Microcerella grinteri Santos, Mello-Patiu, Couri & Mulieri, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Santos, Josenilson Rodrigues dos
name: Mello-Patiu, Cátia Antunes de
name: Couri, Márcia Souto
name: Mulieri, Pablo Ricardo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Sarcophagidae
Microcerella
Microcerella grinteri

description: Microcerella grinteri sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: FCDCA0B4-7B07-4207-9FFB-91CD67087EB1
Figs 5–6
Diagnosis
Male: head without proclinate orbital setae; wings with vein R 1 bare; terminalia with epandrium orange (Fig. 6D), basiphallus and distiphallus fused dorsally without a dorsal membranous strip (Fig. 5C), and vesica with a superior and inferior projection, the inferior one with serrated margin (Fig. 5C–D).
Etymology
The species epithet ‘ grinteri ’ (‘grinter’ + ‘i’), masculine genitive, is given in honor of Christopher C. Grinter (Collection Manager of Entomology at CAS).
Type Material
Holotype CHILE • ♂, terminalia dissected and stored in a microvial with glycerin pinned under the specimen; “Chile, Santiago Prov. / Farellones, 2600 m. / III.20.1966, M.E. Irwin / 33º21’S. 70º20’W. [printed on white paper] // HOLOTYPE [printed on red paper] // Microcerella grinteri sp. nov. / Santos, Mello-Patiu, / Couri & Mulieri 2025 [handwritten on white paper] // CASENT / 8451582 [printed on white paper]”; CASENT8451582; CAS.
Description
Male (n = 1)
MEASUREMENST. Length: 12 mm.
HEAD. Parafacial, fronto-orbital plate and postocular orbit dark brown with slightly silver pruinosity (Fig. 6A–C); facial ridge with setae on lower third; parafacial with row of setulae close to eye, similar in size to subvibrissal setae; frons about 0.22 × head width at level of ocellar triangle; frontal vitta blackish (Fig. 6B); 11–12 well-developed frontal setae reaching level of apex of pedicel; rows of frontal setae parallel except anteriormost 2 divergent; reclinate orbital seta present, proclinate orbital setae absent; ocellar setae as developed as upper frontals; outer vertical seta undifferentiated from postocular setae; gena and genal groove with silver pruinosity (Fig. 6A, C); gena with black setae; postgena silvery-gray pruinose with blackish setae; antenna black (Fig. 6A, C); first flagellomere approximately 3 × as long as pedicel; arista micro pubescent on basal half (Fig. 6C); palpus blackish.
THORAX. Dark brown with silvery-gray pruinosity (Fig. 6A–B); chaetotaxy: acrostichals 0+0, dorsocentrals 3 (anteriormost shorter) + 3 (the anteriormost shorter), intra-alars 1+2, supra-alars 1+3, postpronotals 3, notopleurals 4; postalar wall bare; postalar callus with 2 setae; scutellum with pair of basal and pair of subapical setae, pair of apical setae, and pair of discal setae; katepisternum with 3 setae almost in straight line; meral setae 11; proepisternum bare.
WING. Hyaline, with dark brown veins (Fig. 6A–B); tegula dark brown; basicosta yellowish; vein R 4+5 with setulae dorsally at basal ½ of distance to crossvein r-m; vein R 1 bare; cell r 4+5 open at wing margin; costal spine not differentiated; third costal sector bare ventrally.
LEGS. Blackish-brown, pulvilli yellowish-brown (Fig. 6A); mid femur with 3 median anterior setae, row of anteroventral setae, 2 preapical posterior setae, row of posteroventral setae, and without ctenidium; mid tibia with 2 median anterior setae, 1 median posterior seta and 2 posterior setae in apical third; hind trochanter without ventromedian pad of short, spiniform setae.
ABDOMEN. Dark brown with silvery-gray pruinosity and yellowish pruinosity laterally (Fig. 6A); T4 without pair of median marginal setae and pair of lateral marginal setae; T5 with row of marginal setae; ST2–4 with marginal setae slightly more developed than discal setae; ST5 with membranous window, arms approximately 3 × of base length, and dense setae pattern.
TERMINALIA. Syntergosternite 7+8 and apex of phallus and cercus black, other structures orange (Fig. 6D); cercus with numerous setae; cercal prongs divergent dorsally and rounded (Fig. 5A–B); surstylus boomerang-like, with long apical setae (Fig. 5B); pregonite straight, almost same length as postgonite (Fig. 5C); postgonite with apex rounded and curved and short seta inserted on anterior margin near middle (Fig. 5C); postgonal apodeme long and rectangular (Fig. 5C); basiphallus and distiphallus fused dorsally without dorsal membranous strip (Fig. 5C); vesica with superior and an inferior projection, inferior one with serrated margin (Fig. 5C–D); juxta distinctly separated from paraphallus with anterior projection (Fig. 5C–D); acrophallus formed by median stylus, median process, and pair of lateral styli (Fig. 5C–D); median stylus almost straight, median process tubular and lateral stylus slightly curved (Fig. 5C–D).
Female
Unknown.
Remarks
Microcerella grinteri sp. nov. is morphologically similar to M. quimaliensis (Lopes, 1982) but can be separated by the almost straight cercus in lateral view, the hat-like superior projection of the vesica, and the juxta being shorter than paraphallus (Fig. 5C–D); while in M. quimaliensis, the cercus is evidently curved in lateral view, the superior projection of the vesica is stick-like, and the juxta is approximately as long as the paraphallus (Lopes 1982: figs 48–52).
Distribution
Chile (Santiago).
description: Published as part of Santos, Josenilson Rodrigues dos, Mello-Patiu, Cátia Antunes de, Couri, Márcia Souto & Mulieri, Pablo Ricardo, 2025, Five new species of Microcerella Macquart, 1851 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) from the Andean Region, pp. 245-265 in European Journal of Taxonomy 989 on pages 254-257, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2025.989.2897, http://zenodo.org/record/15373689