Neorhinotora fonsecai Lopes 1934

Neorhinotora fonsecai (Lopes 1934)

(Figs. 1 c, 3b, 5a, 6a)

Rhinotora fonsecai Lopes 1934: 517; 1935: 22–23, Fig. 8, plate 1 and Fig. 2 (illustrations of scutellum and wing). Neorhinotora fonsecai; Papavero 1967: 2 (catalog).

This species was described from two female specimens (holotype and paratype), collected at the Serra da Cantareira (São Paulo, Brazil). Both specimens were originally deposited in the collection of the “Instituto de Biologia Vegetal” (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The paratype and a slide with a wing of the holotype are currently deposited in the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, (kindly located by Dr. Cátia de Mello Patiu), as well as some other type of species described by H.S.Lopes. Unfortunately, one wing is all that was preserved of the holotype, with no great hope of locating the rest of the specimen in the future.

Diagnosis. Wings with supernumerary veins between R2+3 and C. Scutellum not excavated longitudinally, with a pair of lateral protuberances and one medial apical protuberance.

Redescription. FEMALE (Paratype).

Body: 6.81 mm. Wing: 6.67 mm

Head. Frons wide, up directed, yellow, translucent laterally. Vertex yellow; pruinescence sparse, silver. Median occipital sclerite yellow; pruinescence fine, silver. Gena mostly yellow, brown in an oblique central band; pruinescence fine dense bordering the compound eyes, extending obliquely and covering gena anteriorly. Postgena yellow; setulae silver; pruinescence fine and sparse. Face quite concave; yellow, with a medial brown transversal stripe below antennae, between compound eyes; pruinescence fine, silver over all its extension. Antennae yellow, with a brown stripe in the dorsal half of flagellomere 1, which extends laterally to antennae and compound eyes. Flagellomere globose, gently compressed laterally. Scape with one strong dorsal seta. Arista mostly brown, yellow on the base, pubescence fine, short. Subcranial margin moderately prominent, yellow. Mouthparts pale brown to yellowish. Clypeus yellow, pruinescence very fine, silver, denser laterally. Palpus yellow, one strong seta apically, setulae sparse. Proboscis pale brown.

Thorax. Scutum slightly flattened, reddish brown with yellowish regions; pruinescence very fine, silver, widespread. Scutellum mostly reddish brown, yellow at the attachment point of the apical seta, with a lateral protuberance anterior to the lateral seta and one medial apical protuberance; pruinescence very fine, widespread. Pleura brown, paler ventrally; pruinescence very fine, widespread, less conspicuous on a horizontal stripe between the base of the postpronotal lobe and the middle of the anepisternum, denser on propleura.

Legs. Fore coxa pale yellow; setulae silver on anterior and anterodorsal surfaces; pruinescence fine, silver. Fore trochanter pale yellow; setulae silver on ventral surface; pruinescence very fine, silver. Fore femur yellow, darker distally, with a pale brown spot on anteroventral distal third; numerous strong short ventral setae on distal half; five stronger longer setae on medial third of posterior surface; setulae silver on ventral surface. Fore tibia yellow, darker medially and on the apical fifth; covering setae stronger apically. Fore tarsus yellow on tasomeres 1–2 and dark brown distally. Mid coxa pale yellow; setulae silver on dorsal surface; pruinescence fine, silver. Mid trochanter pale yellow; setulae silver on ventral surface; pruinescence very fine, silver. Mid femur yellow, slightly paler on proximal third and darker distally; setulae silver on ventral surface. Mid tibia yellow, darker on the distal quarter. Mid tarsus yellow on tarsomeres 1–2, brown distally. Hind coxa pale yellow, with a small acute anterodorsal projection on proximal extremity; setulae silver on anteroventral surface; pruinescence very fine, silver. Hind trochanter pale yellow; setulae silver on ventral surface; pruinescence very fine, silver. Hind femur yellow, paler on proximal third; two rows of strong short ventral setulae on the distal third; setulae silver on ventral surface of proximal third; pruinescence sparse, very fine, silver. Hind tibia brown, paler on anterior fourth and on third fourth. Hind tarsus similar to mid tarsus.

Wing (Fig. 1 c). Membrane smoky, with several dark spots. R-m broken in the middle; supernumerary veins on r1 cell, some simple, some branched.

Abdomen. Reddish mostly brown dorsally, intermingled with yellowish areas; setulae silver on dorsal surface. Sternites pale yellow. Female terminalia (Fig. 5 a): sternite 8 with two longitudinal rows of strong setulae. Egg (Fig. 6 a): elongated and flattened, external surface of chorion with protuberant longitudinal and transversal anastomotic veins.

MALE. Unknown.

Comments. The paratype described here differs from the description of the holotype (Lopes 1935) in some aspects. The supra-alar postsutural setae were not mentioned by Lopes. Only one sternopleural seta (instead of two) was found on the holotype by Lopes. The pleura of the holotype are darker than the scutum. These disagreements may be considered as intraspecific variation of N. fonsecai.

N. fonsecai is can be easily distinguished from N. amapaensis, N. aristalis and N. mutica. The main differences are in the shape of the head, the pattern of pruinescence, the shape of the scutellum, wing veins, female terminalia and egg. The reclinate lower orbital setae are more inconspicuous than in N. amapaensis, N. aristalis, and N. mutica, and the proboscis is not as prolonged as in those species. The wing of N. fonsecai is similar to that of N. diversa and of the species of Rhinotora for the presence of supernumerary veins on r1 cell (Wheeler, 1954). However, the branched supernumerary veins of N. fonsecai resemble the supernumerary veins found in Rhinotoroides bifurcata Lopes (J.C.Almeida, unpubl. observation).

A number of morphological characteristics of N. fonsecai bear a resemblance to the morphology of Rhinotora, namely the head is horizontally longer than vertically, compound eyes are more obliquely disposed than in other species of Neorhinotora, clypeus not as well developed as in the congeneric species, pruinescence is finer than in other species of Neorhinotora, scutellum not excavated and it is flatter than in most Neorhinotora species. The protuberances found in the scutellum of N. fonsecai (two lateral and one apical) are in a similar position to the spines of the scutellum of Rhinotora pluricelatta. The sternite 8 of the female terminalia has two rows of setulae instead of one. The egg of N. fonsecai is not similar to that of N. aristalis and N. mutica. Lopes (1935) noticed that N. fonsecai is similar to Rhinotora pluricellata regarding head shape, pruinescence, wing, and egg.

Examined type material. Paratype Ψ [MNRJ], labeled: “ Typus ” (red label); “Serra Cantareira/ H. Florestal S. Paulo/ F. Fonseca 18-7-934”; “ Rhinotora fonsecai Lopes / H. S. Lopes—det 9-934”.

Slide with holotype wing Ψ [MNRJ], labeled: “Instituto Biológico/ Rhinotora / fonsecai Lopes / Aza do holotypo/ Cantareira/ S. Paulo/ F. Fonseca col.”

Paratype condition: specimen pinned by a micropin between hind coxae; left lower fronto-orbital seta lost; left arista lost; right posterior supra-alar seta lost; left posterior leg glued at the block of insertion of micropin; abdomen cut on the base of tergite 3 and kept on a plastic microtube with glycerin.

Geographical distribution (Fig. 3 b): BRAZIL: São Paulo (São Paulo).