Three new species of Chvalaea Papp & Földvári are described and illustrated: Chvalaea annularis sp. nov., C. ecuadoriensis sp. nov., and Chvalaea sinclairi sp. nov. In addition, an illustrated key, distribution map, new records, and updated diagnoses of all Neotropical species are presented.
Five species of Elaphropeza Macquart, 1827 from the Amazon Basin region are recognized here and re-described in order to clarify and update previous descriptions, as well as illustrations: E. biseticauda (Smith, 1963), E. flavida (Williston, 1896), E. mazaruni (Smith, 1963) and E. similis (Smith, 1963). Re-description of Elaphropeza monochaeta (Bezzi, 1909) comb. nov. is updated, presenting characters nowadays utilized in taxonomy of this group. The female of E. biseticauda is described and illustrated for the first time and E. bergonzoi Raffone, 2000 syn. nov. is proposed as junior synonym of E. flavida. A key to Elaphropeza species from Amazon Basin is provided. Lectotype designation for E. flavida was made and geographical records of this species and the Australian species E. ciliatocosta (Bezzi, 1904) in the Neotropics are discussed.
Platypalpus is the most speciose genus of Tachydromiinae with approximately 550 described species, occurring preferentially in colder and temperate climates of the world. The genus is notably diverse in the Palaearctic, where almost 300 species are known, but it is much less diverse in tropical climates, a fact frequently attributed to the competition with species of Elaphropeza found in warmer regions. Despite the great variation of morphological features known, no apterous species of Platypalpus have been described. We describe Platypalpus apterus sp. nov., a very curious new wingless species of Platypalpus, which is the first record of a wingless species in the genus. We provide detailed illustrations of the male and female genital segments. This species appears to belong in the Platypalpus brevicornis species-group, which until now has only been recorded from the Oriental and Palaearctic regions. Twenty-three species of Platypalpus are now known from the Neotropical Region.
Chvalaea australis sp. nov. is described and illustrated, representing the first species of Chvalaea Papp & Földvári, 2002 from the Australasian Region. A discussion of the geographic distribution and the possible relationship among the species of the genus is provided.
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