Boettcheria styx new species is described from Guatemala, and a key is provided to separate it from B. maerens (Townsend). A list is given of Central American species of Boettcheria with references to figures of their genitalia

Dahlem, Gregory A.

Pape, Thomas

English

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INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 12, Nos. 1 & 2, March-June, 1998  113 A new species of  Boettcheria from Guatemala (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) Thomas Pape Department of Entomology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, S - 10405 Stockholm, Sweden Gregory A. Dahlem Department of Biological Sciences Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY 41076 Abstract: Boettcheria styx new species is described from Guatemala, and a key is provided to separate it from B. maerens (Townsend). A list is given of Central American species of Boettcheria with references to figures of their genita· lia. Key words: Diptera, Sarcophagidae, Boettcheria, systematics Introduction Extensive sorting of Sarcophagidae (by TP) in the  United States  National Museum  of Natural History revealed a specimen of a male Boettcheria closely resembling B.  maerens  (Townsend) in ex-ternal  morphology,  but  with  distinctly  different genitalia. This specimen we describe here as Bo-ettcheria styx. By their dark, blackish appearance, heavy hairiness,  and narrow yet conspicuous sil-v.ery  bands of abdominal pruinosity,  B.  maerens and B.  styx share a rather distinct gross morphol-ogy  with features  unique  for  the  genus.  This is here  considered justification for  the  isolated  de-scription of B.  styx,  leaving the  remaining  Neo-tropical species of Boettcheria in need of a  thor-ough taxonomic revision. The terminology follows that of McAlpine et al. (1981) for  general morphology and Roback (1954) for the aedeagus. Boettcheria styx Pape and Dahlem, new species (Figs. 1-2) Etymology: The species epithet is a  noun in apposition, from the river Styx bordering the Un-derworld of ancient Greek mythology.  The name relates to the sombre blackish appearance, coupled with streaks and patches of almost sparkling sil-very pruinosity. Type:  Holotype  male,  Guatemala:  Sacatepe-quez,  forest above La Cumbre de  Calderas radio tower site, W of San Miguel Duenas, 2 km W San Juan  Calderas,  23.X.1990,  A.  L.  Norrbom.  [The site  is  in  Sacatepequez  Department,  15-20  km WSW  of Antigua,  Guatemala,  not  far  from  the border with Chimaltenango Department. It is on the lower slopes of Volcan de Fuego (personal cor-respondance with A.  Norrbom).]  The  holotype is deposited in the United States National Museum of Natural History. Holotype in excellent condition and  with  genitalia  clearly  spread.  [The  figures were done from the genitalia in situ, with no dis-section nor clearing.] Description:  Male.  Total  length  17  mm. Fronto-orbital plate, parafacial, anterior margin of gena,  and face  golden pruinose.  Occiput,  most of gena, and postgena grey pruinose. Ocellar triangle with 8 long, thin setae and additional shorter, thin setae. Inner vertical seta large and slightly recli-nate.  Postocellar  setae  long,  thin,  parallel,  and proclinate. Paravertical setae long,  thin, and con-vergent, crossing at apex. Outer vertical seta ab-sent, but 4 distinctly longer postocular setae pres-ent at start of row above each eye. Rows of frontal setae strongly divergent at level of pedicel, with 12 frontal setae above the level of the pedicel and 2 rows of 5-6  setae below  the level of the pedicel. Fronto-orbital plate with a scattering of short, thin setae. Parafacial with scattering of short, thin se-tae and a row of 5-6 longer setae ventrally. Vibris-sae  strong  and  convergent,  crossing  at  approxi-mately 3/4 of their length. A cluster of strong sub-vibrissal setae present.  Gena and postgena with numerous, thin, black setae. 114 Scutum dull black, without distinct vittae, but with golden pruinose areas along anterior margin. Scutum  with  4  evenly  spaced  whitish  pruinose spots along transverse suture and 2  whitish prui-nose  spots  adjacent to  scutoscutellar suture  and postalar callus. Scutellum with an apical whitish pruinose spot. Postpronotal lobe  golden pruinose. Notopleuron golden pruinose dorsally and grayish pruinose  ventrally.  Golden  pruinosity  continues down supra-alar area. Chaetotaxy: acrostichals =  3 (weak)  +  1  (prescutellar,  barely  differentiated); dorsocentrals =  4 (anterior 2 weak) + 3; intra-alars = 2  (posterior  1  weak)  +  2;  supra-alars  = 2 (anterior less than 112 size of posterior) + 4 (second much weaker than other 3); postalars =  2.  Scutel-lum with 4 subapical scutellars (anteriormost seta much weaker than other 3) and with strong discal scutellars  and basal scutellars.  Apical  scutellars not differentiated. Katepisternum with 3-4 strong dorsal setae. Postalar wall without setae. Wings  with  brownish  infuscations  present along vein CuA2 and crossveins h, rom,  and bm-cu. Costa with irregular ventral row of setae extend-ing just past Rl. Long set of setae of lower calyp-tral fringe extending to posterolateral corner. Up-per and lower calypteres with a dark grey border. Legs  with  abundance  of  long  black  setae. Mesotrochanter with a  dense pad of short, stubby anteroventral setae. Metafemur with dense,  long ventral setae. Metatibia bent ventrally near mid-point and with dense, long ventral setae. Abdominal terga 1+2 - 4 without median mar-ginals, tergite 5 with row of marginal setae. Ter-gite 3 with irregular anterior band of silver prui-nosity, approximately 115-114  width of tergite, ex-tending to ventral surface and absent for  a  short span at dorsal midpoint. Tergite 4 with irregular anterior band of silver pruinosity,  approximately 114-112  width of tergite, extending to ventral sur-face  and absent for  a  short span at dorsal mid-point. Tergite 5 with 2 small isosceles triangles of silver pruinosity on either side of dorsal midpoint with the short side at the 4/5 suture line; a  small gap of black lateral to triangular pruinose areas, at suture  line,  then silver pruinosity starts and extends along a logarithmic (S-curve) line to poste-rior extreme of terga,  meeting suture on lateral surface. Genital segments black, with hint of me-tallic blue. Phallophore of aedeagus short. Vesica extends  ventrally  and  laterally  to  almost  wrap around tip of aedeagus. Median process extends as a triangular lobe. Juxta reduced and extending as a  spiny  projection  dorsal  of  median  process. Surstylus rod shaped. Gonopod wide at base with Vol. 12, Nos. 1 & 2, March-June, 1998, INSECTA MUNDI apical point extending anteriorly. Paramere with distal part curved into a  hook (lateral view)  and anteroventral corner of base with a  single strong seta.  A  triangular,  ventrally  extending  process (parameral  apodeme)  is  visible  just posterior  to paramere. Cercus strongly curved, in lateral view, with basal tuft of dense long setae. Diagnosis: This species very closely resembles B.  maerens in external morphology but is  easily separated on  the  basis  of the  form  of the  male genitalia. Specimens of B.  maerens that were ex-amined have much stronger developed prescutel-lar acrostichal setae than the present specimen of B.  styx. This may be a  way to separate specimens of these species if the genitalia are obscured, but more specimens are needed to confirm the useful-ness of this character. Key to separate Boettcheria maerens andB. styx: 1.  Frontal setae breaking into  2  rows  below the level of the pedicel  ............................................ . ............................. Boettcheria maerens / styx (2) 1'.  Frontal setae consisting of 1  row,  even below the level of the pedicel .......... other Boettcheria 2.  Paramere  with  anteroventral  corner  greatly enlarged,  greatest  parameral  width  larger than length of distal  hook;  median  process  of aedeagus rounded; vesica in lateral view with greatest  width  in  distal  half,  median  part longer than lateral part .................. B. maerens 2'. Paramere with anteroventral corner moderately enlarged, greatest parameral width less than length  of  distal  hook;  median  process  of aedeagus triangular; vesica in lateral view al-most tube-like and largely  equal  width,  me-dian part not differentiated  ................... B. styx Biology: Unknown. Discussion:  The  description  of this  species increases  the  number  of  Central  American  Bo-ettcheria species to 9.  Since there are currently no comprehensive  articles on the  Central American (Mexico  through Panama) Boettcheria fauna,  the following  list  of species  is  provided,  with  refer-ences to available figures of their genitalia, to aid researchers who  may wish to identify specimens from this area. Boettcheria  cimbicis  (Townsend):  primarily North American in distribution, but range extends to Mexico  (Chihuahua, Federal District).  Figures of the genitalia can be found in: Dahlem and Dow-INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 12, Nos. 1 & 2, March-June, 1998  115 nes,  1996 (male  &  female);  Lopes,  1950  (male  & female); and Roback, 1954 (male). Boettcheria dentata Dodge:  described from  EI Salvador. A figure of the male genitalia is provided with Dodge's (1966) original description. Boettcheria  maerens  (Townsend):  occurs  in Mexico  (Chiapas, Federal District, Jalisco,  Nuevo Leon).  Figures of the  male  and female  genitalia can be found in Lopes, 1976. Boettcheria  mexicana  Lopes:  ranges  from southwestern U.s.  (Arizona)  to  southern Mexico (Chiapas, Mexico). Figures of the genitalia can be found in Dahlem  &  Downes,  1966  (male and fe-male) and Lopes, 1950 (male). Boettcheria parkeriana Lopes:  described from southern Mexico (Oaxaca) and with figures of the male  genitalia  provided  with  the  description  in Lopes, 1976. Boettcheria praevolans (Wulp): seems to be the most common and wide-ranging species of this ge-nus in Central America. It occurs from the south-western United States (Arizona), throughout Cen-tral America, to Colombia. Figures of the male and female genitalia can be found in Dahlem &  Dow-nes, 1996 and Lopes, 1950. Boettcheria pyrrhopyga (Hall):  described from Panama; also recorded from Venezuela. Figures of the male genitalia can be found in Lopes, 1950 and Hall,1933. Boettcheria similis Lopes:  described from  the area of Cuernavaca,  Mexico;  also  recorded  from Panama.  The  male  genitalia  are  illustrated  in Lopes, 1946 and Lopes, 1950. Acknow  ledgments Appreciation is extended to Norman Woodley, USNM, for the loan of the specimen. We  wish to thank Rob Naczi at Northern Kentucky University for reviewing the manuscript. We  would also like to thank Polyanna Lidmark, SMNH, for the illus-trations of the male genitalia. References Dahlem, G. A., and W. L. Downes, Jr. 1996. Re-vision  of the  genus  Boettcheria  in  America North of Mexico (Diptera: Sarcophagidae). In-secta Mundi 10:77-103. Dodge,  H.  R.  1966.  Some  new  or  little-known Sarcophagidae (Diptera) with a  review of the genus  Oxysarcodexia.  Annals of the Entomo-logical Society of America 59:674-701. Hall, D. G.  1933. The Sarcophaginae of Panama (Diptera,  Calliphoridae).  Bulletin  of  the American Museum of Natural History 66:251-285. Lopes, H. S. 1946. Sarcophagidae do Mexico, cap-turados  pelo  Professor  A.  Dampf  (Diptera). Memorias do  Instituto Oswaldo  Cruz 44:119-146. Lopes,  H.  S.  1950.  On  the  genera  Boettcheria Parker,  1914  and  Boettcherimima  n.  gen. (Diptera  Sarcophagidae).  Memorias  do  Insti-tuto Oswaldo Cruz 48:687-709 (Portuguese) 15 pIs., 711-732 (English). Lopes, H. S. 1976. Some new or little known Neo-tropical  Sarcophagidae  (Diptera).  Revista  de Brasileira Biologia 36(1):61-87. McAlpine, J. F., B. V. Peterson, G. E. Shewell, H. J. Teskey, J. R.  Vocke  roth, and D. M. Wood. 1981. Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Vol-ume  1.  Biosystematic Research Institute  Re-search [Canada] Monograph 27: vi +  674 pp. Roback, S. S. 1954. The evolution and taxonomy of  the  Sarcophaginae  (Diptera,  Sarcophagi-dae). Illinois Biological Monographs 23(3/4): i-v,1-181. 2 Figures  1-2.  Boettcheria  styx;  1.  lateral  view  of epandrium,  surstylus,  and  cercus;  2.  lateral  view  of aedeagus, gonopod, and paramere. 

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On the genera Boettcheria Parker,

Revision of the genus Boettcheria

Sarcophagidae do Mexico, capturados pelo Professor A. Dampf (Diptera). Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo

Some new or little known Neotropical Sarcophagidae (Diptera). Revista de Brasileira Biologia 36(1):61-87.

Some new or little-known Sarcophagidae (Diptera) with a review of the genus Oxysarcodexia.

The evolution and taxonomy of the Sarcophaginae (Diptera,

The Sarcophaginae of Panama (Diptera,

A new species of Boettcheria from Guatemala (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)

A new species of Boettcheria from Guatemala (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)

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