Speleoberotha mineira, Machado & Martins & Aspöck & Tavares & Aspöck, 2022

Machado, Renato Jose Pires, Martins, Caleb Califre, Aspöck, Horst, Tavares, Leon Gustavo De Miranda & Aspöck, Ulrike, 2022, The first cave associated genus of Berothidae (Insecta: Neuroptera), and a new interpretation of the subfamily Cyrenoberothinae, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195, pp. 1422-1444 : 1434-1438

SPELEOBEROTHA MINEIRA SP. NOV.

FIGS 8–11

Zoobank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A658A43A-C144-43C2-85A5-3FAF6B84CD02 .

Etymology: Mineira is a Brazilian gentilic term for people from Minas Gerais State, where all specimens were collected.

Diagnosis

Slightly larger than Speleoberotha palomae . Male: sternite 9 with a medial lobe covered by long setae and placed between two small lobes; gonapophyses 10 absent; complex gonocoxites + gonostyli 10 longer than gonocoxites 11 in lateral view.

Description

Identical to Speleoberotha palomae except for the following characteristics.

Measurements (N = 5): Body length average ( Figs 8A–C ), 3.53 mm (variation, 2.8–3.9 mm); forewing length average ( Fig. 8D ), 5.7 mm (variation, 5.3–6.0 mm); hindwing length average, 4.73 mm (variation, 4.4–5.1 mm).

Male genitalia ( Figs 9 , 10 ): Tergite 9 wider ventrally and not fused with ectoproct. Ectoproct without callus cerci and with posterior margins turning outward in dorsal view. Sternite 9 subtriangular in ventral view, with three lobes: a large medial one covered with long setae and two smaller lateral lobes. Gonocoxites 11 as a simple unpaired bow, in lateral view with the posterior ending curving upward. Gonocoxites 9 also a simple unpaired bow, in lateral view with the anterior half wider than the posterior half. Gonocoxites 11 and 9 connected basally. Complex gonocoxites + gonostyli 10 long and acute apically, and longer than gonocoxites 11 in lateral view. Gonapophyses 10 absent.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 1 1 ): Gonocoxites and gonapophyses of segment 8 absent; tergite 9 not fused with ectoproct; tergite 9 ventrally e l o n g a t e d; g o n o c o x i t e s 9 o v o i d, h y p o c a u d a e lacking; gonapophyses 9 as tiny curved sclerites; spermatheca elongated and coiled, becoming narrower and sclerotized in the medial and final portions; proximal portion elongated opening in a median and membranous bursa copulatrix.

Holotype: BRAZIL: Minas Gerais: Varjão de Minas : 18°17′33″S, 46°06′03″W, cavernas, 5 July 2018, Carlos Sena, DZUP 381916 (male; DZUP).

Paratypes (4 ♂, 1 ♀): BRAZIL: Minas Gerais: Pains : 20°26′45″S, 45°26′32″W: gruta Cinderela, 18 September 2009, Zampaulo R.A., DZUP 381917 (two ♂, one ♀; DZUP) ; idem (one ♂; RPSP); Doresópolis : 20°18′35″S, 45°50′47″W: gruta Helinho II, 26 August 2009, Zampaulo R.A., DZUP 381918 (one ♂; DZUP) .

Remarks

All six specimens of Speleoberotha mineira presented here were collected near the entrances of caves; they were not found deeper inside. The specimens came from three different limestone caves situated in three municipalities in Minas Gerais State (Doresópolis, Pains and Varjão de Minas), all located in the Cerrado Biome (Brazilian savanna). This region of Minas Gerais is famous for the large number of caves, with> 1000 caves known in this area. Some of the specimens shown here were collected in caves nearly 300 km apart, suggesting that the species might be widespread in this caverich region of Minas Gerais.

See the Remarks section under Speleoberotha palomae for features differentiating the two new species.

Figures

Figure 1. Phylogenetic relationship within Berothidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) (after Aspöck & Randolf, 2014). Most parsimonious and unique tree (number of steps = 217, consistency index = 32, retention index = 59) under implied weight analysis using values of k = 9–15. Character changes are marked on branches: red above = character numbers; and black below = character state. Forward unequivocal changes (black circles) and reversed or multiple changes (white circles) are shown. Bremer values of branch support are presented below nodes in blue. Names for taxa that contain only extinct species are preceded by a dagger (†) (Supporting Information, Table S1).

Figure 8. Speleoberotha mineira sp. nov. (Berothidae: Cyrenoberothinae). A, lateral habitus. B, head, lateral view. C, head and thorax, dorsal view. D, wings. Abbreviations: A1, A2, anal veins; CuA, cubitus anterior; CuP, cubitus posterior; MA, media anterior; MP, media posterior; RA, radius anterior; RP, radius posterior; Sc, subcostal; 1r-m, first radial–medial crossvein.

Figure 9. Male genitalia of Speleoberotha mineira sp. nov. (Berothidae: Cyrenoberothinae). A, B, lateral views. C, caudal view. D, genital complex, lateral view. E, genital complex, caudal view. Abbreviations: ect, ectoproct; gst10, tenth gonostyli; gx9–gx11, ninth–eleventh gonocoxites; S8, S9, eighth and ninth sternites; T8, T9, eighth and ninth tergites.

Figure 10. Male genitalia of Speleoberotha mineira sp. nov. (Berothidae: Cyrenoberothinae). A, B, ventral views. C, dorsal view. D, genital complex, dorsal view. Abbreviations: ect, ectoproct; gst10, tenth gonostyli; gx9–gx11, ninth–eleventh gonocoxites; S8, S9, eighth and ninth sternites; T8, T9, eighth and ninth tergites.

Figure 11. Female genitalia of Speleoberotha mineira sp. nov. (Berothidae: Cyrenoberothinae). A, lateral view. B, ventral view. C, spermatheca, lateral view. D, spermatheca, ventral view. Abbreviations: bc, bursa copulatrix; d.s., distal portion of spermatheca; ect, ectoproct; m.s., median portion of spermatheca; p.s. proximal portion of spermatheca; S7, seventh sternite; T7–T9, seventh–ninth tergites.