Leucophora calilegua Ramírez-Mora & Patitucci, 2025

Leucophora calilegua Ramírez-Mora & Patitucci sp. nov.

https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/f32d04f4-0b61-4776-983d-f4258ad930af

Figs. 6–8 View FIGURE 6 View FIGURE 7 View FIGURE 8

Diagnosis. Leucophora calilegua sp. nov. can be differentiated from its congeners by the following combination of characters: arista plumose, 7 pairs of fr s, vibrissal angle reaching almost the frontal angle in profile, longitudinal vittae on thorax and vitta on abdomen wide, pregonite small with two setae and distiphallus with two pairs of free paraphallic processes.

Material examined. Holotype 1 ♂ ( IFML): “ R. Argentina / Jujuy / P.N. Calilegua / 4km de la Mesada de La / Colmena / 25-IX-1995 / col. C. Gramajo [white label, printed]”; “MR 2486 [white label, printed]”; “ Holotype ♂ / Leucophora calilegua [red label, printed]”.

Description

Male ( Figs. 6–8 View FIGURE 6 View FIGURE 7 View FIGURE 8 )

Body length 5.6 mm, wing length 5.1 mm.

Coloration ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ). Head black, with whitish-grey pruinosity; frontal vitta black, with white-yellowish pruinosity ( Figs. 6B, D View FIGURE 6 ). Fronto-orbital plate, parafacialia and genae black to dark brown with silvery whitish pruinosity; parafacialia in profile with a wide shifting black patch from level of insertion of antennae to level of the tip of the postpedicel ( Fig. 6C View FIGURE 6 ), genae with a black to dark brown patch from the lower margin of the eye to the genal border. Face black to dark brown, with densely whitish pruinosity. Antenna dark brown, lower margin of scapus and pedicel lighter; arista light brown with dark brown base. Prementum dark brown. Palpi dark brown with lighter base. Thorax black, with greyish pruinosity, with three broad longitudinal dark brown to brown vittae ( Fig. 6D View FIGURE 6 ), central vitta from the anterior acrostichal presutural setae and filling the space almost between the dorsocentral setae and continuing over the posterior margin of scutellum, lateral vittae filling the space between the posthumeral and intralar postsuturals and the presutural and supra-alar setae ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ). Anepisternum with a large brown patch reaching the upper margin ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ). Legs brown, coxa and trochanters lighter, femora darker. Pulvilli light brown. Wing membrane hyaline with a light brown tinge, veins brown. Calypters slightly whitish. Halteres brown with darkened bases. Abdomen black with grey-silvery pruinosity, with a broad longitudinal dark brown vitta ( Fig. 6E View FIGURE 6 ). Posterior margins of tergites 2–5 with a brown transverse band. Marginal setae of tergites with darker bases. Sternite 5, surstylus and cerci dark brown. Syntergosternite 7+8, epandrium dark gray with gray pruinosity.

Head. Fronto-orbital plate at narrowest point 0.4x width of anterior ocellus, widening anteriorly, with a few scattered short setulae; frontal vitta at narrowest point 1x width of anterior ocellus, widening towards lunule; eyes separated at narrowest point 2x width of anterior ocellus ( Figs. 6B, D View FIGURE 6 ). 7 pairs of fr s ( Fig. 6C View FIGURE 6 ). infr s shorter than the shortest fr s, very thin. oc s broken. Ocellar triangle with 2 additional pairs of setulae, poc s slightly longer than ocellar additional setae. Postpedicel 1.5x the pedicel length; arista length 2.2x the postpedicel length, plumose longest hairs 0.6x the postpedicel width. Parafacials 0.3x width of eye. Genae below lowest point of eye margin 0.2x eye height. Vibrissal angle in profile almost reaching the level of frontal angle ( Fig. 6C View FIGURE 6 ). Prementum 0.6x the head height. Palpus 0.5x the head height, filiform.

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: 5–6 pairs of short psut acr s, prescutellar pair longer than the longest presut acr s ( Fig. 6D View FIGURE 6 ). Prealar seta present. 5–6 anepst s. 2+2 kepst s, the lower anterior slightly longer the surrounding setulae ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ).

Legs. Fore femur with a row of fine av setulae on basal third. Fore tibia with 1 ad and pv setae. Mid femur with 1 short av seta on basal fifth; a row of strong a setae on basal half; 2 p setae. Mid tibia with 1 ad seta, 2 pd and p setae. Hind femur with a complete row of av, ad, and p setae, ad setae longer at distal half; 2 subapical d setae, 1 subapical p seta. Hind tibia with 4 av and p setae, 3–4 ad setae, 3 pd setae.

Abdomen. Tergites 2–5 with lateral marginal setae stronger than median marginal ( Figs. 6E View FIGURE 6 ). Lateral median setae on tergite 5 strong. Sternite 1 almost 3x wider than long, setulose over the whole surface. Sternite 2 longer than wide, setulose. Sternite 3 1.5x longer than wide, strongly tapered towards anterior and posterior margins. Sternite 4 longer than wide, slightly tapered toward anterior margin. Sternites 3–4 strongly setulose, longest setae on lateral margins, and as long as sternite length. Sternite 5 ( Fig. 7A View FIGURE 7 ) almost as long as wide, slightly constricted before middle, narrowed anteriorly, anterior margin widely rounded; processes shorter than basal region, slightly tapered towards apex slightly divergent, with rounded apex, inner basal margin with scattered thin setulae, inner distal margin with short and erect setulae, outer surface with long and strong setae, longest setae longer than processes length.

Terminalia . Surstylus narrow and tapered towards apex, slightly concave on basal half, with rounded tip ( Fig. 7B View FIGURE 7 ); in profile slightly incurved, apically tapered with rounded tip; covered with scattered setulae on basal half towards the outer margin, with a longitudinal fringe of long setulae ventrally towards middle ( Fig. 7C View FIGURE 7 ). Cercal plate about 2x longer than wide, more than a half the surstylus length, tapered on distal half with rounded apex; in profile with dorsal surface mainly straight and slightly up-curved distally, tip rounded; covered with long setulae especially on lateral margin, with 2 pairs of outstandingly lateral long setae, one pair on basal half, the other pair subapical, longest setae slightly 2x cercal plate length. Pregonite ( Figs. 7E View FIGURE 7 ; 8B View FIGURE 8 ) wider than long, almost 0.3x the postgonite length, with 2 setae, 1 dorsally and 1 ventroapically, without sensilla. Postgonite about 2x longer than wide, with anteroventral margin slightly expanded laterally, seta absent, only with sensilla on ventral surface ( Fig. 8B View FIGURE 8 ). Phallapodeme ( Fig. 7D View FIGURE 7 ) in profile parallel sided, basally curved and narrow, distally expanded ventrally; epiphallus long, with subtruncate apex; distiphallus ( Figs. 7D View FIGURE 7 ; 8A View FIGURE 8 ) basally straight, with two pairs of smooth free paraphallic processes, lower pair arising at mid-length and convergent apically, upper pair arising slightly beyond mid-length and slightly curved, both pairs of processes apically acute and slightly curved ventrally ( Figs. 7D, F View FIGURE 7 ; 8A View FIGURE 8 ); acrophallus unpigmented but hardly sclerotized, in profile wide, downcurved and projected ventrally at tip, trumped-shaped in dorsal/profile view ( Figs. 7D, F View FIGURE 7 ; 8C View FIGURE 8 ).

Female. Unknown.

Remarks. Leucophora calilegua sp. nov., in external appearance, looks like the male of L. plumiseta , but differs by the vibrissal angle almost reaching the frontal angle in profile and by the 7 pairs of fr s. Leucophora calilegua sp. nov., shows an outstanding structure in the distiphallus with two pairs of free paraphallic processes, never reported before; also, the gonites are displaced from the basiphallus. The pregonite shape and setation resemble those in L. chancani sp. nov.

Etymology. The species’ epithet refers to the name of the National Park “Calilegua”, where the holotype was collected.

Distribution. Neotropical: ARGENTINA ( Jujuy) ( Fig. 53B View FIGURE 53 ).