Megistoleon thaumatopteryx Badano

Badano, Davide, 2013, Description of Megistoleon thaumatopteryx sp. nov. with notes on the genus Megistoleon Navás (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae), Zootaxa 3635 (2), pp. 194-200 : 198-199

Megistoleon thaumatopteryx Badano , sp. nov.

( Figs. 2 , 4 , 9, 10 )

Diagnosis. Thorax mostly pale brown with three parallel and well defined black stripes running for all its length; both wing pairs broad; forewing membrane hyaline with apex and posterior margin smoky, mottled and with large markings all along the wing, apex with a brown pseudo-fringe; hind wing dark marking encircling a round white area on the posterior margin ( Fig. 2 ).

Description. Size. Body length 50.0 mm; forewing length 53.3 mm, ratio width/length 0.034; hind wing length 54.4 mm, ratio width/length 0.027.

General coloring. Dorsally light brown with alternating black stripes and dark brown abdomen, ventrally noticeably paler; wings heavily marked and dotted of dark brown with some delimited white areas.

Head. Vertex moderately raised, vertex and occiput pale brown with a central black stripe; frons light brown with a large circular black marking; clypeus with a large central dark marking and lateral light brown margins; labrum light brown; genae light brown; maxillary and labial palpi light brown; antennae completely black, from the scape to the flagellum, covered by short black setae.

Thorax. Pronotum light brown with one central and two lateral black stripes, covered by long and dark setae along the posterior margin ( Fig. 4 ); mesonotum and metanotum light brown, perfectly prosecuting the dark pattern of the pronotum, with a central large stripe traversing prescutum, central mesoscutum, mesoscutellum, central metascutum and metascutellum and two lateral narrower stripes on mesoscutum and metascutum; pleural area traversed by a large black stripe; sternal portion of the thorax very pale.

Legs. Coxae very pale; all pairs of legs uniform in coloring, completely light brown with darker last tarsal segments. Legs covered by dark setae.

Wings. Wings broad with rounded apex, venation dark brown with alternating, and not very definite, pale dashes on longitudinal veins; forewing with costal area biareolated from Rs insertion, triareolated from middle length; forewing presectoral crossveins distally divided in two rows; pterostigma very evident, white and preceded by a dark marking; the costal margin is noticeably swollen in proximity of the pterostigma ; forewing membrane hyaline proximally, smoky distally and with a thick brown maculation; a series of small brown spots are present at the crossveins insertion on R; large markings are presents along CuA with a “>” shaped marking in the rhegmal area; apical area and posterior margin heavily dotted with brown spots; along the apex, from the pterostigma to the Cubital area, a series of contiguous small markings creates a pseudo-fringe (sensu Akoudjin & Michel 2011) ( Fig. 9 ); hind wing membrane basally hyaline except some small infuscations along MP and the posterior margin, apex with a very large irregular brown marking encircling a white round area on the posterior margin; a second large white marking, linked to the white pterostigma , is present in the apex; apical margin of both wings suffused with darker color ( Fig. 2 ).

Abdomen. Tergites mostly brown, sternites yellowish brown; pleural membrane brown; abdominal sclerites covered by numerous black and short setae. Female terminalia as in Fig. 10 . Pregenital plate triangular; anterior gonapophyses relatively large, rounded, provided with numerous long and thick setae; posterior gonapophyses elongated, digitiform, longer than the anterior pair, apically equipped with few long setae; lateral gonapophyses rounded, dorsal portion covered by large and strong digging setae, similar to those present on the ectoproct, ventral side provided with numerous thin setae. Male unknown.

Type material. Holotype. 1♀ pinned, terminalia in glycerol: “ MOZAMBIQUE, Sofala prov./ 15 km S. Condué, Riv. Chinizua, 193 m / 4./ 5.XII.2006 P. Schüle leg.” // HOLOTYPUS / Megistoleon thaumatopteryx n. sp. / Badano, 2012. Type depository. Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “G. Doria”, Genoa, Italy.

Etymology. Noun compound of Greek derivation: thaumatopteryx , “wonderful wing”, refers to the striking wing pattern.

Distribution. The new species is known only from the Mozambican type locality, a lowland forest.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 2. Habitus of Megistoleon species. 1. M. ritsemae, male (Cameroon, Mt. Cameroon). 2. M. thaumatopteryx sp. nov., holotypus, female (Mozambique, Sofala prov.), abdomen in situ.

FIGURES 3 – 4. Pronotum of Megistoleon species. 3. M. ritsemae (Gabon, Ipassa), alcohol preserved specimen. 4. M. thaumatopteryx sp. nov., holotypus, female (Mozambique, Sofala prov.).

FIGURES 9 – 10. Megistoleon thaumatopteryx sp. nov., holotypus. 9. Apex of the right forewing. 10. Female terminalia, lateral view. Ectoproct (epr), anterior gonapophysis (ga), posterior gonapophysis (gp), lateral gonapophysis (gl), pregenital plate (prg).