Taxonomic review of Ctenodontina Enderlein, 1914 with the revalidation of Catostola Hull, 1958 (Diptera: Asilidae: Asilinae) and description of a new species
Author
Camargo, Alexssandro
Author
Vieira, Rodrigo
Author
Rafael, José Albertino
text
Zootaxa
2023
2023-04-28
5276
1
71
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5276.1.1
590e0e3a-f3ea-4420-b976-b668987049e6
11755334
7907294
92300500-BB24-45B0-8ADD-977C3220A069
Catostola
Hull, 1958
stat. rev.
(
Figs 9–45
)
Catostola
Hull, 1958:
320
Type species,
Catostola carrerai
Hull, 1958
(original designation);
Hull, 1962
(2): 481(synopsis of world fauna);
Martin & Papavero, 1970: 70
(catalogue, as synonym of
Ctenodontina
Enderlein, 1914
);
Artigas & Papavero, 1995: 36
(
Lecania
-group, catalogue);
Papavero, 2009: 30
(catalogue).
Diagnosis.
Face slightly pronounced at oral margin, white (
Fig. 16C–D
), yellow (
Fig. 27C–D
) or yellowish to brown pruinose (
Fig. 38C–D
); mystacal macrosetae white or yellow (
Fig. 27C–D
) with a few black macrosetae above (
Fig. 32C–D
); postpedicel conical; first article of stylus minute (
Fig. 10A–B
), second article weakly enlarged sub-apically (
Fig. 39A–B
); ocellar tubercle with proclinate setae; thorax greyish or brownish pruinose with dark brown to black paramedian stripes, pre and postsutural and prescutellar spots (
Fig. 9B
); wings yellowish translucent with bifurcation of veins
R
4
and
R
5
always beyond discal cell; cells
m
3
and
cua
always closed and petiolate (
Fig. 10C
); legs mostly yellow with dark brown stripes on anterior half or anterodorsally fading proximally or not on fore and mid femur (
Figs 9A
,
22A
,
27A
,
38A
); hind femur usually entirely black (
Figs 27A
,
38A
); hind femur of males with or without a ventral sub-apical swelling with short and stout macrosetae (if the swelling is present it is rounded and small) (
Figs 14C
,
26
,
37
); hind tibia straight (
Figs 14C
,
26A–C
,
37A
); male terminalia shining black (
Figs 10E–G
,
28E–G
,
33E–G
); epandrium narrowing towards apex ending in a dorsal or ventral finger-like projection pointed posteriorly or ventrally; epandrial arms more or less laterally compressed since the base (
Figs 11E
,
20E
,
24E
,
29E
,
34E
,
40E
); gonocoxite curving upwards apically; S8 always ending beyond the tip of epandrial arms (S8 mid-posterior projection longer than the remainder of terminalia) (
Figs 11C–D
,
20C–D
,
24C–D
,
29C–D
,
34C–D
,
40C–D
); cercus and subepandrial sclerite usually short with apex rounded; ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped, directed posteriorly; phallus with two thin and long prongs separated beyond the base (
Figs 12G
,
21G
,
25G
,
30G
,
35G
,
41G
); female terminalia with T8 expanded laterally (
Figs 13A–F
,
31A–F
,
36A–F
,
42A–F
) and S8 ventrally with a keel bearing short, stout macrosetae apically at the opening of the genital fork (
Figs 13D
,
31D
,
36D
,
42D
).
Distribution (
Fig. 43
).
Mexico
(
Chiapas
and
Yucatán
);
Guatemala
(
Escuintla
and
Suchitepéquez
);
Honduras
(
Atlántida
);
Costa Rica
(
Puntarenas
,
Limón
and
San Jose
);
Colombia
(
La Guajira
,
Magdalena
,
Cesar
and
Tolima
);
Venezuela
(
Vargas
,
Aragua
,
Miranda
,
Carabobo
and
Guárico
);
Ecuador
(
Sucumbíos
,
Napo, Morona Santiago and Zamora-Chinchipe
);
Brazil
(Amazonas);
Peru
(
Cuzco
,
Huánuco
,
Junín
,
Loreto
,
Madre de Dios
and
Ucayali
);
Bolivia
(La Paz, Sara, Ichilo and
Chuquisaca
) and
Argentina
(
Jujuy
,
Salta
and
Tucumán
).
There is only a single species of
Catostola
stat. rev.
which occurs in sympatry with
Ctenodontina
.
Catostola baleta
comb. nov.
occurring in the same valley in
Colombia
where the
type
species of
Ctenodontina
,
Ctenodontina pectinatipes
is also recorded (
Figs 8
,
44
).
Taxonomic discussion.
The genus can be distinguished from other genera of the
Lecania
-group, mainly
Ctenodontina
,
by characters of the male and female terminalia. In
Catostola
stat. rev.
, the epandrial arms usually taper towards the tip in finger-like projections, and the epandrial arms are more or less laterally compressed beyond the base (
Figs 11E
,
20E
,
24E
,
29E
,
34E
,
40E
) contrasting with the shape of the epandrial arms in the
Ctenodontina
that are slender and more or less parallel up to the rounded apex (
Figs 1D–E
,
2A–C
,
6A–E
). However, the main difference between both genera is the construction of S8. In
Catostola
stat. rev.
, the mid-posterior projection of the S8 always ends beyond the end of the epandrial arms (
Figs 11C
,
20C
,
24C
,
29C
,
34C
,
40C
) while in
Ctenodontina
S8 ends almost at the same level with the apex of the hypandrium, long before the apex of the epandrium (
Figs 1D
,
2A, C
,
6D–F
).
The females of
Catostola
stat. rev.
, have T8 enlarged laterally giving to it a cupped aspect (
Figs 13A–F
,
31A–F
,
36A–F
,
42A–F
) while in the females of
Ctenodontina
the terminalia is compressed laterally (
Fig. 3A–D
) and
Catostola
stat. rev.
has a feature on the female S8 that
Ctenodontina
does not have which is the presence of a keel with short and stout macrosetae on the apex being this keel where the genital fork opens (
Figs 13D
,
31D
,
36D
,
42D
), a structure that is absent in
Ctenodontina
.
In
Catostola
stat. rev.
, there are three species that also have a ventral swelling with short stout macrosetae sub-apically on the hind femur of males ventrally (
Figs 14C
,
26
,
27
). However, these swellings are much smaller with a different shape and placed in a different position when compared with those of
Ctenodontina
(
Figs 1B–C
,
4A
,
7
), besides, in
Catostola
stat. rev.
, the hind tibia of males is straight without curved or sigmoid shape (
Figs 14C
,
26A–C
,
37A
).
All these listed differences above led us to conclude that
Catostola
stat. rev.
should have its status revalidated encompassing those species where the male S8 ends beyond the epandrium, the female T8 is expanded laterally, cupped, and S8 has a ventral keel. We think these characters are strong enough to support the revalidation of
Catostola
stat. rev.
, as a distinct genus.
Our findings corroborate the observations of
Fisher (1985)
who also pointed out that the male terminalia of
Ctenodontina mochica
does not follow the same aspect as for the other species now moved to
Catostola
stat. rev
.
He also added that the only link between
C. mochica
and the other species would be the presence of a spinous femoral swelling in the hind femora of males, although he considered this as an unreliable character since it is not present in all species of the present
Catostola
stat. rev.
In addition,
Hull (1958
,
1962
) erected
Catostola
stat. rev.
, to include
Catostola carrerai
stat. rev.
and
Catostola maya
stat. rev.
, which he considered as quite different from
Ctenodontina
, mentioning the curious, oval, depressed, laterally expanded female T8 as a distinctive character to support
Catostola
stat. rev.
Hull (1962)
also suggested that
Ctenodontina
could have a relationship near
Lecania
based on wing venation and antennal style. However, he probably based his observations on the original description and drawings provided by
Enderlein (1914)
, probably without examining the
type
material.
Recently
Sánchez & Camargo (2021)
described the female of
Ctenodontina mochica
reinforcing the suspicion that it is more similar to females of
Lecania
than females of the now
Catostola
stat. rev.
These authors also argued that the description of the female of
Ctenodontina mochica
would bring some instability to the idea that
Catostola
stat. rev.
should remain as a junior synonym of
Ctenodontina
.
Now, with the redescription and illustration of the male terminalia of
Ctenodontina pectinatipes
the suspicions of previous authors have been corroborated, and
Catostola
stat. rev.
, has herein its status revalidated as a distinct genus.