Argentinomyia jamaicensis Montoya & Wolff 2023, sp. nov.

Argentinomyia jamaicensis Montoya sp. nov.

Proposed standard English name: Jamaica’s long-antennae flower fly.

(Figs 39 and 95)

Rhysops sp. 10 of Vockeroth 1973, unpublished

Type material. HOLOTYPE. Adult female, pinned, deposited at Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Canada. Original label: “ JAMAICA, 40000´, Hardward Gap, 18.068139, -76.636631, 1120m ” / “ 19.vii.1966, Howden & Becker” “ HOLOTYPE / Argentinomyia jamaicensis / Montoya 2023” (CNC DIPTERA 112271).

Length (n= 1): Body, 4.5 mm; Wings, 3.6 mm.

Diagnosis. Small species, spherical head, with a narrow band of pollen extending near to the anterior edge of the ocellar triangle; scape shorter than basoflagellomere; wings extensible hyaline; abdominal maculae metallic blue; legs dark brown, with only the apical 1/6 white-yellowish. Argentinomyia jamaicensis sp. nov. and A. praeusta share the condition of having the female frontal triangle with a medial white pollinose vitta (see “differential diagnosis and taxonomic notes” under each species or key).

Description. FEMALE. Head (Fig. 39A): Face brilliantly shining, metallic blue-black, with a faint bluish luster, mid-vitta, margins are demarcated by a thin vitta of whitish pubescence. Frontal triangle bluish-black, darkgrey dusted on dorsal half and with a narrow thin line of grey-white pubescence running down the eyes margin which expands anteriorly into a small, lineal spot on dorsal part of the face and again on lower part of the face opposite the tubercle. Lower half of face sparsely white pubescent and four transversal grooves dorsal the tubercle; pile of the face and frontal triangle light brownish-yellow, of vertex darker; vertical triangle small. Antenna light brownish-yellow, short, ratio 1.1:1.3:1.5, scape and pedicel nearly equal in length; arista white at base and dark on apical third, with short pile. Thorax (Figs 39B–C): Very convex, shining metallic blue-black; with three brownish pollinose vittae, the median run halfway down the posterior part of mesonotum, there are suggestions of a fourth pair of such vittae lying some distance from the others on lateral part of mesonotum. There is a low but well-developed, very rounded bump in the middle of the anterior lateral corners of the thorax lying diagonally from the notopleuron. Pleura blue shining, grey-whitish pollinose, yellow whitish pilose. Scutellum broadly rounded, brilliantly metallic, with two or three subterminal, transverse, faint, ripple-like depressions; fringe long. Wing (Fig. 39C): Hyaline; stigma yellowish-white; calypter wholly yellowish-white; plumula white; halter white, capitulum white. Legs (Fig. 39C): Almost wholly dark brownish; femur and tibia with only the apical 1/6 white-yellowish. Abdomen (Fig. 39B): Bluish-black, metallic, with a complete black macula reaching 2/3 of tergum, anteriorly black and divided by a median-lineal blue macula, pile sparser, short, white; sterna bluish-black, yellow pilose.

MALE. Unknown.

Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the country’s name where the species was found, “ Jamaica ” and the Latin suffix - ensis denoting place, locality, country, or belonging to, pertaining to (Brown 1956: 45, 303). The name should be treated as a noun in apposition.

Remarks. Argentinomyia jamaicensis is exclusively known from the highlands of Blue Mountain in Jamaica. The apparently restricted distribution raises the need for further expeditions to neighboring areas of the type locality, in order to find and describe the male specimens. A. jamaicensis occur in sympatry with A. praeusta in the middle elevations of Jamaica.

Distribution. Argentinomyia jamaicensis sp. nov. (n= 1) is only known from the type locality in the Blue Mountain in Jamaica (Hardward Gap) (Fig. 95). The species is endemic to the West Indies domain and distributed at middle elevations (1120 m) in the Jamaica province.