New records of phorid flies ( Diptera , Phoridae ) from Rio Grande do Sul , with five new records to Brazil

This compilation is the result of identification of material recently collected from Southern Brazil. Forty-one new records of Phoridae are recorded for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the species Eibsfeldtphora cumsaltensis Disney 2009, Megaselia (M.) gracilipalpis Borgmeier 1969, Megaselia (Aphiochaeta) latimanus (Malloch, 1914), Melaloncha curvata Brown, 2005, and Trophodeinus vicinus (Borgmeier, 1963) are recorded for the first time in Brazil. Species are distributed in 18 genera and 3 subfamilies. The total known diversity of phorids in the state is augmented from 10 to 51 species. An updated distribution for Brazil is presented for each species.


Introduction
Phoridae is a family of small or very minute flies, which is among the richest families of Diptera.Estimated total diversity of the family ranges from 25 to 50 thousand species (Disney 1983, Gaston 1991); however, only about 4000 species are currently known to science (Ament and Brown 2016).A large part of these undescribed species is believed to be from the Neotropical Region, which remains in general largely undersampled.
The distributions of phorid species are also considerably unknown, with many species known only from their type locality.
Most of the knowledge on phorid distribution in Brazil is based on the studies of Father Thomas Borg-meier who published over a hundred articles describing more than a thousand species of phorids (Kempf 1972).Unfortunately, the material Borgmeier used in his studies is mostly from the states of Santa Catarina and Rio de Janeiro, what causes a bias in the knowledge on the species distribution.
According to Ament and Pereira (2017) there are currently 851 species of Phoridae known for the country, although estimates suggest a diversity of up to 5,000 species (Carvalho et al. 2012).
Only 10 Phoridae species are known for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (Borgmeier 1968).Therefore, this study aims to better document the phorid fauna of Rio Grande do Sul, by presenting a checklist of species, with their distribution, known to occur in this state.With this objective, we analyzed a large amount of material recently collected in Rio Grande do Sul.

Methods
The material used in this study was collected by RFK and collaborators in 41 localities along the coastal plains of the Rio Grande do Sul (Fig. 1), mostly through Malaise traps.
Traps were placed around rivulets and streams within forest fragments in the municipalities of Camaquã, Pelo-tas, São Lourenço do Sul, Tavares and Turuçu; they were also placed inside protected preservation areas, namely RPPN Barba Negra, the state parks of Itapeva, Itapuã, and José Lutzemberg (P.E.Guarita), and TAIM Ecological Station.Collecting permits were granted by Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio) and Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA).Additional material was collected by Malaise traps in the municipality of Ijuí, northwestern Rio Grande do Sul.
Complete collection data are shown in Figure 1 and Table 1.
To compare the new and previously published distribution records from the state, Table 2 shows the previous records from Borgmeier 's catalogue (1968) for the state.An asterisk (*) denotes a new record for Brazil.

Diagnostic characters.
Foremetatarsus not enlarged; wing with more than 10 pairs of long costal cilia present in costal vein (Borgmeier, 1926).

Apocephalus piliventris
Diagnostic characters.This species is recognizable by the structure of the tubular ovipositor, with median furrow.

Distribution. South and southeastern Brazil.
Updated distribution for Brazil.Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul.
Apodicrania termitophila (Borgmeier, 1923)     is distinguished from others by the apex of right surstylus being narrower or of equal width to base and the left surstylus merging with ventral margin of epandrium.
Distribution.Southern Brazil.Diagnostic characters.This species belongs to the group V of Megaselia, as defined by Borgmeier (1962), among which it can be differentiated by the long costal cilia.

Updated distribution for
Distribution.Argentina; south and southeastern Brazil.
Updated distribution for Brazil.Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul.Megaselia (A.) sinefurca Borgmeier, 1962 Megaselia (A.) sinefurca Borgmeier, 1962: 303, 332  Diagnostic characters.This species belong to the group VIII of Megaselia species (Borgmeier, 1962).It is very similar to M. gracilipalpis with the structure and setation of the palpi very similar.It can be distinguished from the latter by the chaetotaxy of the hypopygium with much stronger and fewer setae (Figure 21).Diagnostic characters.This species belongs to the udamochiras group (Brown 2004) and can be distinguished from the other species of that group by the narrow, elongate ovipositor, with extremely short and sparse setae.

Distribution
Distribution.Guatemala to Argentina.
Updated distribution for Brazil.Distrito Federal, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina.Hash & Brown, 2015: Figure 28 Myriophora uruguaiensis Hash and Brown 2015: 47-48, figs 8.6, 14.6, 20.5, 21.16.Diagnostic characters.This species is recognizable by the apical portion of the ovipositor which is strongly tapered and pointed at the tip.

Material
Distribution.Argentina and Brazil.

Pseudacteon litoralis
Diagnostic characters.This species is easily recognized by the structure of the tricuspidate ovipositor.
Distribution.Argentina and Brazil.

Discussion
This is the first attempt to compile data on phorid distribution from the state of Rio Grande do Sul.The lack of studies on this subject is evidenced by the great increase in the number of species registered here for the state.Our survey revealed a diversity 5 times higher than previously known (Borgmeier 1968).Megaselia Rondani 1856, with 13 species recorded, is the most diverse genus in Rio Grande do Sul.This is the largest genus of the family and accounts for nearly half of the described species (Brown 2010).The total diversity for the state should be much higher, but because of the many undescribed species and the few and scattered taxonomic works, the correct determination of species becomes complicated.At least 24 more species of Megaselia were collected in Rio Grande do Sul and could not be identified.
The second most diverse genus was Dohrniphora Dahl, with 10 species collected.This is one of the best-known genera of the family with 2 comprehensive taxonomic revisions (Brown andKung 2007, 2010).This genus currently has 227 species described, of which 114 occur in Brazil.
Melaloncha curvata and Eibsfeldtphora cumsaltensis were previously recorded from Argentina and are registered for the first time in Brazil.Megaselia gracilipalpis, M. latimanus, and Trophodeiunus vicinus were previously recorded from Dominica, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, respectively, and are also first recorded from Brazil.
Apart from the species mentioned in this study, a specimen belonging to the genus Zikania Borgmeier, 1925 was also collected in the state.The current taxonomy of the group does not allow for precise identification of species, although the collected specimen is very similar to Z. degenerata Borgmeier 1925.This study was conducted in specific locations in the state and the total diversity of phorids for Rio Grande do Sul should be much higher.This is the first effort focused in understanding and recording the Phoridae fauna in the state and it may foster future studies on the taxonomy, ecology, and behavior of the group in the Neotropical region.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Map of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil showing the collect localities of the material used in this study.

Table 1 .
Collections sites in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil date, collectors, locality and geographic coordinates.(* = sites with new records for Brazil).
Brazil.Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina.
Megaselia (A.) pauxilla(Brues, 1907) (Borgmeier 1962)ecies belongs to the group VII of Megaselia(Borgmeier 1962).It may be distinguished by the following characters: hind tibia with only posterodorsal row of setae; frons glossy; costal vein not thickened; coxae yellowish-brown; fore and midlegs yellowish-brown; and hind leg dark with the basis of the femur brown-yellow.This species belongs to the group VIII of Megaselia(Borgmeier 1962).It is very easily recognizable by the slender palpi with very short setulae and fine hairs and the structure and chaetotaxy of the hypopygium.

.
Argentina; south and southeastern Brazil; Peru.
Wheeler, 1906 Figure 30Diagnostic characters.This species is easily recognized by the structure of the hypopygium(Disney 2008: figs  33, 34).