Cladochaeta amorimi Pirani & Carvalho-Filho 2019, sp. nov.

Cladochaeta amorimi sp. nov. (Figures 1 – 6)

Material examined

Holotype male labelled as follows: Melgaço, PA [= State of Pará], Brasil [= Brazil]/ECFPn [= Ferreira Penna Scientific Station]- Flona Caxiuanã [= National Forest of Caxiuanã]/ Trilha do Esecaflor [= Esecaflor trail]/ 17.iii.2017 /F.S. Carvalho Filho [collector]//Criação de pupas/ associadas à/ Sphodroscarta trivirgata [= Reared from pupae associated with Sphodroscarta trivirgata]. Left wing and right antenna double mounted, and terminalia in a microvial, both pinned below the source specimen. Deposited at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG). Paratypes: five males (three deposited in MPEG and two deposited in MZUSP) and three females (two deposited in MPEG and one deposited in MZUSP) with same data as holotype, except 15 – 20.iii.2018.

Diagnosis

Fore femur with a row of 10 dorsal setae, the most basal one and the sixth (counting from base to apex) longer than others; six dorsolateral, three lateral and three apical setae of similar length. Male terminalia very distinctive: phallus cylindrical and exceedingly long, with two medioventral rows of strong spines (Figure 4).

Description of the adult male. Body length: 1.4 mm. Head (Figures 2 (b) – (c) and 3(b)). Higher than wide; wider than thorax. Eye bare, light red. Antenna 0.41 mm long; scape light yellow with three median setae, dorsal one longer than ventral ones; pedicel light brown with three large median setae, plus ca. 20 smaller ones distributed on pedicel as fig. 2C; first flagellomere greyish yellow with dense and long setulae; arista with four dorsal and one ventral branches, plus long apical fork ventral branch between third and fourth dorsal branch, but closer to fourth (Figure 3 (c)). Frons light brown, ocellar triangle bearing four setulae plus the ocellar setae; 10 interfrontal setulae present. Anterior reclinate orbital seta ca. 1/3 the length of posterior reclinate orbital seta and anterolateral to proclinate orbital seta; posterior reclinate orbital seta as long as proclinate orbital seta and midway between proclinate orbital seta and outer vertical seta; five frontoorbital setulae present. Post-ocellar small, ca. ½ of inner vertical setae; outer vertical and inner vertical setae about the same length. Face ventrally very slightly elevated, light greyish brown; parafacial, oral margin and gena whitish yellow; a row of seven subvibrissal setae present. Proboscis light yellow, palpus light yellow with brown apex. Thorax (Figure 2 (c)). Length: 0.72 mm. Mostly light brown; scutum light brown, with a longitudinal darker band medially, larger between the dorsocentrals. Anterior dorsocentral ca. 2/3 length of posterior dorsocentral. Posterior dorsocentral midway between scutoscutellar suture and anterior dorsocentral. Acrostichal setulae in six straight rows. Scutellum light brown; basal scutellar setae convergent, apical scutellar setae cruciate. Two postpronotal seta present, ventral ca. 1/3 length of dorsal one; four postpronotal setulae present. Two katepisternal setae of unequal length. Legs homogeneously pale yellow; fore femur with a row of 10 dorsal setae, most basal and the sixth (counted from base to apex) longer than others; six dorsolateral, three lateral and three apical setae of similar length. Wing (Figure 3 (a)). Length: 1.8 mm. Membrane infuscate, uniformly brownish. C ending at M 1, with 10 setae of unequal length basally to h vein, and one seta at subcostal break. R 2+3 slightly curved towards anterior wing margin. R 4+5 and M 1 parallel. Crossvein dm – m slightly bent in the middle, perpendicular to M 4. Halter pale yellow. Abdomen uniformly brown; apical sternites bearing modified setae and strongly connected with ventral portion of epandrium. Male terminalia (Figure 4 (a – c)). Epandrium very thin, with inverted U-shape, higher than wide, with 11 setae of different length in a misaligned row on each ventral side. Cercus simple, without ventrolateral lobes. Phallus very long, ventrally sclerotised, with two medioventral rows of strong spines; postgonite longer than phallus in lateral view, less sclerotised. Surstylus sinuous and complex: ventral portion bearing three long and thick setae, a finger-shaped projection medially and a dorsal fold terminally directed bearing a row of marginal setulae. Hypandrium y-shaped. Pregonites present, small and bare. Phallapodeme thin, higher than wide, with two ventral arms articulating with the anterior portion of hypandrium and a single dorsal portion directed terminally, articulating with postgonites.

Adult female. External morphology similar to male. Female terminalia hardly sclerotised and elongated; apical tergite largely fused beneath epiproct and hypoproct, lateral lobes fused with a medial excavation (Figure 5 (a – c)).

Puparium (Figures 1 (c–d) and 6(a–d)). Length: 2.5 mm. Reddish brown. Elongate, with lateral margins and anterior region dorsally flattened anteriorly, slightly narrowed anteriorly and posteriorly, without protuberances and spinulose bands in the intersegmental region. Dorsal surface with vertical parallel wrinkles. Hardly any constrictions at the segmental borders. Abdominal segments with a pair of prolegs composed by elliptical rosettes of creeping welt spinules. Anterior spiracle on an elongated tubular stalk, with six long branches; stalk longer than branches. Caudal segment elongated and dorsally flattened, with two divergent branches where are placed the posterior spiracles.

Etymology. The specific name is in honour of the dipterist Dr. Dalton de Souza Amorim, who was essential to the understanding of the very complex male terminalia of this species and who contributed to the hand drawing of the terminal view and helped with homology issues.

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL – Brazil (Pará).

Remarks. This species belongs to the dikra species group (Grimaldi and Nguyen 1999) according to the general shape of phallus and surstyli.

Biology. (Figure 1 (a – e)) The pupae of C. amorimi sp. nov. were found attached to a twin stem of a young Cecropia sciadophylla Mart. (Figure 1 (b)) inside the spittle mass produced by nymphs of Sphodroscarta trivirgata (Auchenorrhyncha: Aphrophoridae) about 80 cm from the ground (Figure 1 (c – e)). The plant was on the border of a trail in a pristine upland ( terra- fi rme ) forest (Figure 1 (a)). Most of the species of Cladochaeta, in which the biology is known, are associated with nymphs of Clastoptera (Clastopteridae). This is the third species that has been recorded in association with species of Sphodroscarta (Aphrophoridae), the other being C. caxiuana and C. spectabilis (Grimaldi and Nguyen 1999; Carvalho-Filho et al. 2018).