Simulium (Hearlea) ayrozai Vargas
Creators: name: Coscarón, S.
name: Esquivel, D. R. Miranda
name: Moulton, J. K.
name: Arias, C. L. Coscarón-
name: Bernal, S. Ibañez
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Simuliidae
Simulium
Simulium ayrozai

description: Simulium (Hearlea) ayrozai Vargas
Figs. 4A, B.
Simulium ayrozai Vargas 1945 a: 74, pl. 7, Fig. 4; pl. 8, Figs. 4, 7; pl. 9, Fig. 5; pl. 10, Fig. 3, 4.
Simulium (Hearlea) ayrozai Vargas: Vargas, Martínez Palacios & Díaz Nájera, 1946: 106, 111, 164, 181, 184, 185, Fig. 125; Vargas & Díaz Nájera, 1957: 166, 167, 170, 172, 173, 282, Figs. 65– 72. Díaz Nájera & Vulcano, 1962: 93, 108; Fig. 1–5.
Female: Wing length, 3.4 mm. General coloration blackish. Scutum velvety black, with 1+1 silvery vittae adjoining anterior subtriangular spots with whitish pruinose prescutellar area. Fronto­ocular triangle longer than broad. Cibarium broadly U­shaped, smooth, lacking ovoid sublateral prominences. Sc pilose, with 21 hairs. Hind basitarsus 6 times longer than broad; claw with subbasal tooth. Genitalia differing from S. capricorne as follows: sternite VIII with 17–19 trichomes per side, gonapophysis with internal border sclerotized along inner 1/2, cerci with distal margin straight, anal lobe well sclerotized with abundant hairs distally.
Male: Wing length, 3.4 mm. Scutum velvety black. Sc with few hairs. Hind basitarsus 4.2 times longer than broad. Genitalia similar to that of S. capricorne, except ventral plate more elevated distally.
Pupa: (Figs. 4 A, B). Cocoon shoe shaped, anterior margin reinforced, coarsely woven; basal length, 3.5–4.7 mm. Frontoclypeus and anterodorsum of thorax smooth, with few platelets; frontoclypeus with 2 small frontal and 1 large facial setae per side. Gill with two broad, curved, pseudoannulated (particularly laterally) branches whose apices meet along longitudinal midline forming ring; gill typically not extended beyond anterior margin of cocoon; dorsal branch, 0.9 mm, with small acute process distally; ventral branch, 1.0 mm. Abdominal tergite X without terminal spines.
Larva (mature): Body length, 8–10 mm. General coloration gray. Cephalic apotome uniformly light brown, with gradually darkened median basally and small half anterior median and submedian spots. Labral fan with 52–54 rays. Hypostoma with straight anterior margin, 14–17 lateral setae per side, and 4+4 discal setae. Mandible with two rows of 7–8 internal teeth, 2 thin marginal teeth, and 1 large lateromandibular process. Ratio of antennal articles = 1:1.5:1.0 (proximal: medial: distal). Ratio of hypostoma/length of hypostomal bridge = 1:1. Postgenal cleft dome­shaped, with narrow anteromedian incision. Cervical sclerites adjoining postgenae posteriorly. Lateral sclerite of prothoracic proleg with 46–52 teeth. Posterior circlet with ca. 150 rows of 24–27 hooks. Rectal papillae trilobed, with 12–15 lobules per lobe (total = 36–45); dorsal lobe larger than ventral ones.
Material examined: México: D. F., Desierto de Los Leones, 1 female pharate, 1 male pharate, 4 pupae, 1 larva on slides, 26 March 1948, A. Díaz Nájera (MLP), (leg. INDRE); same, 1 female (paratype), 5 March 1944, A. Martínez & A. Díaz (USNM).
Distribution: Guatemala: Solalá, Totonicapan; México, D.F., México.
Discussion: Simulium ayrozai is very similar structurally to S. microbranchium, especially in features of the pupal gill, but the latter species has the dorsal gill branch narrower and slightly longer than the ventral branch and a more strengthened anterior margin of the cocoon. Simulium ayrozai also differs from S. microbranchium by slight differences in the larva, such as more gray coloration (versus green), posterior circlet with hooklet rows (versus 194–206), and rectal papillae with lobules (versus 25).
description: Published as part of Coscarón, S., Esquivel, D. R. Miranda, Moulton, J. K., Arias, C. L. Coscarón- & Bernal, S. Ibañez, 2004, Simulium (Hearlea) Vargas, Martínez Palacios, & Díaz Nájera (Diptera: Simuliidae): Taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis, pp. 1-52 in Zootaxa 396 on pages 10-11, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.396.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5227428