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Cryptodacus obliquus Hendel

Recognition
Cryptodacus obliquus differs from all other species of Cryptodacus by having the face and frons, except the ocellar tubercle, entirely yellow, the scutum without a white band along the transverse suture and without a sublateral white stripe or spot at the intra-alar seta, the discal band not extended across any part of crossvein DM-Cu, and the distance between orbital setae/ distance from anterior seta to eye margin less than 1.0. Other useful diagnostic characters include: ocellar seta moderately strong, longer than posterior orbital seta; ventral margin of face slightly concave, facial ratio (medial height/ ventral width of face) 0.80; first flagellomere entirely yellow, tapered and not strongly sagittally flattened apically, in lateral view 3.0 times as long as wide; notopleuron and katepisternum without white marks; entire dorsal margin of anepisternum white; and syntergite 1+2 entirely brown.

Description
Head: Frons mostly yellow, only ocellar tubercle dark brown. 3 frontal setae. 2 orbital setae separated by less than distance from anterior seta to eye margin. Ocellar seta moderately strong, longer than posterior orbital seta. Face without dark markings, ventral margin slightly concave, medial height 0.80 ventral width. Antennal first flagellomere yellow, 3 times as long as wide, evenly tapered, apex rounded. Gena without dark brown spot. Occiput and postgena dark brown except anterior margin.

Thorax: Dark brown except following white areas: postpronotal lobe; entire dorsal margin and dorsal third of posterior margin of anepisternum; very narrowly along anapleural suture and sometimes parts of meron and metapleuron; medial scutal stripe, from just posterior to transverse suture almost to posterior margin; and scutellum except extreme base of disc. Notopleuron and areas bordering intra-alar seta and transverse suture dark brown. Thorax entirely microtrichose. Scutum with 2 paired stripes of denser microtrichia, lateral one interrupted at transverse suture. Dorsocentral seta slightly closer to postalar seta than to postsutural supra-alar seta.

Wing: Length of vein M from BM-Cu to R-M/ length from BM-Cu to DM-Cu 0.67. Cell c with large posteromedial hyaline area. Discal band not extended across any part of dm-cu. Subapical band connected to discal band posteriorly, completely covering DM-Cu, faint anterior to vein R4+5. Apical band faint and narrow in cells r1, r2+3 and r4+5. Accessory costal band sometimes faintly present in cell r1.

Abdomen: Tergites brown, except tergite 5 with narrow white medial stripe, broadly expanded on posterior margin; in cleared specimen, tergites 3-4 also with faint yellow medial stripe.

Male terminalia: Lateral surstylus with distinct mesal lobe, part apical to lobe elongate. Glans moderately broad, without sinuous internal tube.


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Content by Allen L. Norrbom. Last Updated: January 10, 2002.