Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical genus Argentinomyia Lynch-Arribálzaga, 1891 (Diptera: Syrphidae), with description of 16 new species Author Montoya, Augusto L. 0000-0003-3307-034X aleon.montoya@udea.edu.co Author Wolff, Marta 0000-0002-3389-7083 martha.wolff@udea.edu.co text Zootaxa 2023 2023-02-03 5234 1 1 157 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5234.1.1 journal article 53225 10.11646/zootaxa.5234.1.1 be77753c-0c7a-4f90-a020-f23b778d06d0 1175-5326 7609993 A540F250-BDE2-43F7-83A1-DA261F914B41 Argentinomyia tropica ( Curran, 1937 ) ( Figs 86 , 87 and 91A ) Melanostoma tropicum Curran, 1937: 3 . Type locality: Brazil . S„o Paulo , Campos do Jord „o. HOLOTYPE Male AMNH (Examined) Melanostoma tropicum . Frey, 1946: 157 Rhysops tropicus . Thompson et al. 1976: 44 Argentinomyia tropica . Montoya 2016: 461 Argentinomyia tropica . Montoya et al. 2017: 395 Argentinomyia tropica . Marín-Armijos et al. 2017: 168 Argentinomyia tropica . Miranda , 2017 (Distributional record from the Brazilian Amazon) FIGURE 86. Argentinomyia tropica ( Curran, 1937 ) , male (CEUA 93084): A. Head, frontal view; B. Dorsal view; C. Lateral view. Female (CEUA 69474): D. Head, frontal view; E. Dorsal view; F. Lateral view. Scale bars: 5 mm. Type material. HOLOTYPE . Adult Male , BRAZIL . S„o Paulo, Campos do Jard„o, 179 m , 23.i.1936 , F. Lane ( AMNH ) . PARATYPE . Adult Male. BRAZIL . Label same data as Holotype ( AMNH ) . Length (n= 4): Body, 8.6–10.1 mm ; Wings, 8.6–9.0 mm. Diagnosis. Face less produced ventrally, the sides thickly coated with cinereous yellow pollen; legs reddish, metafemur brown, only reddish or yellowish on basal 1/2, metatibia yellow on basal and apical 1/4; abdomen with three pairs of reddish maculae, on 3 rd and 4 th terga extending from the base to apical 1/4 and 1/3; surstylus with dorsal margin slightly concave and ventral margin slightly convex, shorter than broad; aedeagal lobe oval, apex rounded. Redescription. MALE. Head ( Fig. 86A ): Face less produced ventrally, tubercle low but distinct, narrowly separated from the oral anterior margin; sides of face thickly cinereous yellow pollinose, the median 1/5 shining black and not at all ridged or grooved, pile pale yellowish. Gena cinereous shining with thin, more whitish pollen, pile white. Ocellar triangle brownish-yellow pollinose with a shining, roughened area dorsal the antennae, pile black; vertical triangle thinly brownish pollinose and blackish pilose. Occiput cinereous pollinose, pile whitish, the dorsal occipital cilia fine and black. Antennae reddish, short, ratio 1.4:1.2:1.5, basoflagellomere brown dorsal and apically; basoflagellomere 1/2 longer than broad as long as the scape and pedicel. Antennae reaching to a little ventral the middle of face; arista brown, pilose. Thorax ( Figs 86B–C ): Aeneous, mesonotum shining, yellow pilose; with a pair of very broad, narrowly separated pale pollinose vittae in the middle on anterior half and some lights with thin brownish pollen. Pleura thinly grayish-brown pollinose, yellow pilose. Scutellum shining, with long yellowish to black hairs, with a few shorter yellow hairs intermixed; fringe long and yellow. Wing ( Fig. 86C ): Cinereous hyaline with orange-yellow tinge, stigma orange-yellow; microtrichose, except cell c bare basal 1/5, cells bm, r and cua bare on basal 1/3; calypter wholly white-yellowish. Legs ( Fig. 86C ): Reddish to orange, pro- and mesolegs yellow; metafemur brown, except reddish on almost the basal 1/2, pile reddish, black on brown portions and apical segments of tarsus. Abdomen ( Fig. 86B ): Long and slightly spatulate, being narrowest at the end of the 2 nd tergum and widest at the end of 3 rd ; black with three pairs of reddish maculae shining with the sides and anterior border obscurely reddish, on 2 nd tergum opaque black with the lateral 1/6 reddish, on 3 rd tergum opaque black with maculae extending from the base to the apical 1/4, gently tapering posteriorly and broadly separated from the lateral margins by a sub-shining vitta; maculae on 4 th tergum extend to the apical 1/3 and the posterior margin is broadly subshining; 5 th tergum very short and wholly shining; pile short and black, long and yellowish on sides of 1 st and 2 nd and basal 1/2 of 3 rd tergum; sterna metallic brownish red with black pile; genitalia brownish-red and with thin yellowish-brown pollen; male genitalia: surstylus in lateral view ( Fig. 87A ) with dorsal margin slightly concave and ventral margin slightly convex, shorter than broad; hypandrium in ventral view ( Fig. 87C ) narrowed laterally towards the apex; aedeagal lobe in ventral view ( Fig. 87C ) oval, apex rounded. FEMALE ( Figs 86D–F ). Similar to male except for usual sexual dimorphism and differing in frontal triangle blue-black with a broad transverse golden pollinose band in the depression, black pilose, 5 th tergum includes a pair of fasciate maculae. Female of A. tropica is similar to A. luculenta differing in the face more perpendicular and less produced below. Frontal triangle blue-black with a broad transverse golden pollinose band in the depression, black pilose. Thorax with short yellowish pile, on a background of thin brownish pollen. Taxonomic notes. Argentinomyia tropica is a black species, face less produced ventrally, the sides thickly coated with cinereous yellow pollen ( Figs 86A, C, D, F ); legs reddish, metafemur brown, only reddish or yellowish on basal 1/2, metatibia yellow on basal and apical 1/4 ( Figs 86A, C, D, F ); abdomen with three pairs of reddish maculae, on 3 rd and 4 th terga extending from the base to apical 1/4 and 1/3 ( Figs 86B, E ). In A. luculenta the face is more perpendicular and less produced ventrally; frontal triangle blue-black with a broad transverse golden pollinose band in the depression, pile black ( Figs 47A, C, D, F ); the pile of thorax short and yellowish on a background of thin brownish pollen ( Figs 47B, E ); metafemur yellow on basal 1/2 ( Figs 47A, C, D, F ); abdominal maculae rectangular ( Figs 47B, E ), slightly similar to the female of A. tropica , except on 3 rd and 4 th terga, where they reach apical 1/3 and 1/2 ( Figs 47E ), respectively. Based on males, A. tropica differs from A. luculenta in having the aedeagal lobe in ventral view ( Fig. 87C ) oval, with apex rounded [ versus aedeagal lobe with apex acute in A. luculenta ( Fig. 48C )] (see “diagnosis” under each species or key). Comments. The Holotype specimen of M. tropicum is currently in the AMNH. Photos are available on their website AMNH: https://sci-web-001.amnh.org/imulive/iz.html?#details=ecatalogue.10020983. FIGURE 87. Argentinomyia tropica ( Curran, 1937 ) , male genitalia. A. Whole genitalia, lateral view; B. Epandrium, dorsal view; C. Hypandrium, ventral view. Scale bars: 1 mm. Biology. Label data and field observations suggest that A. tropica visits flowers of Libanothamnus humbertii (Asteraceae) . Geographical range. Argentinomyia tropica (n= 50) is distributed in Argentina (Tucumán), Serra da Mantiqueira and Serra Paranapiacaba in Brazil (Brazilian Amazon, Sao Paulo, Paraná), Eastern slope of West and Eastern Cordilleras in Colombia * (Antioquia), both slopes of Central Cordillera in Colombia and Ecuador * (Tungurahua) and Cordillera de Mérida in Venezuela * ( Merida ) ( Fig. 91A ). The species is present at low, middle and high altitudes ( 179–3600 m ) in the following biogeographical domains and provinces: Northern Andes ( 231–3600 m ) : Cauca ( 3600 m ) , Guajira ( 3500 m ) , Magdalena ( 2034–3150 m ) , North Andean Páramo ( 2300 m ) , Sabana ( 231 m ) ; Paraná ( 179–1274 m ) : Araucaria Forest ( 867–1274 m ) , Atlantic Forest ( 179–761 m ) , Paraná Forest ( 826 m ) ; Chacoan : Chaco ( 526–1426 m ) . Non-type material examined. ARGENTINA . Tucumán , Burruyacu , Quebrada La Toma de Tafí Viejo , -26.499425 , -64.741942 , 526 m , 21.xii.1950 , R.A. Golbach (3♁, WIRC ) ; Same data, except: Villa Nougués , - 26.849763 , -65.382689 , 1426 m , i.1929 , R.K. ( 2♀ , WIRC ) . BRAZIL . Paraná , Ponta Grossa , -25.187256 , - 50.143897 , 867 m , ix.1945 , P. Machado ( 1♀ , WIRC ) . São Paulo , Campos do Jord „o, 22.742928 , -45.596348 , 761 m , 10.i.1936 , F. Lane (2♁, 1♀ , WIRC ) ; Ribeirao Grande , Fazenda Intermontes , -24.197324 , -48.424401 , 826 m , 6.iv.2006 , S. B. Vosgueritchian ( 1♀ , CEUFLA ) . COLOMBIA . Antioquia , Andes , Santa Rita , Páramo de Santa Rita , 5,549 9389, -75,9912444, 3600 m , Net , 5.xii.2009 , M. Wolff ( 1♀ , CEUA 69642 ) ; Van Someren-Rydon (VSR) Fish , 12.viii.2010 , GEUA ( 1♀ , CEUA 87052 ) ; Belmira , Páramo Santa Inés Belmira , 6,647 5556, -75,6713333, 3150 m , Net , 1.x.2011 , N. Uribe (1♁, CEUA 93084 ) ; Bello , San Félix , Las Baldías , 6,330 58, -75,645620, 3150 m , Net , 16.viii.2015 , A.L. Montoya ( 2♀ , CEUA 93082-83 ) ; …, 17.ii.2013 ( 1♀ , CEUA 93135 ) ; Girardota , Vereda La Honda , 6,347 375, -75,4359944, 2034 m , Net , 26.ix.2009 , N. Uribe ( 2♀ , CEUA 69474–75 ) ; …, Vereda El Palmar , Secondary Forest , 6,343 502, -75,435102, 2200 m , Van Someren-Rydon (VSR) Víscera , 23.vii.2009 , N. Uribe ; G. Valencia ( 1♀ , CEUA 47457 ) ; Guarne , Vereda Piedras Blancas , Parque Ecológico Piedras Blancas , cerca de quebrada, 6,291 588, -75,493345, 2200 m , Net , 5.v.2009 , A.L. Montoya ( 1♀ , CEUA 47449 ) ; Medellín , Santa Elena , Parque Ecológico Piedras Blancas , 6,295 895, -75,499891, 2470 m , Net , 15.ii.2009 , A.L. Montoya ( 1♀ , CEUA 47449 ) ; San José de la Montaña , Vereda El Congo , Sector La Laguna , 6,763 791, -75,701738, 3117 m , Páramo , Net , 21- 30.vi-5.iv.2017 , A. L. Montoya ; A. F. Sepúlveda ( 2♀ , CEUA 98096 , 98113 ) ; Sonsón , Vereda Nori , Cerro Nori , 5,809 667, -75,269028, 2853 m , Forest , Malaise canopy, 31.iii-7.iv.2018 , A.L. Montoya ; J. P. Carmona ( 1♀ , CEUA 103433 ) . Caquetá , Florencia , Las Brisas , 1,753 889, -75,747639, 2040 m , Malaise , Bosque Piso , 3er Túnel C 8, 1- 15.ii.2017 , Y. Ramos-Pastrana (7#m, LEUA ) . ECUADOR . Tungurahua , Baños , -1.396949 , -78.421669 , 2300 m , 21.vii.1939 , W. C. MacIntyre (1♁, AMNH ) . VENEZUELA . Mérida , Páramo Mucubaji , Laguna Negra , 8,797 016, -70,828651, 3500 m , ex flowers of Libanothamnus humbertii (89V27) 28-31.x.1989 , A.L. Norrbom ( 1♀ , USNM ENT) .