Pipunculus geua sp. nov.

Figs 1, 3

Type material. (3 ♂). HOLOTYPE. Male: COLOMBIA, Antioquia, Belmira, Páramo de Sta.[Santa] Inés, El Morro, 06º38'57''N / 75º38'43''W, 3185 m [eters], 21–30.VI.2017, Trampa Malaise Dosel, Proyecto moscas de las flores, A.L. Montoya, C. Rodríguez, JP. Carmona leg., (1 ♂, CEUA–163202) (photographed). PARATYPES. idem (1 ♂, CEUA–163203); idem 06º38'35''N / 75º40'03''W, 3005 m [eters], 4–14.II.2017, Trampa Malaise suelo (1 ♂, CEUA– 163204). Holotype with left wing mounted on a microslide with Canada balsam. Left antenna and terminalia placed in a microvial with glycerin, both pinned along the specimen.

Diagnosis. Male. Antenna brown; postpedicel with acuminate apex. Frontal triangle brown pruinose. Wing with anal lobe narrowed basally. Coxae opaque dark brown. All tibiae with proximal ½ yellowish brown, distal ½ brown and without distinct apical spines. Abdomen ground color velvety dark blue. Syntergosternite 8 with large membranous area. Surstyli subsymmetrical, clearly shorter than epandrium, abruptly thinning at the apex. Apex of phallic thin, short and strongly curved upward, gradually tapering towards the apex, with tip short and hook-shaped. Ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped.

Description. MALE (holotype). Body length 3.2. mm. Head (Figs 1A, B). Eyes contiguous for 16 facets. F, EM, V (mm) = 0.3, 0.2, 0.1. Frontal triangle brown pruinose, with conspicuous dark brown callus. Occiput brown, brown pruinose dorsally and upper ½ laterally, gray pruinose in lower ½ laterally and on ventral surface. Antenna (Fig. 1C) dark brown; scape without setae dorsally; pedicel with two setae dorsally and three ventrally; postpedicel with acuminate apex. LPP/WPP = 2. Thorax (Figs 1A–B, D). Postpronotal lobe dark brown, brown pruinose. Scutum dark brown, brown pruinose, with dorsocentral setae; long and brown setae covering basal third and few green and blue metallic sheens centrally. Notopleuron concolorous with scutum. Scutellum dark blue, brown pruinose in proximal ½. Mesopleuron dark brown, gray brown pruinose. Mediotergite concolorous with mesopleuron. Wing (Fig. 1E). Length 5.6 mm. LW/MWW = 3.7; LTC/LFC = 0.5. Membrane brown infuscate; anal lobe narrowed basally. Halter dark brown. Legs (Figs 1A, B). Coxae opaque dark brown, with apices yellowish brown, gray brown pruinose; trochanters yellowish brown; femora shiny, dark brown with bases and apices yellowish brown, ventral ctenidia and a row of long and fine yellow setae posterolaterally; tibiae with proximal ½ yellowish brown, distal ½ brown, without distinct apical spines and outstanding setae anteromedially; mid and hind tibiae with a patch of short and fine setae yellow, giving fluffy appearance in distal two thirds posteriorly, without an acute process posteroapically; tarsomeres 1–2 yellowish brown, 3–4 brown and 5 dark brown; pulvilli yellow. Abdomen (Figs 1A–B, F). Ground color velvety dark blue, with few inconspicuous setae scattered dorsally and laterally, equal in length; tergite 1 entirely brown pruinose dorsally and laterally; tergites 2–5 shiny, dark brown pruinose only in proximal margins dorsally and laterally; tergites and sternites 6 and 7 as in Fig. 1G. Syntergosternite 8 gray brown pruinose, clearly shorter than tergite 5, with large apical membranous area (Fig. 1H). Terminalia (Figs 1G–M). Epandrium and surstyli brown (Fig. 1H). Surstyli (Figs 1H–J) subsymmetrical, clearly shorter than epandrium, with long setae in outer margins. Both surstyli thickened basally, thin apically, abruptly thinning at the apex, with inner margins slightly straight, outer margins clearly sinuous, apex slightly acute, downwards directed in dorsal view (Fig. 1H); left surstylus slightly thinner, longer than right in dorsal view (Fig. 1H); both surstyli with lower and upper margins sinuous, with rounded apex when seen in lateral view (Figs 1I–J). Gonopods asymmetrical; left gonopod thicker and longer than right one (Fig. 1K). Apex of phallic thin, short and strongly upward curved, gradually tapering towards the apex, with tip short and hook-shaped (Fig. 1L). Ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped (Fig. 1M). Phallus trifid, coiled. Ejaculatory ducts coiled, distinctly separated in distal ½ (Fig. 1L).

FEMALE. Unknown.

Geographical distribution. Colombia (Antioquia, Belmira, Santa Inés) (Fig. 3).

Etymology. Pipunculus geua sp. nov. is named after the acronym of the Grupo de Entomología Universidad de Antioquia ”, in appreciation of its members for their ethical and rigorous work in the study of the diversity of Diptera in Colombia. Treated as a noun in apposition.

Habitat. The Páramo de Belmira-Santa Inés is located north of the Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes. This complex reaches up to 3369 m in altitude and covers about 10.621 ha (Correa et al. 2023). According to the Holdridge (1967) life zone classification system, this páramo corresponds to montane rainforest (bp-M).

Taxonomic notes. Pipunculus geua sp. nov. runs to couplet 10 of P. caeruleus Ramos-Pastrana, Marques & Rafael, 2023 in Ramos-Pastrana et al. (2023d). It differs from P. caeruleus by frontal triangle brown pruinose in Pipunculus geua sp. nov. (versus frontal triangle gray brown pruinose in P. caeruleus); all tibiae with proximal ½ yellowish brown and distal ½ brown (versus at least mid and hind tibiae dark brown with bases and apex yellowish brown); surstyli abruptly thinning at the apex (Fig. 1H) [versus surstily gradually tapering towards the apex (figure 8 in Ramos-Pastrana et al. 2023d)]; ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped (Fig. 1M) [versus ejaculatory apodeme needle-shaped (figure 13 in Ramos-Pastrana et al. 2023d)]. Because P. nutabes sp. nov. also reaches dichotomy 10 in Ramos-Pastrana et al. (2023d). It differes from P. nutabes sp. nov. by pedicel with two setae dorsally and three ventrally in Pipunculus geua sp. nov. (Fig. 1C) [versus pedicel with four setae dorsally and four ventrally in P. nutabes sp. nov. (Fig. 2C)]; scutellum dark blue (Figs 1B, D) [versus scutellum dark brown (Figs 2B, D)]; all trochanters yellowish brown (versus mid trochanter yellowish brown, hind trochanter brown, gray brown pruinose); abdomen velvety dark blue (Figs 1B, F) [versus abdomen dark brown, gray brown pruinose (Figs 2B, F)]; syntergosternite 8 clearly shorter than tergite 5 (Fig. 1F) [versus syntergosternite 8 equal in length to the tergite 5 (Fig. 2F)]; surstyli 2× as high as its widest point in dorsal view (Fig. 1H) [versus surstyli 3× as high as its widest point in dorsal view (Fig. 2H)]; apex of phallic thin, short and strongly upward curved, gradually tapering towards the apex, with tip short and hook-shaped (Fig. 1L) [versus apex of phallic guide stout and short, with tip short and not hook-shaped (Fig. 2L)]; ejaculatory apodeme fan-shaped (Fig. 1M) [versus ejaculatory apodeme mushroom-shaped (Fig. 2M)].