Leucophora yacochuya Ramírez-Mora & Patitucci, 2025

Leucophora yacochuya Ramírez-Mora & Patitucci sp. nov.

https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/72864bb9-783a-48a4-992c-1c150186b860

Figs. 48–52 View FIGURE 48 View FIGURE 49 View FIGURE 50 View FIGURE 51 View FIGURE 52

Diagnosis. Leucophora yacochuya nov. sp. can be differentiated from its congeners by the following combination of characters: male and female with central dorsal vitta on thorax not extending over the scutellum, palpi straight; female without recurved spines on cerci; male with pregonite lobed, postgonite without long seta, only with sensilla; surstylus slightly curved dorsally in profile.

Material examined. Holotype 1 ♂ ( IFML): “ R. Argentina / Salta / Cafayate / Yacochuya / 1–15-I-1969 / col. Willink – Terán / Stange [white label, printed]”; “MR 2482 [White label, printed]” ; “ Holotype ♂ / Leucophora yacochuya [red label, printed].

Paratypes 1 ♂, 4 ♀ ( IFML, MACN) same data as holotype, except “MR 2481[white label printed]”; “ MACN _En / 44657”; “ Paratype ♂ / Leucophora yacochuya [red label printed]”. “MR 2478[white label printed]”; “ MACN _En / 44659”; “ Paratype ♀ / Leucophora yacochuya [red label printed]”. “MR 2479[white label printed]”; “ Paratype ♀ / Leucophora yacochuya [red label printed]”. “MR 2480[white label printed]”; “ Paratype ♀ / Leucophora yacochuya [red label printed]”. “MR 2483[white label printed]”; “ MACN _En / 44658”; “ Paratype ♀ / Leucophora yacochuya [red label printed]” .

Description

Male ( Figs. 48–50 View FIGURE 48 View FIGURE 49 View FIGURE 50 )

Body length 7.0– 7.7 mm, wing length 5.4–7.0 mm.

Coloration ( Fig. 48 View FIGURE 48 ). Head dark brown to brown, with greyish-brown pruinosity; frontal vitta black to dark brown anteriorly ( Fig. 48B View FIGURE 48 ). Fronto-orbital plate, parafacialia, genae and face brown with light brown pruinosity; parafacialia in profile with a wide shifting brown to light orange patch from level of insertion of antennae to level of insertion of arista ( Fig. 48C View FIGURE 48 ), genae with a brown patch from vibrissal angle to almost the lower eye margin. Antennae dark brown; scapus and pedicel with lighter inner surface; arista yellow with dark brown base. Prementum brown. Palpi brown with darker apices. Thorax dark brown with greyish-brown pruinosity, with three longitudinal dark brown vittae ( Fig. 48D View FIGURE 48 ), central vitta filling the space between the acrostichal setae, but not extending over the scutellum, lateral vittae filling the space between the posthumeral and supra-alar presutural setae, and posteriorly divided into two stripes, one stripe following the intralar postsutural, the second one following the prealar and supra-alar postsutural setae. Anterolateral corners of scutellum dark brown. Anepisternum with a light brown patch ( Fig. 48A View FIGURE 48 ). Legs brown to dark brown. Femora with dorsal surface darkened. Tibia slightly lighter apically. Tarsomere darker. Pulvilli brown to dark brown. Wing membrane hyaline, with a slightly light brown tinge. Veins brown. Calypters light brown. Halteres light brown with darker base. Abdomen brown with light brown pruinosity, with a longitudinal narrow dark brown vitta interrupted at anterior margin of each segment ( Fig. 48E View FIGURE 48 ). Tergite 5 with posterior half yellowish. Lateral marginal setae with darker bases. Syntergosternite 7+8, epandrium, cerci, and surstylus as abdomen. Sternite 5 brown with lighter processes.

Head. Fronto-orbital plate at narrowest point 0.7–0.8x width of anterior ocellus, widening anteriorly, with scattered short setulae; frontal vitta at narrowest point 1.2–1.7x width of anterior ocellus; eyes separated at narrowest point 2.5–3.2x width of anterior ocellus ( Fig. 48B View FIGURE 48 ). 6–8 pairs of fr s, with short setulae in between ( Fig. 48C View FIGURE 48 ). infr s short and thin. oc s as long as the longest fr s; ocellar triangle with 2 additional pairs of setulae; poc s shorter than the oc s. i vt s the longest setae on head, reclinate and convergent; o vt s less than half the i vt s, proclinate. Postpedicel 1.6–1.8x the pedicel length; arista 1.6–1.8x the postpedicel length, plumose, longest hairs 1.9–2.1x the postpedicel width. Parafacials 0.3–0.4x width of eye. Genae below lowest point of eye margin 0.3x eye height. Vibrissal angle in profile reaching or slightly beyond level of frontal angle ( Fig. 48C View FIGURE 48 ). Prementum length from insertion of palpi to apex 0.5x head height. Palpus 0.4x as long as head height.

Thorax. Chaetotaxy: 5–7 pairs of psut acr s, prescutelar pair longer than the longest presut acr s ( Fig. 48D View FIGURE 48 ). Prealar seta less than half the notopleural anterior. 5 anepst s. 2+2 kepst s, the lower anterior shorter and thinner ( Fig. 48A View FIGURE 48 ).

Legs. Fore femur one row of av fine setulae on basal third. Fore tibia with 1 d / ad, 1 p / pv setae. Mid femur with 2 av setae on basal fourth, 6–8 pv setae, one row of a setae on basal half and 1 subapical seta, 2 p setae. Mid tibia with 1 ad, pd, and 2 p setae. Hind femur a complete row of av setae, longer on distal half; complete row of ad setae, 2 d subapical setae, 1 p subapical seta, 3 pv subapical setae. Hind tibia with 3–4 av and ad setae, 3 pd setae, 2–4 p setae on middle third.

Abdomen. Lateral marginal setae strong ( Figs. 48A, E View FIGURE 48 ). Sternite 1 2.5x wider than long, setulose laterally, longest setae on posterior margin. Sternite 2 slightly longer than wide, narrowed posteriorly. Sternite 3 1.6x longer than wide, slightly narrowed and somewhat rounded toward posterior margin. Sternite 4 1.3x longer than wide, with slightly rounded anterior and posterior margins. Sternites 2–4 with scattered setulae, longer towards posterolateral margins, longest setae shorter than sternite length. Sternite 5 ( Fig. 49A View FIGURE 49 ) almost 1.2x longer than wide, slightly constricted at middle, narrowed anteriorly with anterior margin straight; processes almost as long as basal region, slender, slightly incurved towards apex, with a small preapical projection on inner margin and with narrow and acute tip, inner margin with dense and thin setulae, outer surface long and strong setae, longest setae shorter than processes length.

Terminalia . Surstylus in posterior and lateral view somewhat broad towards middle, with a constriction on inner basal half, tapered towards apex and rounded tip ( Fig. 49B View FIGURE 49 ); in profile broad toward middle and incurved; ventrally with a longitudinal fringe of setulae on distal half ( Fig. 49C View FIGURE 49 ). Cercal plate about 1.3x longer than wide, less than a half the surstylus length, hearth-shaped, tapered towards apex, tip widely notched; in profile with dorsal surface curved basally, rather tapered towards apex, tip narrow and slightly up-curved; surface setulose with longer lateral setae on basal half, with a pair of long and strong setae subapical. Pregonite ( Figs. 49E, F View FIGURE 49 ; 50B, C View FIGURE 50 ) wider than long, more than a half the postgonite length, with an outer lateral narrow lobe; with 2 setae, one basally on ventral surface, one preapically on ventral surface of the lobe, with 1 sensilla below the basal seta, with cuticular microtrichia on middle ventral surface ( Fig. 53B, C View FIGURE 53 ). Postgonite 1.5x longer than wide, dorsal and ventral surfaces curved distally, without seta, with a couple of sensilla on basal half of outer surface. Phallapodeme ( Fig. 49D View FIGURE 49 ) in profile slightly curved on middle, basally curved and narrower, slightly expanded distally; epiphallus broad and with slightly rounded apex; distiphallus ( Figs. 49D, G View FIGURE 49 ; 50A View FIGURE 50 ) in profile curved before middle, with acute pair of free paraphallic processes raised distally below the dorsal sclerotization ( Fig. 50D, E View FIGURE 50 ); acrophallus unpigmented, trumpet-shaped at dorsal and lateral view.

Female ( Figs. 51–52 View FIGURE 51 View FIGURE 52 )

Body length 5.8–7.3 mm, wing length 5.0– 6.1 mm.

Differs from male as follows:

Coloration ( Fig. 51 View FIGURE 51 ). Frontal vitta dark brown to brown ( Fig. 51B View FIGURE 51 ). Scapus light brown. Postpedicel brown with darker base. Patches on parafacialia and genae more yellowish ( Fig. 51C View FIGURE 51 ). Thorax. Anterolateral corners of scutellum lighter than male and central vitta on scutum not evident ( Fig. 51D View FIGURE 51 ). Abdomen. Central vitta slightly wider than male ( Fig. 51E View FIGURE 51 ).

Head. postpedicel 1.8–2.7x the pedicel length ( Fig. 51B View FIGURE 51 ). Longest hairs of arista 1.5–2.0x the postpedicel width. Genae below lowest point of eye margin 0.3–0.4x eye height ( Fig. 51C View FIGURE 51 ).

Thorax. kepst s 1+2, the lower posterior less developed than in males, and lower anterior not developed ( Fig. 51A View FIGURE 51 ).

Legs. Fore femur av setae absent. Mid femur with 1 av seta on basal fourth, 2–3 pv setae on basal third, 1 p seta at middle.

Abdomen. Sternite 1 more than 2x wider than long, with a couple of setulae on posterolateral corners. Sternite 2–5 1.5x–2x longer than wide, narrowed posteriorly; sternite 4 the longest, sternite 5 shortest and narrowest; covered with scattered setulae, longer on lateral margins, pair of longest setulae on posterolateral corners.

Ovipositor ( Fig. 52 View FIGURE 52 ). Tergite 6 represented by a pair of plates, anteriorly narrowed with anterior margin rounded, plates widely separated posteriorly, slightly pigmented and sclerotized on anterior half ( Fig. 52A View FIGURE 52 ); posterior margin with a row of long setae, the setae are absent on membrane. Spiracles 6th and 7th both situated in membrane, 6th close to anterolateral corner of tergite 6, and 7th on posterior half ( Fig. 52B View FIGURE 52 ). Tergite 7 similar to tergite 6 but parallel side, as long as tergite 6, uniformly pigmented and sclerotized, posterior margin with two rows of setulae. Tergite 8 widely divided into a pair of strongly sclerotized broad and short plates continuing along a broad posterior margin, almost half the tergite 7 length, in dorsal view the plates are laterally convex, tapered anteriorly and with rounded apex; in profile ( Fig. 52C View FIGURE 52 ) lateral plates parallel sided with sinuous anterior margin; posterior margin with a row of short setulae. Epiproct more than 2x wider than long, widely notched on posterior margin, with a pair of long setae. Sternites 6–7 slightly more than 2x longer than wide, longer than their respective tergite, constricted at middle, anteriorly tapered (strongly on sternite 7), posterior half of parallel side and almost completely covered with scattered short setulae. Sternite 8 represented by a pair of small plates, tapered anteriorly with a couple of setulae. Hypoproct slightly less than 1.5x wider than long, posterior margin almost rounded; setulose, longer setae on posterior margin. Cerci not fused with epiproct, as long as hypoproct, in dorsal view expanded on posterior half, in profile parallel sided, without strongly developed spines ( Figs. 52A, C View FIGURE 52 ), on posterior half with short setulae and a couple pairs of long setae towards margin. Spermathecae ( Fig. 52D View FIGURE 52 ).

Remarks. The female cerci in L. yacochuya sp. nov., are similar to the Nearctic Leucophora maculata ( Stein, 1898) (until now, the only known Leucophora species that doesn’t bear recurved spines on the cerci). However, it differs in the wide dorsal separation between the lateral plates of tergites 6–7; also, the setulae doesn´t extend onto the lateroventral membranes, not forming the continuous band around segments 6th–7th; the spiracles 7 displaced anteriorly, before the posterior margin of segment 6th; sternites 6–7 longer than wide and with multiples fringes of setulae on posterior region. Griffiths (1996: 1725) interpreted this character (cerci without the strong recurved spines) as an apomorphy, associated doubtless with oviposition behavior and in host association. However, there is still no information about the aforementioned.

In males, the lobed pregonite is present only in L. yacochuya sp. nov., L. johnsoni , and L. longilingua , however, the former differs from both species by the shape and setation of sternite 5, by the shape of the surstylus, and the presence of a pair of free paraphallic processes. From L. johnsoni can also be differentiated by the absence of dark marks on cross-veins, and L. longilingua can be segregated by the short proboscis.

Etymology. The species’ epithet refers to the name “Yacochuya”, where the holotype was collected.

Distribution. Neotropical: ARGENTINA ( Salta) ( Fig. 57D View FIGURE 57 ).