Culicoides profundus Santarem, Felippe-Bauer & Trindade, sp. nov.

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Life Sciences)

Culicoides profundus Santarém, Felippe-Bauer & Trindade sp. nov. Figs. 6 A–G; Fig. 9 Diagnosis. Female: This species is easily distinguished by the following combination of characters: palpus 3rd segment swollen, with large, deep sensory pit in middle portion, opening in a small, rounded pore; PR 1.8–2.4; moderately long proboscis; mandible with 16 teeth. Female. Head. Brown. Eyes bare (Fig. 6 G), narrowly separated, smaller than ½ ommatidium. Pedicel brown, flagellum pale brown, first eight flagellomeres paler on proximal ½; AR 1.02–1.18 (1.10, n=19) (Fig. 6 C); sensilla coeloconica on flagellomeres 1,(5) 6–8, two on 1, one or two on 5, three on 6 and 7 and four on 8. Palpus (Fig. 6 E) brown; 3rd segment swollen, with a large, deep sensory pit in middle portion, opening in a small, rounded pore; PR 1.8–2.4 (2.1, n=25). Proboscis moderately long; P/H ratio 0.86–0.95 (0.90, n=25); mandible with 16 teeth (n=2). Thorax. Dark brown. Prominent pattern of yellowish patches well defined (Fig. 6 B); pale humeral depressions present. Scutum with two pale areas in the anterior submedian portion arranged as leaf clover and two pale areas in posterior submedian portion; lateral portion with anterior and posterior pale areas; pale prescutellar depressions present; scutellum yellowish laterally; postscutellum brown. Wing (Fig. 6 A) with contrasting pattern: second radial cell including dark spot; pale spot over R-M extending from M1 to the costal margin, subdivided; r3 with four, small and separated pale spots: first, irregular, elongate, transverse, S shaped in some specimens, between the second radial cell and M1; second, poststigmatic, extending behind second radial cell, abutting wing margin; third, nearly rounded, in the middle of cell similar to the second one; fourth, distal pale spot lightly reaching wing margin, sometimes connected with third one; m1 with two pale spots, the distal one far from wing margin; m2 with four pale spots: one proximal, near CuA, faint and small, two between the medial and mediocubital forks, a distal one not reaching wing margin; cua1 with a rounded and small pale spot in the middle of cell; anal cell with a faint, basal pale area and one distal pale spot near mediocubital fork; wing base with a pale spot on M; M1, M2 and CuA1 with pale apex; macrotrichia scarcely distributed on distal third of wing; wing length 0.82–0.97 (0.93, n=26) mm; breadth 0.40–0.50 (0.46, n=26) mm; CR 0.60–0.67 (0.64, n=26). Halter knob brown in middle, in distal ½ in some specimens, stem pale. Legs (Fig. 6 D) mostly brown; femora with subapical pale bands, tibiae with subbasal pale bands; hind tibia pale apically; hind tibial comb with four spines, the one nearest the spur longest. Abdomen. Brown. Two slightly unequal ovoid spermathecae (Fig. 6 F), measuring 42 µm by 35,7 µm (n=25) and 36 µm by 30,5 µm (n=22), with sclerotized ducts with 6.25 µm (n=16). Long, slender, rudimentary third spermatheca present (22,5 µm); short, cylindrical sclerotized ring present (5 µm). Types data and depository. Holotype female, BRAZIL, Vila de Patauateua, Pará, Ourém, "Fazenda Gavião Real", 0 1o 29'44" S 47o13'07" W, 28-29.XI.2008, CDC light trap, forest, Trindade & Guimarães cols. (MPEG); Paratypes, 25 females, same data, except: one, Juruti, " Fazenda Rezende, Comunidade do Café Torrado", 0 2o 18'77"S 56o05'24"W, 17-18.XII.2007 (CCER); one, 26-27.VI.2008 (MPEG); one, Paragominas, "Fazenda do Dr. Jorge Artur, próximo ao igarapé da casa do caseiro", 03-04.XII.2008, Trindade & Quaresma cols. (MPEG); six, 04-05.XII.2008 (4 MPEG; 1 CCER; 1 MNRJ); seven, 02-03.XII. 2008 (4 CCER; 3 MPEG); seven, Amazonas, Rio Pardo, VI-VIII.2010, CDC light trap, "borda de floresta", F. Pessoa col. (ILMD); one, same data except 17- 18.VII.2010, "peridomicilio" (ILMD); one, same data except 21-22.VI.2010, "floresta" (ILMD). Male. Unknown. Distribution and bionomics. This species is restricted to Brazilian states of Pará and Amazonas (Fig. 9). It was associated with farm environments in three municipalities of Pará State and with forest areas in Amazonas State, both far from coastal regions. Etymology. The name of this species is related with the presence of deep sensory pit on third palpal segment (Latim—profundu = deep).