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

description: Eucelatoria ferox (Townsend, 1912)
(Figs 1D, 2, 47, 94, 109, 177)
Spathimyia ferox Townsend, 1912: 319.
Holotype, Peru, Charape River (USNM).
Other references: Guimarães (1971: 149). Eucelatoria ferox: Wood (1985: 40).
Type material examined. Holotype ♀, labeled “R Charape Peru / 4500ft ”, “CHTTownsend/ Coll”, “Lep 13, ‘11- [handwritten]”, “Type No./ 15157/ U.S.N.M.”, “ Spathimyia / ferox/ Twd.”, “USNMENT/ 01384159” (USNM).
Other material. 3 ♀♀. Bolivia—Cochabamba: 1 ♀, labeled “ BOLIVIA Cbba [Cochabamba] Chapare/ Villa Tunarí– Cochabamba / road - km 365 -1800m / G. & M.Wood 3–10.XII.96”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00399” (DMW). Santa Cruz: 1 ♀, “ BOLIVIA: Santa Cruz Dept. / Florida Prov., Vicoquin area / above Achra, road to Amboró / 18°07′S, 63°48′ W 2050m / 10 November 2007 / N. E. Woodley ”, “USNM ENT 00875983”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00398” [terminalia in vial under specimen] (USNM). ECUADOR — Imbabura: 1 ♀, “ ECUADOR, Imbab.[Imbabura province]/ Lago Cuichoca / 31.III.1983 / G. & M. Wood ”, “ZLB_E.Ferox 00396” (DMW).
Recognition. Females of E. ferox and the related E. huitepecensis sp. nov. and E. inclani sp. nov. are unique among Eucelatoria in possessing two wide longitudinal vittae spanning the entire length of the thoracic notum. However, E. ferox differs from E. huitepecensis sp. nov. in that the vittae are entire and not partially divided by a thin line of tomentum, and differs from E. inclani sp. nov. in that the ocellar setae are present and strong and the calypters are cream colored, not orange.
Redescription. Female [redescribed from 4 specimens]. Length 6.0–7.0 mm (mean = 6.35 mm).
Head. Parafacial, fronto-orbital plate, vertex, upper half of post-ocular plate, and vibrissal angle tomentum yellow. Genal dilation, postgena, lower half of post-ocular plate, and occiput tomentum yellow to gray. Pale occipital setae gray. Ocellar setae strong, three-fourths to subequal to length of anterior reclinate orbital setae. Gena with 2–3 setae, subvibrissal ridge usually with 2 setae. Facial ridge with setulae on one-half to over two-thirds of length. Postocellar setae one-third to one-half length of ocellar setae. Paravertical seta one-half to three-fourths length of postocellar setae. Outer vertical seta one-half length of inner vertical seta. Reclinate orbital setae 2, the posterior seta sometimes somewhat lateroclinate. Frontal setae 6–8, last frontal seta level with arista base or slightlybelow. Eye with short setulae, each setula 2–4 facets in length. Eye height to head height ratio 0.82–0.86 (mean = 0.84). Postpedicel length 0.41–0.46 (mean = 0.43) height of head. Facial ridge length 0.54–0.58 (mean = 0.56) height of head. Parafacial width 0.06–0.09 (mean = 0.08) lateral length of head. Pedicel 0.29–0.35 (mean = 0.32) length of postpedicel. Postpedicel 2.20–3.30 (mean = 2.75) times width of parafacial in lateral view. Vertex 0.27–0.29 (mean = 0.27) width of head in dorsal view. Palpus tan to reddish-brown at apex; dark brown to black near base; in Bolivian females subcylindrical, slightly dilated at apex; with short, stout dorsoapical setae, longer stout lateroapical setae, and several long thin setae mediolaterally; [in the female specimen from Ecuador and in the holotype dilated and flattened at apex]; with many moderate to long stout setae apically.
Thorax. Dorsomedial length 1.3–1.4 times width of thorax. Lateral tomentum dense, gray to yellow-gray; covering most of pleurites, usually absent from anterior half of katepisternum and anepisternum. Dorsal tomentum ash-gray to yellow or yellow-gray. Inner and outer vittae fused into single broad longitudinal vitta spanning entire length of notum, unbroken by tomentum, such that notum bears two broad parallel vittae; with rectangular medial area of tomentum one-half to two-thirds width of vitta. Scutellar dorsal tomentum gray to yellow, covering apical one-third to one-half of scutellum. Postpronotum with 4 setae. Presutural area with 2 supra-alar setae. Postsutural area with 3 dorsocentral setae. Scutellum with 1 pair of discal setae. Fore tibia with 2 posterodorsal setae. Wing lightly infuscated from costa through the radial sector. Calypteres tan to cream colored.
Abdomen. Cuticle and setulae entirely black. Dorsal tomentum bands yellow, covering one-third to two-thirds of T3–5, with wide median vitta. Ventral tomentum bands covering entirety of T1–5, yellow to gray, often appearing bronze. T4 with 1 pair of strong median marginal setae and 1 pair of weaker lateral marginal setae, with several long seta-like setulae along posterior margin towards ventral keel.
Terminalia (Figs 94, 109). Piercer generally extending beyond apex of T3; in lateral view broadly curved, with small bend at apex; in posterior view parallel sided on basal half then gradually tapered to apex. Aculeate lobe over 4 times height of segment 7 base. End tergite halves fused on basal half, then broadly forked into two parallel tines, the entire unit 5 times as long as wide. Cercus with 5 setae; ventral elongation a narrow ribbon extending towards the base of the postabdomen beyond forked apex of end tergite. Postgenital plate with 10 setae.
Male. Unknown.
Host(s). Unknown.
Geographic extent and seasonal occurrence. Females of the E. ferox species complex are known from tropical montane forest and paramo in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from 1800 to 3200 m elevation (Fig. 177).
Discussion. At least two morphotypes are included here. There are no known males, and only one or two females known for each “locality”. It is impossible to know the range of variation within these at this time. Therefore, the single name E. ferox is retained until more material is available to resolve this species complex. The closely related E. huitepecensis sp. nov. is narrowly separated from these by virtue of the partially divided inner and outer vittae and the great geographic distance, and the close E. inclani sp. nov. is separated by virtue of the absent ocellar setae. Individually, each of the morphotypes (“ Bolivia ” and “Lago Cuichoca”) are distinct. “ Bolivia ” females have only slightly dilated, unflattened palpi, while the “Lago Cuichoca” female has strongly flattened palpi. The Peruvian holotype appears closest in appearance to the latter.
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 17-18, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5143.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6601404