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

description: Eucelatoria falcata sp. nov.
(Figs 10, 33, 55, 78, 99, 114, 128, 144, 161, 174)
Type material. Holotype ♂, labeled “ Nova Teutonia / 27°11′S, 52°23′ W / Brazil 300–500m / X 1968 / Fritz Plaumann”, “ HOLOTYPE / Eucelatoria / falcata/ Z.L. Burington [red label]”, ZLB_E.Ferox 00272” (CNC).
Allotype ♀, labeled “ Nova Teutonia / S.C. - BRAZIL / Oct. 1961 / F. Plaumann ”, “ ALLOTYPE / Eucelatoria / falcata/ Z.L. Burington [red label]”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00276” (DMW).
Paratypes, 9 ♀♀ and 3 ♂♂. Brazil — Santa Catarina: 1 ♀, labeled “Nova Teutonia/ S.C. - BRAZIL / March 1960 / F. Plaumann ”, “ PARATYPE / Eucelatoria / falcata/ Z.L. Burington [yellow label]”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00273” (DMW). 1 ♀, as previous except date “ Sept. 1960 ” and specimen ID “00278” (DMW). 1 ♂, as previous except date “ Dec. 1960 ” and specimen ID “00282” (DMW). 2 ♀♀, as previous except date “ May 1961 ” and specimen IDs “00281” and “00280” (DMW). 1 ♀, as previous except date “ Nov. 1961 ” and specimen ID “00279” (DMW). 1 ♂, “ Nova Teutonia / 27°11′S, 52°23′W / Brazil 300–500m / 17.IX.1962 / Fritz Plaumann”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00321” (CNC). 1 ♀, “ Nova Teutonia / S.C. - BRAZIL / Dec. 1962 / F. Plaumann ”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00275” (DMW). 1 ♀, “ Nova Teutonia / 27°11′S, 52°23′W / Brazil 300–500m / II-1965 / Fritz Plaumann ”, “ Xiphomyia / nr. gladiatrix/ oc. too large/ Det.D.M.Wood 1979”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00270” (CNC). 1 ♂, “ Nova Teutonia / 27°11′S, 52°23′ W / Brazil 300–500m / XII.1965 / Fritz Plaumann ”, “ Urodexodes / nr. charapensis/ oc. too large/ Det. D.M. Wood 1979”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00271” [genitalia in vial under specimen] (CNC). 1 ♀, as previous except date “ Dec. 1966 ”, USNM number “00875984” and specimen ID “00352” (USNM). 1 ♀, “ Brasilien [sic]/ Nova Teutonia / 27°11′B, 52°23′L/ Fritz Plaumann / III 1968 / 300 500 m ”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00274” [terminalia in vial under specimen] (CNC).
Recognition. This species is most similar to E. yanayacu sp. nov., E. gladiatrix, and E. charapensis in its relatively large size and V-shaped thoracic vittae. It differs from these species in that the ocellar setae are strong, the inner and outer thoracic vittae are fused on the postsutural area, the abdominal setulae are entirely black, and the abdominal tomentum bands are broken by a thin median vitta. The round forceps-like shape of the cercus in caudal view is distinctive, as is the extended elongation of the cercus and forked end tergite of the female.
Etymology. From the Latinate falcata, a sickle-shaped sword (= ensis falcatus) used in the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman period. Named for both the long sword-like piercer and the broadly curved male cercus that resembles its namesake.
Description. [Described from 10 ♀♀ and 4 ♂♂.] Length 6.4–10.1 mm (mean = 8.2 mm).
Head. Parafacial, face, fronto-orbital plate, vertex, post-ocular plate, and vibrissal angle tomentum yellow, shining gold in the light, often with the ventral half of the post-ocular area shining gray. Genal dilation tomentum yellow-gray. Postgena and occiput tomentum ash-gray, sometimes with patches of shining yellow. Pale occipital setulae yellow to gray. Ocellar setae strong, subequal to length to slightly longer than posterior reclinate orbital seta. Gena with 4–6 setae, subvibrissal ridge with 1–3 setae. Facial ridge with setulae on lower third or less. Postocellar setae one-third to one-half length ocellar setae. Paravertical seta subequal to length to slightly longer than postocellar setae. Outer vertical seta one-fourth to one-third length of inner vertical seta. Reclinate orbital setae 2–3. Frontal setae 5–7, base of last frontal seta level with arista base, often slightly before or beyond. Eye apparently bare. Eye height to head height ratio 0.83–0.85 (mean = 0.84). Postpedicel length 0.35–0.41 (mean = 0.38) height of head. Facial ridge length 0.45–0.52 (mean = 0.49) height of head. Parafacial width 0.06–0.09 (mean = 0.07) lateral length of head. Pedicel 0.28–0.34 (mean = 0.32) length of postpedicel. Postpedicel 1.7–3.0 (mean = 2.4) times width of parafacial in lateral view. Vertex 0.19–0.33 (mean = 0.25) width of head in dorsal view. Palpus yellow-tan to light brown, darkened to dark brown at base; subcylindrical, slightly expanded and flattened at apex, more so in female; with dense stout dorsoapical setulae, several stout apicoventral setulae, several long thin setulae laterally at mid length, and many dorsal and ventral thin minute setulae from mid length to base.
Thorax. Dorsomedial length 1.2–1.3 times width of thorax. Lateral tomentum ash-gray, merging to yellow on dorsal part of katepisternum and anepisternum. Dorsal tomentum yellow. Presutural outer vitta subrectangular, usually disconnected from anterior margin, connected to postsutural outer vitta across suture. Postsutural outer vitta rectangular, connected to inner vittae near posterior apex forming a “V” shape. Inner thoracic vittae linear, bar shaped, slightly divergent, thinner than outer vittae, extending on postsutural area to level of second dorsocentral seta and connecting to postsutural outer vittae at this point. Scutellar dorsal tomentum yellow to yellow-gray, covering apical half of surface, less dense medially. Postpronotum with 4 setae. Presutural area with 2 supra-alar setae. Postsutural area with 3 dorsocentral setae. Fore tibia with 1–2 posterodorsal setae. Wing hyaline. Calypters tan to cream colored.
Abdomen. Cuticle and setulae entirely black. Dorsal tomentum bands ash-gray to yellow-gray; with a thin but distinct median vitta; covering one-fourth to one-half length of T3–5. Ventral tomentum bands ash-gray to yellowgray, covering one-half to three-fourths length of T2–5. T4 with 1 pair of median marginal setae; in males with a row of 6 lateral marginal setae on each side, descending to ventral margin of T4; in females with a single pair of lateral marginal setae and at most a few long marginal setulae ventral to these.
Male terminalia (Figs 128, 144, 161). Sternite 5 basal plate with median teeth blunt, divergent, separated by 0.2 width basal notch; apical lobes 1.7 times length of basal plate. Postgonite broadly rounded on posterior margin, subparallel on basal two-thirds, slightly narrowed to curved blunt apex; anterior emargination less than width of postgonite at mid length. Surstylus subequal to length of cercus, gradually rounded along anterior and posterior margins to rounded blunt apex; with long thin setulae on lateral surface and at apex. Cercus in lateral view expanded at base, subparallel along apical two thirds, with small dorsoapical hook; in caudal view upper lobe rectangular, subparallel; broadened at median section; apical lobe broadly rounded and narrowed towards apex. Upper lobe 0.3 length of cercus. Median section 0.25 length of cercus. Apical cleft broad, oval shaped, with apices inclinate, 0.45 length of cercus. Syncercus apex in caudal view 0.5 width of syncercus base.
Female terminalia (Figs 99, 114). Piercer generally extending past apex of T1+2, often nearly to base of abdomen, in lateral view gradually curved to bent apex; in posterior view parallel sided on basal one-third, gradually narrowed to apex. Aculeate lobe 3.7 times height of the base of segment 7. End tergite plates fused basally, extending as pair of long pointed lobes. Cercus with 5–7 setulae; ventral elongation nearly as long as end tergite, extending past apex of end tergite forks. Postgenital plate with 12 setulae.
Host(s). Unknown.
Geographic extent and seasonal occurrence. Eucelatoria falcata sp. nov. is known only from surveys by Fritz Plaumann in Nova Teutonia, Santa Catarina, Brazil (Fig. 174). Individuals were collected in September through May.
Discussion. D. M. Wood noted on two specimen labels that this species is similar to E. charapensis and E. gladiatrix, but that the ocellar setae are too large. The strong ocellar setae will separate both males and females from most other large bodied E. ferox group species with long piercers, including E. charapensis, E. gladiatrix, and E. yanayacu sp. nov. The shape of the male cercus distinguishes E. falcata from all other known Eucelatoria; indeed, the shape is similar to the cercus of Lixophaga, but all other characters of the male genitalia suggest a normal Blondelia g roup species. The structure of the female terminal abdominal segments is also distinctive in that the ventral elongation of the cercus extends basally past the apex of the end tergite. The halves of the end tergite are fused basally and bifid apically, which is a condition shared by E. charapensis and E. falcata sp. nov. that suggests an affinity between these species.
Care should be taken not to confuse males of this species with those of E. aurata. Both have been collected exclusively in the Brazilian Highlands region, and both have yellow tomentum on the head and thorax. Thus, an E. aurata male may be mistaken as a small E. falcata sp. nov. male in initial sorting. The shape of the cercus (Fig. 128) and the thoracic vittae (Figs 10, 33) are sufficient to separate the two.
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 29-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5143.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6601404