Heterochele actias Viswajyothi and Clark, 2021
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222933.2021.1890849 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C23D63-FFCC-FFF3-FEA9-D32FFE05FC6C |
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Marcus |
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scientific name |
Heterochele actias Viswajyothi and Clark |
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sp. nov. |
Heterochele actias Viswajyothi and Clark , sp. nov.
( Figures 1–3 View Figure 1 View Figure 2 View Figure 3 )
Diagnosis
This species is very similar to Heterochele signiferoides Viswajyothi and Clark , sp. nov., but can easily be distinguished from it. In H. actias , the elytral disc is largely black, but with a pale marking near mid-length, narrowly extended posteriorly along the suture ( Figure 1 View Figure 1 (a)). In the darkest specimens, the pale area may be reduced. In all instances, the elytral apex is black. In contrast, the pale elytral markings in H. signiferoides tend to form three transverse bands, one near the basal fourth, the second slightly behind mid-length, and the third at the elytral apex ( Figure 4 View Figure 4 (a)). In males of H. actias , the third antennomere is longer than the second ( Figure 1 View Figure 1 (c)) (third shorter than second in males of H. signiferoides , Figure 4 View Figure 4 (a)). Additionally, in H. actias , the inner appendages of the male tarsal claws are very short and difficult to see, and they do not significantly diverge from the outer appendages (inner appendages comparatively large and divergent from the outer appendages in H. signiferoides ). The genitalia of the two species are also quite different ( Figures 2 View Figure 2 (c–e), vs 6(a–c); 3(a-g), vs 7(a-f)).
Description of holotype (male)
Body oblong, narrow ( Figure 1 View Figure 1 ); length 3.0 mm; width 1.0 mm. Head black, with pale anterior area; prothorax yellow; scutellum yellow-brown ( Figures 1 View Figure 1 , Figures 2 View Figure 2 (a)); elytra mostly black, with lateral border and epipleuron pale and with pale triangular marking near mid-length, narrowly extended posteriorly along suture; venter largely pale, with visible areas of metathorax and tip of last abdominal ventrite brown; legs bicoloured.
Vertex black; antennal calli brown; frontal ridge, anterofrontal area, genae, clypeus, and labrum pale ( Figure 2 View Figure 2 (a)). Eyes large, oval, 0.8 times as wide as long, finely facetted; interocular distance 0.4 times width of head across eyes. Distance between antennal fossae nearly half fossal diameter; fossae nearly contiguous with the eye. Posterior area of vertex smooth, shining, impunctate; anterior portion of vertex, along supraorbital sulcus, along orbital sulcus, and behind antennal calli, with scattered setae. Areas above and below eyes sparsely setose. Antennal calli moderately convex, rectangular, glabrous, impunctate, slightly longer than wide; anterolateral edges attaining antennal fossae; anteromesal portion slightly extending in between antennal fossae. Midfrontal sulcus narrow; supracallinal sulcus distinct. Frontal ridge narrow, arising from slightly above midlevel of antennal fossae. Anterofrontal ridge indistinct, together with area anterior to antennal fossae forming slightly raised, slightly pubescent area. Frontoclypeal suture with transverse row of irregularly spaced setae along entire width, extending to near distal edge of labrum. Clypeus extremely short. Genae very short, with length subequal to width of second antennomere. Underside of head including gula and postgenae pale.
Antennae filiform, shiny, extending to about middle of elytra; colour yellow brown; each antennomere slightly darker dorsally and apically. Pubescence moderate, with mixture of long and short setae; long setae placed towards apex of each antennomere. Basal antennomere slightly curved, club-shaped, much longer than broad, slightly longer than antennomeres 2–3 combined; setae sparser than on other antennomeres. Antennomeres 3–10 slightly broader apically than basally. Distal portion of antennomere 11 conical, with apex acutely pointed. Length ratios of antennomeres (in comparison to antennomere 1): 1.0, 0.4, 0.5, 1.3, 1.2, 1.2, 1.1, 1.1, 1.1, 1.1, 1.2. Length-to-width ratios of antennomeres: 3.6, 2.0, 1.7, 4.7, 4.3, 4.3, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.3.
Labrum nearly semicircular, 0.6 times as long as wide, about as wide as distance between lateral edges of antennal fossae; distal edge slightly bisinuate. Mandibles mostly covered by labrum, except laterally; colour pale yellow, with apices brown. Maxillary palpi each pale brown with pale yellow tip, sparsely setose; antepenultimate palpomere slender, slightly shorter than penultimate palpomere; penultimate palpomere thicker, bulging; apical palpomere shortest, slender, conical, with apex pointed.
Pronotum yellow, with short, very faint, brown marking in middle of anterior third; shape quadrate, slightly wider in anterior half, with greatest width nearly equal to greatest width of head across eyes; disc with shallow, transverse depression towards middle; surface glabrous, shining, extremely minutely punctulate, with punctures visible only at high magnification; anterolateral tubercle obtuse, bearing large seta, with pore more ventral than pore of posterolateral tubercle; posterolateral tubercle with seta shorter than that of anterolateral tubercle; lateral edges strongly carinate; anterior edge lacking bead; posterior edge with short bead laterally, without bead mesally, without fringe of short setae. Scutellum equilaterally triangular, glabrous, impunctate, shining.
Elytra 2.0 mm long, together across humeri 1.4 times as wide as greatest width of pronotum, 1.6 times wider than basal width of pronotum. Humeri well developed; basal calli slightly convex, not delimited behind by depression. Disc shiny, minutely punctate, with long, suberect, posteriorly inclined setae. Epipleura very narrow, especially in distal half, hardly extending to apex. Basal fourth of each elytron black, except laterally; area from basal fourth to middle of elytron with triangular pale area, broadest along suture, narrowed laterally, not attaining pale lateral edge; distal half largely black, but with narrow pale marking (continuous with more anterior triangular marking) extending along suture to base of distal declivity; epipleuron and lateral border of elytron yellow.
Venter mostly pale; metathorax and tip of fifth abdominal ventrite brown ( Figure 1 View Figure 1 (c)). Prosternum glabrous, shining; anterior edge with fringe of setae of varying lengths; distance from anterior edge to coxa subequal to length of third antennomere; posterior prosternal process extremely short, with length less than maximum width of apical maxillary palpomere; procoxal cavities open behind. Mesoventrite shining; distance separating mesocoxae slightly less than width of second antennomere; mesocoxal cavities open laterally. Metaventrite sparsely pubescent, nearly as long as basal three abdominal ventrites combined. Abdomen sparsely pubescent; terminal ventrite with strong, mesal, semicircular impression in distal half ( Figure 2 View Figure 2 (b)); sides of impression steep.
Legs, especially tibiae and tarsi, largely covered by setae. Front legs with coxae and trochanters yellow; femora yellow except with darker brown dorsal and external surfaces; tibiae yellow, except dark brown dorsally; tarsi yellow basally, dark brown distally. Middle legs with coxae, trochanters, and femora yellow; tibiae dark brown; tarsi yellow basally, dark brown distally. Hind legs with coxae and trochanters yellow; femora basally yellow, distally brown; tibiae and tarsi dark brown. Middle tibia slightly concave at distal fifth, on side towards femur. Width of first and second tarsomeres nearly equal in all legs; front basitarsus subequal in length to second tarsomere; middle basitarsus 1.5 times as long as second tarsomere; front basitarsus slightly shorter than basitarsi of middle and hind legs; hind basitarsus twice as long as second tarsomere; all claws bifid, with inner appendage very slender, short, hardly visible.
Median lobe of aedeagus 1.0 mm long; greatest width, in basal tenth, 0.1 mm. Shape in dorsal and ventral views slender, strongly asymmetrical ( Figure 2 View Figure 2 (c,e)). Shape in lateral view incised and bent at basal tenth ( Figure 2 View Figure 2 (d)).
Female
Antennomere length ratios: 1.0, 0.4, 0.5, 1.1, 1.0, 0.9, 0.9, 0.9, 0.9, 0.9, 1.1; antennomere length-to-width ratios: 3.0, 1.7, 2.3, 5.0, 5.0, 4.0, 3.7, 3.7, 3.7, 3.7, 4.3. Tarsal claws appendiculate; middle tibia lacking slight concavity at apical fifth. Terminal ventrite entire ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (f)); last visible tergite without channel ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (g)). Female reproductive organs, including bursa copulatrix, as in Figure 3 View Figure 3 (a,b). Spermatheca bent, without distinct separation between receptacle and pump ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (e)); greatest width 0.04 mm. Vaginal palpi 0.44 mm long, split at distal third ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (d)). Tignum 0.9 mm long ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (c)).
Variation
The body measures 2.7–3.4 mm in length and 0.9–1.5 mm in width, with the elytra 2.0– 2.7 mm long. The antennae may be mostly pale,but with a few dorsal brown areas towards the apex of both the first and second antennomeres. In other specimens, the basal three antennomeres are mostly pale, but dark dorsally, and the other antennomeres are dark brown, but with the distal two or three somewhat paler.The labrum and mandibles may be black,and the maxillary palpi may be dark brown. In some specimens, the anterior edge of the labrum may be evenly curved, rather than bisinuate. The postgenae are black in some specimens. The pronotum varies in colour.It may be entirely pale or with only a faint anteromesal darkened area (as in the holotype). However, the darkening may be more obvious, forming a definite, large, brownish black patch, beginning near the anterior pronotal edge and extending various distances, up to the mid-length of the pronotum.In one of the female paratypes,the elytra are mostly brownish black, but there are pale markings along the lateral margins, on the epipleura, and in a narrow strip along the suture,from near the posterior end of the basal callus to near the mid-length of the elytra. The elytral setae are hardly visible in some specimens. Apparently, they are easily abraded. The legs are entirely pale yellow in some specimens. However, in darker specimens, the tibiae and tarsi of all the legs are black,and the distal parts of femora of the middle and hind legs are also black. The abdominal ventrites may be dark brown laterally and pale yellow mesally.
Holotype
‘ COSTA RICA: Prov. Heredia:\ 11 km ESE La Virgen , 250-\ 350 m, 10.350°N, 84.050°W \ 21 March 2004 \INBio-OET-ALAS transect\\ 21 March 2004 \Transect\03/M/20/060\\Project \ALAS\INB0003613616’ (♂, INBio). GoogleMaps
Paratypes
COSTA RICA: Provincia Guanacaste: 3 km SE R . Naranjo , 1–10 July 1992, F .D. Parker (1♀, BYUC); same data, except 1 February 1993 (1♂, 1♀, USNM); same data, except 23 August 1993 (1♀, BYUC) . COSTA RICA: Provincia Heredia: [same data as holotype, except 6 April 2004, 03/M/20/080, INB0003614945] (1♀, INBio); Estación El Ceibo, 10 km SE La Virgen , 10.333°N, 84.083°W, 450–550 m, 13 April 2003, S GoogleMaps .M. Clark (1♀, BYUC) . COSTA RICA: Provincia San José: Escazú , 15 April 1988, F .D. Parker (1♀, BYUC) . PANAMA: Provincia Panamá Oeste: Cerro Campana , 4 February 1973, Strauch (1♂, TIC) .
Etymology
The species epithet refers to the saturniid genus Actias Leach (luna moths, moon moths, etc.). The pale elytral markings are suggestive of such moths, especially when the elytra are slightly separated from each other, as in Figure 1 View Figure 1 (a). The epithet should be treated as a noun in apposition.
Comments
Although the specimen from Panama is darker than the others, we do not doubt that it belongs to the same species.
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
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