Revision of the Nearctic Species of the Shore-Fly Genus Scatophila Becker (Diptera: Ephydridae)
Author
Zatwarnicki, Tadeusz
0000-0003-2163-0143
Institute of Biology, Opole University, ul. Oleska 22, 45 - 052 Opole, Poland zatwar @ uni. opole. pl; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 2163 - 0143
zatwar@uni.opole.pl
Author
Mathis, Wayne N.
0000-0003-2163-0143
Institute of Biology, Opole University, ul. Oleska 22, 45 - 052 Opole, Poland zatwar @ uni. opole. pl; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 2163 - 0143 & Department of Entomology, PO BOX 37012, MRC 169, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013 - 7012, USA mathisw @ si. edu; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 5012 - 1762 & Institute of Biology, Opole University, ul. Oleska 22, 45 - 052 Opole, Poland zatwar @ uni. opole. pl; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 2163 - 0143
zatwar@uni.opole.pl
text
Zootaxa
2024
2024-07-30
5487
1
1
100
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5487.1.1
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5487.1.1
1175-5334
13210771
50AC1672-FC20-4502-8D8A-4BCAE95F719B
13.
Scatophila tuberculosa
Cresson
Figs. 108
,
110–118
,
120
Scatophila tuberculosa
Cresson 1935: 368
.—
Sturtevant and Wheeler 1954: 199
[synonymy with
Scatophila unicornis
Czerny
].—
Mathis and Zatwarnicki 1995: 286
[world catalog].
Scatophila carinata
Sturtevant and Wheeler 1954: 188
[
United States
.
Iowa
. Story: Ames (
42°02.1'N
,
93°37.2'W
); HT
♂
, USNM].—
Deonier 1964: 109
[key; figure of head;
Iowa
]; 1965: 498 [natural history].—
Wirth 1965: 758
[
Nearctic
catalog].—
Zatwarnicki 1987: 291
[checklist].—
Mathis and Zatwarnicki 1995: 281
[world catalog].
Syn. Nov.
Diagnosis.—This species is distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: Body brown to blackish brown with some grayish microtomentose areas; small shore flies, body length
1.30–1.80 mm
.
Head
(
Figs. 110–114
): Lateroclinate fronto-orbital seta moderately far forward, distance between lateroclinate fronto-orbital seta and medial vertical seta about double distance between medial and lateral vertical setae; gena high, approximately twice height of basal flagellomere; ventral margin of male face nearly flat, not distinctly emarginate; face of
♂
with a low, projected medial ridge invested with fine setulae; face of
♀
brown, microtomentose, not subshiny or lustrous; facial setae and setulae small, none prominent, generally oriented ventrally; lower facial seta not oriented laterally or slightly curved dorsally; gena comparatively short, gena-to-eye ratio 0.08–0.15.
FIGURE 110
. Distribution map of
Scatophila bolwigi
sp. nov.
(squares),
S. tuberculosa
Cresson
(triangles), and
S. variofacialis
Sturtevant & Wheeler
(circles).
Thorax
(
Figs. 108
,
120
): Mesonotum (
Fig. 120
) brown with gray stripes along setal tracks; acrostichal setae generally small but irregular in size, arranged in 2 regular rows; dorsocentral setae 2, anterior seta sutural or just postsutural; scutum microtomentose, appearing dull. Wing (
Fig. 108
) not strongly yellowish at base, mostly dark with distinct pattern of white spots; costal vein ratio 0.28–0.32; M
1
vein ratio 0.59–0.62; knob of halter yellow. Legs dark, blackish brown; midfemur of
♂
lacking row of spine-like setae; tarsi blackish reddish brown (basitarsomere) to black.
Abdomen
(
Figs. 115–118
): Tergites dark, blackish brown to black, posterior tergites shiny. Male terminalia (
Figs. 115–118
): Epandrium in posterior view (
Fig. 115
) generally diamond shaped, dorsal margin narrowly rounded, lateral margins widest at midheight and with shallow indentation, ventral margin broadly bifurcate, with narrow channel between lobe-like, broad symmetrical ventral extensions; epandrial setae about equal in length, sparser medially, more abundant with shorter setulae on ventral lobes; height of cercal opening about 1/3 epandrial height; cercus in posterior view (
Fig. 115
) hemispherical; epandrium in lateral view (
Fig. 116
) twice as high as wide, lateral margins irregular, with rounded ventral margin; aedeagus in lateral view (
Fig. 118
) broadly V-shaped with 3 dorsal extensions, anterior 2 extensions truncate, posterior extension more robust and pointed apically, in ventral view (
Fig. 117
) irregularly rectangular, lateral margins shallowly angulate, anterior and posterior margins truncate; ventral aedeagal process shallowly C-shaped; phallapodeme in lateral view (
Fig. 118
) T-shaped, crossbar with lateral lobe-like extensions slightly curved posteriorly, medial process straight, linear, slightly shorter than crossbar; postgonite in lateral view (
Fig. 118
) deeply V-shaped, dorsal arm subrectangular, 3–4X longer than wide, dorsal margin irregular, basal 2/3 more or less rectangular, posterior 1/3 narrowed, digitiform, bearing setulae apically and on lateral margins, ventral arm shallowly curved, moderately narrow, elongate, in ventral view (
Fig. 117
) 3X longer than wide, irregularly tapered from base to narrowed posterior, digitiform extension, apex with short, lateral lobe; neohypandrium in lateral view (
Fig. 118
) narrow, strap-like, irregularly curved, acutely pointed at both apices.
FIGURES 111–114
. Head of
Scatophila tuberculosa
Cresson.
111. Male, latero-oblique view. 112. Male, lateral view. 113. Female, latero-oblique view. 114. Female, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.2 mm.
Type Material.—
The
holotype
of
Scatophila tuberculosa
Cresson
is labeled “
Atherton, M
[iss]o[uri]./October/
TYPE
No. 6520[,]
Scatophila TUBERCULOSA E T Cresson,Jr.
[pink; species name and number handwritten]. The
holotype
is double mounted (minute nadel in rectangular card block (black), is in fair condition, and is deposited in the
ANSP
(6520).
The
holotype
male of
Scatophila carinata
Sturtevant and Wheeler
is labeled “AMES
IOWA
III-10-1945
[
10 Mar 1945
]
T
. POLHEMUS [handwritten]/
HOLOTYPE
Scatophila carinata Stvt & Whle
[pink].” The
holotype
was originally deposited in the insect collection of
Iowa State
University and was then transferred to the
USNM
where it is now deposited. The
holotype
is glued to a paper triangle and is in excellent condition
.
FIGURES 115–118
. Male terminalia of
Scatophila tuberculosa
Cresson.
115. Epandrium and cerci, posterior view. 116. Same, lateral view. 117. Internal male terminalia (gonite, phallapodeme, aedeagus, neohypandrium), ventral view. 118. Same, lateral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.
Other Specimens Examined.—
UNITED STATES
.
VIRGINIA
.
Fairfax
:
Great Falls
(
Clay Pond
;
39°00.1'N
,
77°15.4'W
),
13–24 Jun 2006
, 2007
,
D
. and
W
.
N
.
Mathis
,
T
.
Zatwarnicki
(
5♂
,
1♀
;
USNM
);
Turkey Run
(mouth;
38°57.9'N
,
77°09.4'W
),
22 May–9 Nov 2006
, 2007
,
W
.
N
.
Mathis
(
5♂
,
3♀
;
USNM
)
.
Type Locality.—
United States
.
Missouri
.
Jackson
:
Atherton
(
39°11.2'N
,
94°18.3'W
)
.
Distribution (
Fig. 110
).—
Nearctic
:
United States
(
Iowa
,
Missouri
,
Virginia
).
Natural History.—
Deonier (1965)
reported this species from a mud-shore habitat in
Iowa
.
Remarks.—
Cresson (1935: 368)
described this species as
S. tuberculosa
and distinguished it in part by the projected or tuberculate ventral face of males.
Sturtevant and Wheeler (1954: 199)
wrote that Cresson’s species was a junior synonym of
S. unicornis
Czerny
, basing their conclusion on
Bolwig’s (1940a)
illustrations of Czerny’s species, which were compared with their species. Sturtevant and Wheeler, however, did not dissect and study structures of the male terminalia. Our study of these species reveals that we are dealing with just two species, not three, and that the senior synonyms are
S. tuberculosa
and
S. unicornis
.
Moreover, specimens of
S. carinata
are conspecific with
S. tuberculosa
with the latter name having priority (i.e., the senior synonym). Thus, our proposed synonymy of
S. carinata
with
S. tuberculosa
.
This species is placed in the
noctula species
group.