Orthonevra batman Miranda & Soares & Thompson 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Miranda, Gil F. G.
name: Soares, Matheus M. M.
name: Thompson, Christian
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Syrphidae
Orthonevra
Orthonevra batman

description: Orthonevra batman Thompson, Miranda & Soares sp. nov.
Orthonevra 4 (FCT notes)
Figs 3 and 4. Map: Fig. 39
Diagnosis. Similar to O. neotropica but the medial fascia on the eye is complete and the scutellum has the same metallic tint throughout.
Description. MALE. Head (Fig. 3g, h): metallic green, face with slight convexity in profile and ventral 1/4 slightly produced anteriorly, strongly regulose except for smooth area between the oral margin and convexity, shiny, with sparse white pile and not scale-like; with small white microtrichose maculae laterally, positioned immediately ventral to antennal base and widely separated from it. Antenna yellow, except post-pedicel darker with pale base; pedicel almost twice the length of the scape, postpedicel oval elongated, 1.5 × the length of the pedicel. Mala slightly produced apico-ventrally, smooth. Gena shiny, smooth, with white pile. Frontal triangle shiny, regulose and bare, except for distinct erect pile anterior to eye contiguity and following eye margin, with median longitudinal groove not reaching the lunule. Vertical triangle isosceles-triangle-shaped, 2 × the length of the eye contiguity, green metallic, with erect white pile; ocellar triangle green metallic, with erect white pile. Occiput not visible laterally on dorsal 1/3, ventral 2/3 uniformly covered in white microtrichia, with short black pile on dorsal 1/2, with sparse white pile on ventral 1/2. Eyes holoptic; with strongly sinuous sub-anterior and middle vittae, and a medial complete fascia, eyes darker on anterior and postero-ventral margins.
Thorax (Fig. 3d, e): metallic green, with sparse inconspicuous white pile, longer on notopleuron; scutum with four complete dark matte vittae, medial pair tapering anteriorly, and with a short narrow lateral vittate macula posterior to transverse sulcus; notopleuron metallic green; scutellum wholly metallic green, with inconspicuous white pile on small tubercles, sparse in the middle, slightly longer baso-laterally. Pleuron metallic green with white microtrichia concentrated on antepronotum, proepisternum and anatergum, with short white pile on antepronotum, proepisternum, posterior anepisternum, anteriorly on anepimeron, dorsally and ventrally on katepisternum, metasternum and katatergum. Dorsal lobe of calypter white with white marginal pile, ventral lobe white and with longer white marginal pile. Plumule white. Halter yellowish.
Legs (Fig. 3e): metallic green, except pale brown on tibiae and apex of femora, tarsomeres dark, except all tarsomeres 1–2 yellow. Legs covered with short yellow pile, apex of mesotibia and mesotarsomeres with ventral black setulae, metafemur with antero-ventral row and ventral surface with short, black setae.
Wing (Fig. 3d–f): greyish, with dark vitta sub-apically (from end of R2+3 until posterior end of M1), sub-apically on r1, and with slightly dark apex, with one fasciate macula in cells r2+3 and dm and two in r4+5, with vitta on vein dm-m; stem vein and vein C pale until crossvein h, mostly microtrichose except for bare area basally on cell cua, posterior to pseudovein; basicosta with dense appressed pale to dark pile, with two more prominent black setae apically. Alula large, 2 × the width of the c cell.
Abdomen (Fig. 3d, e): metallic green, terga matte black in large medial rectangular area, pile sockets as small protuberances, pile black, appressed and very short, longer, erect and white laterally on tergum 1, much longer, erect and white baso-laterally on tergum 2; sterna metallic green, with white appressed pile; sternum 4 symmetric.
Genitalia (Fig. 4d–g): surstylus bent 90° at base, with a slight convexity at base, sinuous and curving gently toward middle at apex, and with a short medial laminate lobe, with long pile sparsely distributed (Fig. 4f); cercus sub-triangular, with concave dorsal margin, with long pile. Hypandrium sub-oval, compressed apically, with anterior ventral notch through 1/3 of the length of the hypandrium and with a straight basal margin, notch with apical triangular lamina on each side (Fig. 4e); postgonites flattened, laminate, with rounded apex and curving laterally, and a small ventro-medial lamina, with dense pile on dorsal surface (Fig. 4d, e); phallus long, closed and slightly concave ventrally, beak-like at apically, with two pairs of lateral projections ventro-medially, apical projections longer and with rounded apex, basal projections with truncate apex; basal tubular process short, directed apically and ending between basal projections of the phallus (Fig. 4g).
FEMALE (Figs 3a–c, 4a–c). Like male except: scape and pedicel yellow ventrally, dark dorsally (Fig. 3c); frons strongly regulose and with median longitudinal groove ending on ventral 1/4, row of pile contiguous to eye margin only distinct ventrally, remaining of frons with erect and distinct white pile; ocellar triangle pile longer than other pile, some slightly yellowish; some longer white pile on dorsal 1/4 of occiput; eye sub-anterior vitta not sinuous dorsally; scutum and scutellum with short erect white pile medially, but conspicuous; legs dark metallic, apex of femora yellow, tibiae yellow but with medial dark metallic area (Fig. 3b), metafemur with black ventral setulae on apical 1/3; cell r2+3 without a fasciate macula, wing without bare patches. Genitalia (Fig. 4a–c): Tergum 7 as lightly sclerotized rectangular area, pile restricted to a few on apical margin (Fig. 4a). Sternum 7 rectangular and narrow, with a row of pile on apical margin. Tergum 8 as a pair of oval sclerotized areas converging to one another, bare. Sternum 8 large, sub-rectangular in ventral view, with an apical triangular indentation, with lateral shallow grooves sub-apically and laminate apico-lateral margins, mostly pilose but bare on posterior margin (Fig. 4b, c). Sternum 9 with a medial tube internally. Epiproct quadrate with convex apical margin, with two short baso-lateral apodemes, pilose on apical 1/3 (Fig. 4a). Cercus sub-oval and short, with obliquely truncated basal margin, mostly pilose, positioned apically to epiproct. Hypoproct as membranous area, mostly pilose (Fig. 4b).
Length. Body 4.92mm (n=1), wing 3.83mm (n=1); female 5.90mm (n=1), wing 4.67mm (n=1).
Distribution. Brazil (São Paulo) and Ecuador (Fig. 39).
Altitudinal range. 1700–2900m.
Etymology. The specific epithet alludes to the shape of the eye markings when viewed from the front, resembling the shape of the symbol from the DC Comics’ famous character. The name should be treated as a noun in apposition.
Comments. Close to O. neotropica but can be easily distinguished, besides the complete middle band of the eye, by the overall green metallic shine and the lack of a differently tinted middle area on the scutellum. The female genitalia resemble those of O. neotropica, but the cerci are shorter, epiproct is longer, and sternum 9 is differently shaped (specially on its apical margin). Male also similar to O. gli sp. nov. but, besides the differently colored metabasitarsomere, check differences on the genitalia.
F. C. Thompson had named this specimen as ‘ Orthonevra 4’ in his personal notes alongside drawings of this specimen’s male genitalia. The reference to ‘Homem Morto’ in the label is likely related to the stream of the same name that ends in the Capivari river, in the municipality of Campos do Jordão. Female specimen is from a disjunct locality (Ecuador), but it is very similar to the male, including the pale metabasitarsomere, thus we deem it conspecific with the holotype.
Type material: BRAZIL. São Paulo, C[ampos] do Jordão [ca 22°46'07.5"S 45°35'50.9"W], Homem Morto, ??. xii.1945, Barreto (male holotype batman MZUSP, USNMENT 00028637).
Paratype examined: ECUADOR. Pichincha, Road Aloag-S. Domingo [ca 0°28'19.0"S 78°35'43.4"W], 15.viii.1969, P. & B. Wygodzinsky (1 female AMNH, CNC1589921).
description: Published as part of Miranda, Gil F. G., Soares, Matheus M. M. & Thompson, Christian, 2024, The Neotropical Orthonevra Macquart, 1829 (Diptera: Syrphidae), pp. 1-78 in Zootaxa 5484 (1) on pages 13-14, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5484.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13208985