Botanophila zaldivari Gomes &amp; De Carvalho 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gomes, Lucas R. P.
name: De Carvalho, Claudio J. B.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Anthomyiidae
Botanophila
Botanophila zaldivari

description: <i>Botanophila zaldivari</i> sp. nov. (Figs 3, 6) <b>Diagnosis:</b> Interfrontal setae similar to frontal setae. Proclinate orbital setae developed. Cerci in posterior view, enlarged and long, twice longer than its width, apically furcated, with an acute point on each side and among them a median apical process. Surstyli in lateral view strongly curved in the opposite direction to cerci, apex narrow. Epiproct semi-circular. Hypoproct suboval, twice as long as broad. <b>Description:</b> Male. Body length: 5.3 mm. Wing length: 5.7 mm. <b>Color:</b> General coloration light brown with gray pruinosity. Frontal vitta dark brown with ochre yellow on the lower third, fronto-orbital plate, parafacial, and gena with gray pruinosity. Antennae and palpus dark brown. Mesonotum with three inconspicuous brown. Calypter and halter white-yellowish. Legs light brown with gray pruinosity, tibiae lighter. Wing slightly brownish, with yellowish veins. Abdomen with a poorly delimited dorsal median stripe. <b>Head</b> (Fig. 3A): Dichoptic; parafacial at mid-height only half as wide as postpedicel; gena almost twice wider than pedicel; frons broad, frontal vitta with about 3/5 of frontal width, with strong inner and outer vertical setae (the inner vertical setae 1/5 longer than the outer), a pair of interfrontal setae, 3 proclinate orbital setae and 2 frontal setae plus 2 frontal setulae. Antenna long; arista pubescence, hairs with similar length to greatest basal diameter of arista. <b>Thorax</b> (Fig. 3B, C): Acrostichal setae 4+6, very short. Prealar seta longer than posterior notopleural seta. Anepisternum with a long anterior setula, below anterior notopleural seta. Katepisternal setae 1+2. Dorsocentral setae 2+3. Upper calypter with long marginal setulae, with almost the same length of calypter width. Lower calypter reduced to almost linear, narrow fold. Apical and basal scutellar setae long, about twice longer than scutellum length. <b>Wing:</b> Vein C ventrally bare, with some setulae apically, after subcostal vein; section between basal and costal breaks with slightly enlarged <i>av</i> spinules. Cross-vein dm-cu straight. <b>Legs:</b> Fore tibia with a submedian <i>ad</i> seta and a median <i>pv</i> seta; apically only with a <i>pv</i> seta and a longer <i>d</i> seta. Mid femur with a few <i>av</i> setae basally and some longish <i>pv</i> setae in basal half, long preapical setae on <i>p</i> and <i>pd</i>; mid tibia with 1 submedian <i>ad</i>, 2 <i>pd</i> (supramedian and submedian) and 2 <i>pv</i> setae (median and submedian), preapical setae on <i>p</i> and <i>pd</i> absent; long apical setae on <i>av</i>, <i>pv</i>, and <i>v</i>, in addition to shorter setae on remaining surfaces. Hind femur with a row of robust <i>ad</i> and <i>av</i> setae, twice longer than femur width; hind tibia with 2 <i>av</i> (median and submedian), 4 <i>ad</i>, 3 <i>pd</i>, and 1 <i>pv</i> seta (supra median), apically with long and robust setae on <i>ad</i>, <i>av</i>, and <i>d</i>. Pulvillus enlarged, longer than width of tarsomere. <b>Abdomen</b> (Fig. 3B, C): Tergite 6 bare. Sternite 1 setulose, with long setulae marginally. Sternite 5 (Fig. 6A) processes with long lateral setae on the outer margin and shorter setae on the inner margin. <b>Terminalia</b> (Fig. 6): Cerci in posterior view, enlarged and long, twice longer than its width, almost with the same length of surstyli, apically furcated, with an acute point on each side and among them a median apical process (Fig. 6B). Surstyli narrow and slightly curved (Fig. 6C). Hypopygium (Fig. 6D, E) of the <i>Botanophila</i> - type, i.e. pregonite reduced and shallow, firmly connected to the central plate of hypandrium, and with 2 long setae; postgonite twice longer than the pregonite; epiphallus and distiphallus reduced; distiphallus largely membranous except for a pair of anterobasal sclerotized rods (Fig. 6D, E); phallapodema long and apically enlarged in dorsal (Fig. 6E) and lateral (Fig. 6D) view. <b>Female:</b> Body length: 5.0 mm. Wing length: 5.3 mm. Similar to male, except: fore tibia with 2 median <i>ad</i> setae (lower one twice longer than the upper one), no <i>pv</i> seta. Hind tibia without 1 <i>pv</i> seta. Pulvillus reduced, not larger than width of tarsomere. Abdomen long-oviform (Fig. 3E, F). Spermathecae cylindrical, with surrounding grooves (Fig. 6H). Ovipositor long, sternite 6 and 7 rounded, sternite 8 long and narrow; tergite 6 and 7 enlarged, dorsally less sclerotized, tergite 8 forming a plate around the dorsal surface; epiproct semi-circular; hypoproct suboval, twice as long as broad (Fig. 6F, G). <b>Morphological variation:</b> Male (n=5). Body length: 4.5–5.3 mm. Wing length: 4.6–5.7 mm. Female (n=2). Body length: 5.0– 5.2 mm. Wing length: 5.2–5.5 mm. Prealar setae length range among similar to longer than posterior notopleural setae. The cerci length slightly varies among dissected specimens. The specimen from Ajusco has dark brown frons (without the yellow apex). <b>Etymology:</b> Name in apposition. This species is named in honor of Alejandro Zaldívar Riverón, entomologist of the Instituto de Biología, UNAM. <b>Material examined:</b> Holotype. Male. “ Mexico: Tlaxcala, \ Nanacamilpa, Comunidad San \ Felipe Hidalgo, Ejido Los \ Bufalos, 2896 msnm, N 19º28’ \ 14.8’’ O 98º35’17.1’’ T. \ Malaise 2. 01/viii-26/viii/2016 \ Bosque Pino-Encino. Col. Y. \ Marquez y A. Contreras ” [19.470777; -98.588083] (CNIN). Paratypes. 1 female, same label information as the holotype (CNIN); 3 males and 1 female, same label information as the holotype, except: 2884 msnm, Malaise 1, 26/viii–4/x/2016 (CNIN, 2 males; DZUP, 1 male and 1 female); 1 male, Mexico, km 7 carretera Pedregal, Ajusco, México, D. F., 25.x.1974, J. Gutierrez [19.211298; -99.258872] (DZUP). <b>Distribution:</b> Mexico (State of Mexico and Tlaxcala). <b>Remarks:</b> The tentative assignment of this new species to <i>brunneilinea</i> -group is based on the shape of cerci: large dorsally with distal margin nearly reaching the apex of surstyli and in the distal quarter narrowly separated and forming two points. This new species is easily distinguished from other known <i>Botanophila</i> species by the male head, with dichoptic eyes, interfrontal setae and proclinate orbital setae developed. It is very similar to <i>B. mayorgae</i> <b>sp. nov.</b>, but can be differentiated from it by the light brown tibiae, longer cerci and strongly curved surstyli.
description: Published as part of <i>Gomes, Lucas R. P. &amp; De Carvalho, Claudio J. B., 2021, Three new species of Botanophila Lioy (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) from the Mexican Transition Zone, pp. 317-328 in Zootaxa 5005 (3)</i> on pages 321-324, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5005.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/5141819