Tabanidae (Diptera) of Amazônia XXI. Descriptions of Elephantotus gen. n. and E. tracuateuensis sp. n. (Diachlorini) from the Brazilian coast

Inocencio Gorayeb

doi:10.3897/zookeys.395.7056

Abstract

Elephantotus, a new genus of Tabanidae from the Amazon coast, Brazil, is described based on a new species E. tracuateuensis. Five females were collected in Pará State, and a male in Maranhão State. Arguments are presented for separating the new genus from Dasybasis, as well as the possibility of its occurrence being related to the nesting sites of coastal birds. The new species is characterized by its large size (x = 2.15 cm, n = 5 females), glabrous eyes, reddish-brown tegument, light brown frontal callus not touching the edges of the eyes, extending up to the vertex that has traces of ocelli, basal plate of the antennal flagellum with obtuse angle, without a tooth or spine, wings hyaline, with brown basal cells, without appendix in the fork of vein R4+5, and genital furca wide with extended flaps.

Highlights

Intensive collecting efforts along the Amazon coast during the last 15 years have enriched our knowledge of the fauna of the states of Amapá, Pará and Maranhão in Brazil, including the collection of five females and one male identified as Diachlorini – being described here as a new genus and species
The most recent work with the tribe in that region was published by Henriques and Krolow (2013), describing the genus Muscotabanus and the species M. rafaeli from the Brazilian Amazon
The specimens collected were deposited in the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG) in Belém, Pará State, the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA) in Manaus, Amazonas State, and the Centro de Estudos Superiores de Caxias (CESC/UEMA) at the Maranhão State University

Summary

Introduction

Intensive collecting efforts along the Amazon coast during the last 15 years have enriched our knowledge of the fauna of the states of Amapá, Pará and Maranhão in Brazil, including the collection of five females and one male identified as Diachlorini – being described here as a new genus and species. The most recent work with the tribe in that region was published by Henriques and Krolow (2013), describing the genus Muscotabanus and the species M. rafaeli from the Brazilian Amazon

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