Mythicomyia pisqa, Sánchez & Evenhuis, 2024

Mythicomyia pisqa sp. nov.

( Figs 72–88 View FIGURES 72–77 View FIGURES 78–83 View FIGURES 84–88 )

Diagnosis. Male. Proboscis shorter than height of eye; legs predominantly dark brown, with middle tibia somewhat arcuate and dilated on distal ⅘, corresponding first tarsomere bearing two ventral spines and third tarsomere laterally flattened and wide ( Figs 76–77 View FIGURES 72–77 ); scutellum black; pseudo-surstylus curved inwards and pointed, claw-like. Female. Scutellum black; sperm pump rod-shaped, relatively small, about half the length of genital fork and a fourth the length of spermathecal reservoir, which is falcata-shaped, without glandular trichome.

Description of the male holotype. Length: body, 2.7 mm; wing, 2.1 mm.

Head ( Fig. 73 View FIGURES 72–77 ). Predominantly black, cinereous pruinose; eyes contiguous for 10 facets, separated at vertex by about the ⅔ the width of ocellar triangle; ocelli yellowish, similar in size; frons whitish, except at middle, with dark brown suffusion; face whitish, except along lower margin, dark brown; antenna dark brown; scape minute; pedicel as long as wide; first flagellomere linear-lanceolate, almost four times the length of pedicel; second flagellomere lanceolate, about ¾ the length of first one, with subbasal stylus; proboscis brownish yellow, length beyond oral margin shorter than height of eye; occiput and ocellar triangle white setose. Thorax ( Figs 72, 74 View FIGURES 72–77 ). Predominantly shining black, except yellowish on postpronotal lobe, postalar callus, and along margins of anepisternum, anepimeron, katepisternum and meron; mesonotum humped, as high as half its length, cinereous pruinose and white setose; pleura white setose on anterior margin of anepisternum; scutellum black, white setose, some mixed black setae. Legs ( Fig. 72, 76–77 View FIGURES 72–77 ). Dark brown, except narrow base and distal apex of femora, yellowish; middle tibia somewhat arcuate and dilated on distal ⅘ ( Figs 76–77 View FIGURES 72–77 ), bearing a dorsal row of white macrosetae; first tarsomere bearing two pairs of short and stout black macrosetae, the posteroventral ones spine-like; third tarsomere of mid-leg laterally flattened and wide; pulvilli as long as claws. Wing ( Fig. 75 View FIGURES 72–77 ). Hyaline, microtrichose; veins brownish; costal vein ending in R 4+5; vein Sc incomplete, ending later than of Rs origin; Rs evanescent at connection with R 1; R 2+3 arising at a point between half and ⅔ distance from origin of Rs to r-m crossvein, this latter placed at about basal ⅕ of dm cell (first portion of M 1+2, before r-m, shorter than first portion of M 4); vein separating cells br and bm barely evident; cell dm six-sided, about three times as long as wide; m-m cross vein slightly longer than r-m and about a third the length of dm-m; R 4+5 slightly curved downward, ending after M 1; vein M 1 curved downward; CuP evanescent; anal lobe developed; haltere and knob white. Abdomen ( Fig. 72 View FIGURES 72–77 ). Elongate, predominantly black, except on posterior margins of abdominal segments, yellow; white setose. Terminalia ( Figs 78–83 View FIGURES 78–83 ). Dark brown; epandrium elongate, somewhat triangular-shaped with rounded apex in lateral view ( Figs 78–79 View FIGURES 78–83 ), somewhat circular with scattered setae dorsally in posterior view ( Figs 80–81 View FIGURES 78–83 ); pseudo-surstylus curved inwards and pointed, claw-like ( Figs 78–81 View FIGURES 78–83 ); cercus elongate, somewhat triangular, with scattered setae on upper ⅔ in posterior view ( Figs 80–81 View FIGURES 78–83 ); ejaculatory apodeme thickened, wide and somewhat rounded in lateral view ( Figs 78–79 View FIGURES 78–83 ), long and thin in posterior view ( Figs 80–81 View FIGURES 78–83 ); lateral ejaculatory process translucent on basal ⅔, upward-directed in lateral view, sideways-directed and about ¾ the length of ejaculatory apodeme in dorsal view; phallus drop-shaped, distiphallus simple with single apical opening, about a third the length of basiphallus; parameral sheath large, a little wider than long, with two tips sideways directed and one tip united posteromedially; anterior arms of parameral sheath elongate, thickened, narrow in lateral view, somewhat pincer-shaped in dorsal view, extending to second third of ejaculatory apodeme ( Figs 82–83 View FIGURES 78–83 ); gonocoxa subdivided, with an anterior lobe subtriangular and a posterior lobe subconical; gonostylus elongate, upward-directed, as long as ejaculatory apodeme.

Female ( Figs 84–88 View FIGURES 84–88 ). Differs from the male description by the following: Head ( Fig. 85 View FIGURES 84–88 ). Eyes dichoptic, separated at vertex by about 1.5 times the width of ocellar triangle; frons whitish, except on upper fourth, black along eye margin. Thorax ( Fig. 86 View FIGURES 84–88 ). Mesonotum little humped, notopleural and postalar regions broad yellowish, black emarginate above notopleural suture. Legs ( Fig. 84 View FIGURES 84–88 ). Middle tibia straight, without ventral macrosetae on first tarsomere of mid leg and third tarsomere similar to remainder ones. Abdomen. Comparatively shorten. Terminalia ( Figs 87–88 View FIGURES 84–88 ). Genital fork U-shaped, anterior margin arched with lower margin acute, posterior margin bifurcate, inner arms about half as long as outer ones; sperm pump rod-shaped, relatively small, about half the length of genital fork and a fourth the length of spermathecal reservoir; proximal spermathecal duct thinner than distal; distal spermathecal duct 4–5 times as long as proximal duct, translucent; three falcata-shaped spermathecal reservoirs, notched ventroapically, translucent on basal fourth and extending to abdominal segment III, without glandular trichomes.

Type material. HOLOTYPE. Male: PERU: TA [Department of Tacna]. [Province of] Jorge Basadre, [District of] Ilabaya , 17°24’52.63”S, 70°27’10.34”W, 2270 m, 15.x.2022, E. Gamboa, Leg. Holotype in MUSM GoogleMaps . PARATYPE. Same data as holotype ( 1 ♀) GoogleMaps ; PERU: AR. Caravelí , Cháparra, UM Esperanza, 3150 m, 15°37’23”S, 73°55’15”W, 23–24.ii.2024, Yellow pan trap, N. Zenteno leg ( 1 ♂, 1 ♀) GoogleMaps . Paratypes in MUSM .

Etymology. The specific epithet is a masculine noun in apposition, pisqa is the Quechua word for “five”.

Distribution ( Fig. 91 View FIGURE 91 ). Southern Peru; Arequipa (Caravelí) and Tacna (Jorge Basadre).

Remarks. Males in this species are easily identified due to the middle tibia dilated on distal ⅘ and somewhat arcuate basally, its corresponding first tarsomere with two ventral spines and third tarsomere laterally flattened and wide ( Figs. 76–77 View FIGURES 72–77 ). These leg modifications resemble species in the subgenus Mythicomyia , but in males of this latter subgenus the corresponding modifications are on the hind leg, besides, they present an epandrial notch (see discussion below), a feature absent in M. pisqa sp. nov. On the other hand, in females, the most similar species is M. hyalinipennis , but this species has the frons predominantly black and the first abdominal tergite is yellow ( vs. frons predominantly yellow and first abdominal tergite black with posterior margin yellow in M. pisqa sp. nov.).