New species of Australopericoma Vaillant (Diptera: Psychodidae) from the Brazilian semiarid region and key to males of the genus

ABSTRACT A new species of moth fly, Australopericoma paraibana sp. n., is described from areas of the Brazilian semiarid region, in the states of Paraíba and Bahia, north-eastern Brazil. A key to males of Australopericoma and morphological remarks on Australopericoma caudata (Satchell) are also provided.

Comparative material Holotype and paratypes of Australopericoma dissimilis Bravo, 2007; paratypes of Pericoma caudata Quate, 1955 (as specified below, in the material examined of A. caudata).

Etymology
The name refers to the state of the type locality.

Diagnosis
This species is mainly characterized by its male terminalia: hypandrium of uniform width throughout its length, with a series of 9-16 sparsely distributed short and strong setae on the ventral surface; gonocoxites with stout spine on inner margin; gonostylus with three bristles as long as its length, two of them inserted apically and one basally; lateral margins of aedeagal apodeme slightly divergent.

Remarks
Quate and Brown (2004) noted that the gonostylus of A. caudata had two large setae at its apex, and presented a drawing (Quate and Brown 2004, fig. 237) showing these setae to be less than half the length of the gonostylus; we observed, however, that the gonostylus of A. caudata is much more like that of A. paraibana sp. n., with one long seta at the apex, subapex, and base of the gonostylus, the latter being straight apically, not sinuous as the former two.

Comments
The new species Australopericoma paraibana is very similar to another species of Australopericoma from the semiarid region of Brazil, Australopericoma dissimilis Bravo, as well as A. caudata, which occurs in Jamaica and in southern USA. They can easily be differentiated, however, by the shape of the hypandrium and by the numbers and distributions of the setae on this structure, as follows: in A. caudata the hypandrium is expanded medially, with 9-10 setae distributed on this expanded area; in A. paraibana the hypandrium is uniform in width throughout its length, with 9-16 sparsely distributed setae not concentrated in the median portion; in A. dissimilis the hypandrium is H-shaped in dorsal view, with 7 setae on the apex of each of the two distal 'lobes'. Additionally, A. paraibana sp. n. and A. caudata have four long bristles near the base of the cercus, all of approximately the same length, and a stout spine on the inner margin of each gonocoxite; A. dissimilis has only three long bristles near the base of the cercus, the middle one being 2× longer than the others, and no stout spine on the gonocoxites. The aedeagal apodeme of A. caudata has straight and parallel lateral margins, while the aedeagal apodeme of the new species has slightly divergent lateral margins. A. caudata, A. dissimilis, and A. paraibana sp. n., together with A. pontilis Quate & Brown, A. sagitta Quate & Brown, and A. delta, appear to form a group of closely related species as they share a number of exclusive characters among the Australopericoma: radial fork basal to medial fork at a distance greater than the length of R 2+3 ; medial fork apical to the apex of CuA 2 ; hypandrium with macrosetae; gonocoxite with one or two stout spines on inner side (this feature absent in A. delta and A. dissimilis). A key to the males of Australopericoma was provided by Quate and Brown (2004). We present here a modified version of this key, including species described after 2004: Key to males of Australopericoma, modified from Quate and Brown, 2004 1 Scape normal, no more than 2 times length of pedicel; wing plain, without