Two new, brachypterous Limnellia species from the Venezuelan Andes (Diptera: Ephydridae)
Author
Costa, Daniel N. R.
Author
Savaris, Marcoandre
Author
Marinoni, Luciane
Author
Mathis, Wayne N.
text
Zootaxa
2016
4144
3
301
315
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4144.3.1
ea093250-c3c4-403c-a05c-98c49d0e0aa5
1175-5326
255192
B73CFE90-BDF1-47EA-BBD6-52A8DB2B144C
Tribe
Scatellini
Wirth and Stone
Scatellini
Wirth and Stone 1956
: 466
.
Type
genus:
Scatella
Robineau-Desvoidy 1830
.─
Mathis
and
Zatwarnicki
1995
: 254
–288 [world catalog].─
Mathis
et al.
2014
: 561
–576 [review of genera and species from
Brazil
].
Diagnosis
. Specimens of
Scatellini
may be distinguished from other
Ephydridae
by the following combination of character states:
Head:
Mesofrons subquadrate, slightly wider posteriorly, appearing dull, densely microtomentose or shiny with metallic luster; lacking interfrontal setae; usually 2 lateroclinate, fronto-orbital setae (most genera) or 1 (
Limnellia
Malloch
, most
Scatophila
Becker
). Antenna relatively short; arista essentially bare, macropubescent (most genera) or bearing long dorsal rays (
Philotelma
Becker
). Face projected, setulose to moderately densely pilose, marginal setae usually larger; dorsum of interfoveal hump usually similar to rest of face, dark colored in a few species, not shiny; eye bare, usually as wide as high, nearly round to obliquely oval, generally oriented obliquely to plane of epistoma; gena short to high, usually bearing a genal seta (most genera) or lacking (
Haloscatella
Mathis
,
Lamproscatella
Hendel
,
Philotelma
,
Thinoscatella
Mathis
); oral opening moderately large, gaping, usually concealing clypeus.
Thorax:
Dorsocentral setae 2–3 (0+2, 1+2), some setae sometimes weakly developed, the posteriormost seta displaced laterally from alignment of others; intrapostalar seta lacking or weakly developed; presutural supra-alar seta variable, subequal or larger than anterior notopleural seta (
Scatella
(
Parascatella
) Cresson
) or greatly reduced, weakly developed (most genera); postsutural supra-alar seta often reduced or lacking; 2 notopleural setae, placement of posterior seta variable, usually at same level as anterior seta; proepisternum lacking setae but often with a few setulae; prosternum bare of setae or setulae; anepisternum bearing 1 large seta just dorsad of midheight along posterior margin, several smaller setulae may also be present; anepimeron, meron, and metapleuron bare of setae. Wing hyaline to conspicuously infuscate with or without white spots; costal vein extended to vein M (most genera) or to vein R4+5 (
Scatophila
); vein R2+3 usually long, terminating at approximately same distance from vein R4+5 as tip of vein M is from vein R4+5. Hindcoxal strap not setose; pulvilli normally developed; tarsal claws short, curved.
Abdomen:
Male with 5 visible abdominal tergites, tergite 5 distinctly trapezoidal or triangular; female with 6, sometimes 7, visible tergites, tergite 5 subtrapezoidal, not triangular. Male terminalia: Surstylus usually fused with ventral margin of epandrium and not evident (most genera) or evident as lobes, perhaps secondarily developed (
Lamproscatella
,
Limnellia
); aedeagus usually a sclerotized structure (apparently basiphallus) (
Amalopteryx
Eaton
,
Haloscatella
[other than
New Zealand
species],
Lamproscatella
,
Limnellia
,
Scatella
,
Scatophila
,
Thinoscatella
) or with a sclerotized basiphallus and a membranous distiphallus invested with short, sharp scales or scale-like thorns (some
Haloscatella
[species from
New Zealand
],
Philotelma
); ejaculatory apodeme lacking (
Amalopteryx
,
Haloscatella
,
Lamproscatella
,
Limnellia
,
Philotelma
,
Scatophila
,
Thinoscatella
) or present as an L-shaped, flattened (dorsoventrally) structure (
Apulvillus
Malloch
,
Neoscatella
Malloch
,
Scatella
,
Synhoplos
Lamb
,
Teichomyza
Macquart
); phallapodeme rudimentary, rodlike, lacking a keel (
Amalopteryx
,
Haloscatella
,
Lamproscatella
,
Limnellia
,
Philotelma
,
Scatophila
) or greatly reduced or lacking (
Apulvillus
,
Neoscatella
,
Scatella
,
Synhoplos
,
Teichomyza
); gonites and hypandrium fused forming a single structure (“gonal arch”) (
Amalopteryx
,
Haloscatella
,
Lamproscatella
,
Thinoscatella
,
Apulvillus
,
Neoscatella
,
Scatella
,
Synhoplos
,
Teichomyza
, ground plan of
Limnellia
) or separated into medial sclerite “hypandrium” and lateral structures representing gonites (
Philotelma
,
New Zealand
Haloscatella
, most
Scatophila
) or separated medioventrally into 2 lateral structures “gonites” (most
Limnellia
) (2 separate gonites are present also in some
Scatophila
(
avida
group), in which the “hypandrium” is reduced.
Discussion
.
Olafsson (1991)
suggested that the tribe
Scatellini
, as characterized here, is monophyletic. We are less confident of the monophyly of this tribe, and the senior author is now re-examining and reanalyzing evidence to test this hypothesis.
Many of the eight included genera (
Amalopteryx
,
Haloscatella
,
Lamproscatella
,
Limnellia
,
Philotelma
,
Scatella
[subgenera:
Apulvillus
,
Neoscatella
,
Scatella
,
Synhoplos
,
Teichomyza
],
Scatophila
,
Thinoscatella
) are found throughout the world in temperate and tropical zones. Although largely undescribed, there is considerable species diversity at higher elevations associated with the Andes in
South America
, where we have collected specimens at localities above
5000 m
(
Colombia
).
Worldwide there are over 245 species in
Scatellini
(
Mathis and Zatwarnicki 1995 and electronic updates
), and in the Neotropical Region there are records of four genera and nearly 70 species with a majority being classified in the genus
Scatella
and its included subgenera.