A new species of Cerozodus and new records of Asilinae and Ommatiinae (Diptera: Asilidae) from Tocantins, Brazil

ABSTRACT This paper represents the first study on Asilidae for the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Here, we describe a new species of Cerozodus Bigot, 1857 and second record for the North Region of Brazil, as well as supply the first record of occurrence of five genera and 12 species of Asilinae and Ommatiinae in Tocantins. Additionally, we provide illustrations and comments for all new records of species and an updated list of Asilidae for the state.

Cerozodus Bigot, 1857 is allocated in subfamily Asilinae.The genus was proposed as a monotypic for Asilus nodicornis Wiedemann, 1828.Then, a new species was described, Cerozodus brachylobus Vieira, Rafael & Limeirade-Oliveira, 2013.The genus was recently reviewed by Camargo et al. (2022), who presented in detail the taxonomic history, redescription and photographs of the holotype, as well as the description of two new species, Cerozodus ayalai Camargo, Vieira & Rafael, 2022 and Cerozodus platylobus Camargo, Vieira & Rafael, 2022.At the moment, only four species are known and the genus has not been registered outside Brazil.There are records of occurrence for the Northeast (Maranhão), North (Tocantins), Midwest (Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul) and Southeast (São Paulo) Regions.Here, we describe a new species of Cerozodus for Brazil, present the second record of the genus for the North Region of Brazil, and provide the first occurrence records of five genera and 12 species for the State of Tocantins and an updated list of records.
Image acquisition and data presentation.Images were obtained using a LEICA MC120 HD digital camera coupled to a LEICA M165 C stereomicroscope.Photographs of the body (dorsal and lateral habitus) and head (frontal and lateral views) were taken for each species.Photos were edited with Adobe Photoshop CS6 software, version 22.0.0.35.The plates were elaborated using Adobe Illustrator 2021 software, version 25.2.1.236.
The information contained in the labels was written in full in the material examined.There was the use of commas to isolate different information.Data presented in square brackets is additional information that is not present on the labels.Slashes (/) were also used for data from the same specimen with separate labels.An asterisk indicates new distribution records.
Wings (Figs 2,3,7).Translucent, slightly brown; dark brown veins; without costal dilatation; bifurcation of veins R 4 and R 5 placed beyond apex of discal cell; transverse vein r-m situated beyond middle of disc cell; microtrichia on posterior wing margin arranged in a single plane; halteres light yellow.
Legs (Figs 2, 3).Yellowish; femur reddish dorsally; fore tibiae yellow; mid and hind tibiae yellow with a reddish apex; fore tarsi yellow; mid and hind tarsi reddishyellow; pulvilli yellowish; empodia reddish-yellow; claws shiny black.Chaetotaxy: hind trochanter with three white macrosetae ventrally, two long macrosetae posteroventrally and one short macroseta medioventrally; fore and hind coxae with a row of long white macrosetae posterodorsally; hind coxa with two macrosetae dorsomedially and three macrosetae ventroapically; mid and hind femora covered by white setae alternating with black; fore and mid femora with 7-9 whitish macrosetae ventrally; hind femur with four black macrosetae lateroventrally, one black macroseta dorsomedially, two black macrosetae anterodorsally and two black macrosetae dorsoapically; femora with white and black setae laterally; femora with whitish setae dorsally; tibiae with black macrosetae; fore and mid tibiae with short, scattered white setae; hind tibiae with a row of short white setae; tarsomeres with black setae and macrosetae; first and second tarsomeres with a row of golden setae.
Holotype condition.Left antenna missing, without the postpedicel and the stylus.Few mystacal macrosetae broken.Part of the abdomen and terminalia in microtube with glycerin.Microtube pinned under the specimen.
♀. Similar to ♂, except by: body length: 14 mm; antenna with second article of stylus without broad basal projection (Fig. 21); wing length: 10 mm; Color of legs lighter; tibiae with a darker apex; darker tarsi; abdomen reddish-brown; tergite 2 gray with a dark spot on the posterior half; terminalia shiny black (Figs 22,23); tergite 8 with a yellow lateral spot at the base; sternite 8 with a yellow lateral spot at the base and a rounded one in the middle; cercus dark brown with yellow setae.
Variations.Male paratype with two yellow occipital macrosetae; body length 12.5 mm and wing length 8 mm.
Etymology.inesperatus from Latin, refers to something unexpected.
Distribution.State of Tocantins, Brazil.Biology/phenology.The specimens were collected in the district of Taquaruçu, a tourist region of Palmas, capital of Tocantins.It is a mountainous region, with valleys, plains and cliffs with elevations ranging from 34 to 960 m (Seplan, 2003).This area has a rich vegetation, with typical cerrado, gallery forest and riparian forest.The climate is semi-humid tropical, with seasonally well-defined rainfall periods, with a hot and dry winter (May to September) and a rainy season (October to April) (Marcuzzo & Goularte, 2013).The specimens were found in riparian forests of an Environmental Protection Area called Serra do Lajeado, being captured with a Malaise trap both in the dry and rainy seasons.The data obtained here corroborate the information presented by Camargo et al. (2022) Distribution.Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Guyana, Peru, Brazil (Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins*, Bahia), Bolivia (Vieira et al., 2006;Vieira, 2012;Papavero, 2009).
Comments.In Brazil, the same is registered only in the North and Northeast Regions (Vieira et al., 2006;Papavero 2009;Vieira, 2012).This is the first record in an ecotonal area between Cerrado and Amazon biomes in Brazil.A new species of Cerozodus and new records of Asilinae and Ommatiinae ...

Glaphyropyga group
Comments.Specimens of G. pollinifera show great variations, such as eye color and body size.This species is very close to Glaphyropyga himantocera (Wiedemann, 1828), from which it is distinguished by the patterns of tomentum on the scutum and pleura, the absence of setae on the scutellum and the dark brown spot on the wings.This species is characterized by having a yellow scape and pedicel, a scape longer than pedicel (Figs 38,39), a short stylus with a small sensorial element at the apex; pleura with a dark vertical spot on the anterior part and yellow wings with a dark spot on the subcostal cell (Figs 36,37), which does not extend to R 4 (Carrera, 1945).Distribution.Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Guyana, French Guiana, Brazil (Amazonas, Pará, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Tocantins*, Paraíba, Bahia, Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo to Rio Grande do Sul), Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay (Artigas & Angulo, 1980;Kohler et al., 2013).

Proctacanthus group
Comments.Eccritosia barbata has a wide distribution in most of South America, extending from Venezuela to Argentina, with records in most Brazilian states (Lamas, 1973).In this species the females are larger in length than the males, the females are approximately 24 mm and the males 22 mm.It is characterized by having a white or yellowish mystax (Figs 54,55), black thorax (Fig. 53), black forelegs and median, black hind femur, yellow tibiae and hind tarsi with white setae, abdomen with black tergite 1 with a white stripe ventrally and white macrosetae laterally, tergite 2 brown with white lateral setae, remaining tergites light brown, terminalia reddish (Fig. 52).
Comments.The species has a wide distribution in the Neotropical Region.In Brazil, occurs from north to south.In addition, according to Vieira (2015), the species is often found in Brazilian entomological collections.This species is characterized by having white mystax interspersed with yellow setae (Figs 58,59), dark wings with a costal vein with dilatation in the median portion, yellow femur with black anteroventral and posteroventral setae, gray abdomen, tergites with whitish setae (Figs 56,57), shiny black male terminalia, epandrium with a spiniform projection at the apex in dorsal view.Females of this species are similar to males except for the terminalia: tergite 9 narrow and sternite 8 with three indentations on the anterior margin.Distribution.Brazil (Pará, Tocantins*, Rondônia, Alagoas, Mato Grosso, Bahia, Goiás, Distrito Federal, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Santa Catarina), Paraguay (Vieira et al., 2010;Lima et al., 2017).
Comments.This species can present great variation in size, color and number of macrosetae (Vieira, et al., 2010).This species is characterized by having black mystax (Figs 66, 67), dark wings with apically wide r2 cell with rounded apex, apical scutellar macrosetae absent, yellow legs (Figs 64,65), extremely robust hind femur with nine anteroventral macrosetae, clavate abdomen, dark brown male terminalia, wide epandrium in the median portion, epandrium with long cercus and truncated apex, gonostylus narrow, gonocoxite with the mid-basal portion of the inner margin curved inward, oval hypandrium.

Fig. 1 .
Fig. 1.Map of the state of Tocantins (Brazil) with an indication of the eight municipalities where the material was collected (highlighted in different colors).