretarsus without fine, erect setulae on dorsal surface. Midtibia with stout long ventroapical seta, hind tibia with short, fine erect seta.
Thorax and wing measurements: ThL 0.79 mm, DC-index 0.60, hb-index 1.72, 5-X index 2.72, S-index 0.34, ThL/WL 0.47, C-index 1.59, WL/WW 2.27, 4-V index 2.36.
Male Terminalia: Epandrium short, very broad; microtrichia on dorsal surface only; row 5–6 lateral setae; ventral lobe narrow, short (not reaching to ventral margin of surstylus), with ca. 6 setae having lengths less than length of lobe. Subepandrial sclerite relatively large, very faintly sclerotized. Cercus broad, relatively flat, with few microtrichia (on dorsolateral margin only), ca. 10 setae; ventral margin relatively flat, with row of 6–7 fine setulae. Surstylus pendulous, simple, with short dorolateral row 5 short peg prensisetae; ventrolateral row large, spinelike prensisetae, thinner setiform prensisetae medially. Hypandrium short, broad, distal lobes not wrinkled; paraphysis lobate, with pair of minute setulae midway along mesal margin, large seta at base of paraphysis (not at apex). Aedeagus slightly longer than aedeagal apodeme, slightly curved in lateral view; with ca. 12 scales on left margin, plus pointed preapical lobe, right margin simple, no scales; apex of aedeagus tapered to fine point.
Female Terminalia: Unknown.
TYPE: Holotype, male, handwritten label: “Homestead, Fla. July 31, 1959.” In AMNH. Genitalia dissected (no. 69) and one wing removed, stored in microvial on pin with specimen. The handwriting is Heed’s, and the field notebook entry for that day has “fuscohalt- like 1 [specimen], sweeping Royal Palm Hammock in Everglades.”
OTHER SPECIMENS EXAMINED: None, known only from type.
ETYMOLOGY: Patronym, for John Jaenike (University of Rochester), esteemed colleague and former mentor, in recognition of his work on the genetics and ecology of wild Drosophila.
COMMENTS: Wheeler (1981) listed H. nigrohalterata as occurring in the southern U.S. to Costa Rica. Actually, the current concept of this species, based on Duda (1925), is comprised of a complex of at least five cryptic species. Based on my dissections, the Florida species is distinct from all Caribbean and Central American species, as diagnosed above. Among the series of specimens currently at hand there are two species in Puerto Rico, a species in Costa Rica, and a species that occurs in Costa Rica and El Salvador (probably true nigrohalterata). These will be described elsewhere. The type locality of nigrohalterata is Turrialba, Costa Rica; the type is a female, which unfortunately does not have the diagnostic characters that separate species in this complex. The record of H. nigrohalterata from the area of Austin, Texas (Patterson and Stone, 1952), and cited by Vilela and Bächli (2004), cannot be assessed in lieu of a voucher specimen.
description: Published as part of Grimaldi, David A., 2018, Hirtodrosophila Of North America (Diptera: Drosophilidae), pp. 1 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2018 (421) on page 1, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090-421.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10687866