Corresponding author: Mírian N. Morales (
Academic editor: Ximo Mengual
Two new species of
The Neotropical region has a very high diversity of flower flies (
The genus
Besides the simple metafemur,
The most appropriate identification key to run for the genus
No additional species have been described for
Terminology follows
Type localities and holotype holding institutions are specified for each species. Location and identifications labels are indicated with quotation marks (“ ”), and which line on the label separated by a forward slash (/). Handwritten information on labels is indicated in italics. The acronyms used for collections follow the standard of the
American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.
All measurements are in millimeters and were taken using a reticule in a Nikon SMZ1000 stereomicroscope. Photographs of all new species were provided and were composed using the Combine ZP software based on images of pinned specimens.
In addition, were also provided photographs of the
The species described here do not have a concave face, neither a wholly pollinose face as defined in
HOLOTYPE. Adult female, missing left midleg. Deposited at AMNH, New York City, USA. Type locality: BOLIVIA. Labels (
Adult female. Body size: 9–10.5 mm
The holotype has four stigmatic crossveins on the left wing and five on the right; in the paratype there are six stigmatic crossveins on both wings. Only type material is known.
HOLOTYPE. Adult female, in good condition, except arista missing. Postabdominal segments V and beyond removed and placed in plastic vial on the same pin as the specimen. Deposited at NMNH, Paris, France. Type locality: COLOMBIA. Labels (
Adult female. Body size: 11 mm
Only type known.
1 | First tergum black ( |
2 |
– | First tergum and femora entirely yellow or orange | 4 |
2 | Pro and mesofemora orange ( |
|
– | Pro and mesofemora black on basal half and yellow on apical half; mesonotum and scutellum with extensive yellow pile | 3 |
3 | Face shiny black medially ( |
|
– | Face and frons (or frontal triangle) yellowish orange, extensively yellow pollinose; metatibia entirely yellow, without markings; (Bolivia) | |
4 | Face shiny yellow medially, with a brown U-shaped shiny area surrounding tubercle ( |
|
– | Face orange, without dark brown markings surrounding tubercle; scutum with very narrow longitudinal black markings; metatarsal segments orange; (Ecuador) |
The Tropical Andes, including parts of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, is the biologically richest and most diverse of Earth’s biodiversity hotspots areas, mainly for vertebrates and plants (
The high altitudes of the Andes (above 3000 masl) include the most endangered and vulnerable ecosystem in South America and it is one of the three areas where the largest changes in fauna are predicted as a result of climate change (e.g.
Therefore, these taxa might be considered focus groups in future conservation projects due to the predictions of the impact of the climate change. The species described here also occur at altitudes between 2000–3000 masl and are thus important additions to the knowledge of the biodiversity of the high Andes flower fly fauna.
Of the five
We thank Nigel Wyatt (Natural History Museum, London) for kindly providing pictures of