Nephochaetopteryx cuzco Carvalho-Filho & Esposito & Mello-Patiu 2021, sp. nov.

Nephochaetopteryx cuzco sp. nov.

(Fig. 8)

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♁ (MNRJ): Quincemil / Cuzco PERU / 1–15.XI.1962 / L. Pena. 700m [printed on white label]. [Holotype in good condition, with cleared and shrunken abdomen glued back on to the thorax and with terminalia preserved in glycerin in a microvial pinned beneath the specimen; sternite 5 missing].

Description. Male (holotype). Length = 4.0 mm.

Head. Fronto-orbital and parafacial plates, postocular strip, gena and postgena with golden microtomentum. Frontal vitta black, reddish in basal half. Five frontal setae. Palpus brown.

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: dorsocentrals 2+4; intra-alars 2+3; supra-alars 2+3; anepisternals 5; merals 5. Mid femur with two median setae and without a differentiated posteroventral seta. Ctenidium consisting of three spines. Wing hyaline; vein R 4+5 setulose dorsally to crossvein r-m.

Abdomen. [The abdomen of the only examined specimen had been cleared and is severely altered.]

Terminalia. [Sternite 5 missing.] Cercus almost straight with a rectangular tip in lateral view (Fig. 8A). Cercal prongs parallel in dorsal view (Fig. 8B). Cercal base with a preapical cluster of long setulae and long and thick setae; cercus covered with many setulae, except on lateral margin (Figs 8 A–B). Surstylus almost triangular with a truncate apex, with long setae at apex, covered with setulae except on posterior and apical margins (Fig. 8A). Pregonite subequal to postgonite, with distal half perpendicular to basal half and with small, spine-like setae on posterior margin (Fig. 8C). Postgonite with pointed apex, slightly curved anteriorly, with a long median seta on anterior margin and small, spine-like setae laterally on distal half (Fig. 8D). Basiphallus short (about half as long as distiphallus), narrowed distally (Fig. 8E). Distiphallus straight, with rounded apex and small cuticular spines laterally (Fig. 8E). Lateral margin of distiphallus with a small pointed projection in posterolateral corner and a prominent pointed projection at base (Fig. 8E). Vesica angled in lateral view, with rounded apex bearing several tiny and pointed projections. Inner process of vesica elongate (Fig. 8E). Lateral and median styli elongate, directed to apical margin of distiphallus (Fig. 8E).

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. The species epithet, which should be treated as a noun in apposition, refers to the city of Cuzco in Peru, which is the type locality. Cuzco was the capital of the historical Incan empire.

Distribution. NEOTROPICAL—Peru (Cuzco).

Remarks. This species shares cercus with a preapical cluster of fine setulae with N. distincta, N. sofiae sp. nov., and N. travassosi Lopes, 1938. However, it differs from the other species of the genus in having ventral margin of distiphallus mostly rounded, with two pointed projections.