Thaumatoleon splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921

Zheng, Yuchen & Liu, Xingyue, 2021, The rare antlion genus Thaumatoleon Esben-Petersen, 1921 (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Nemoleontinae) newly recorded from mainland China, with first male description, Zootaxa 4952 (3), pp. 551-560 : 552-555

Thaumatoleon splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921 华Lj•蚁Þ

( Figs 1–19 , 21, 23–24, 26, 28 , 30 )

Thaumatoleon splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921: 128 (type locality: “Formosa, Horisha” [= China: Taiwan, Nantou County, Puli Town]; holotype in ZMUC); Krivokhatsky, 1997: 635 ( Thaumatoleon ); Stange et al., 2003: 103 ( Thaumatoleon ); Stange, 2004: 221 ( Thaumatoleon ); Machado et al., 2019: 446 (synoptic data on the extant antlion and owlfly genera of the world, Thaumatoleon ).

Diagnosis. Body generally brown. Antennae more than 3x longer than pronotum. Thorax dorsally with a longitudinal brown to black stripe. Legs long and slender; tibial spurs short (as long as basal tarsomere); tarsomere 5 with nearly tapered thickened setae brush ventrally ( Fig. 24 ); pretarsal claws straight but strongly curved backward (opposable) ( Figs 6–8 , 24 ). Wings ( Fig. 9 ) elongate and narrow, with various brownish markings; Banksian lines absent; hind wing nearly falcate, longer than forewing. Male gonocoxite 9 ( Figs 12–16 ) with anterior part separated into two lobes; a pair of long setal tufts present on membranous part of gonocoxites 9 anteriorly. Female gonocoxites 8 ( Figs 18–19 ) elongate, digitiform, covered with many long setae directed medially; gonocoxite 9 ( Figs 18–19 ) spoon-shaped, covered with stout digging setae; ectoprocts truncated.

Re-description. Size. Head width: 3.62–3.76 mm; forewing length: 47.21–47.86 mm; hind wing length: 49.56– 52.73 mm.

Head. Vertex brown, slightly domed, with a blackish brown transverse band posteriorly, posterior margin dark brown ( Figs 4–5 ). Antennae more than 3x longer than pronotum; scape dark brown dorsally but paler ventrally; pedicel generally brown; non-intumescent flagellomeres brown, gradually pale; intumescent part of flagellum generally pale brown, distally dark brown. Frons dark brown to brown. Clypeus yellowish brown with a few setae. Labrum brown. Maxillary palpus pale brown, with tip darker. Labial palpus pale brown, not intumescent, with tip dark brown. Mandibles yellowish brown with distal half dark reddish brown.

Thorax. Brown, with dark markings ( Fig. 4 ). Pronotum slightly broader than long; covered with black setae, setae on lateral-posterior margin relatively long; a longitudinal brownish stripe present medially. Mesonotum covered with black setae on anterior margin, while short brownish setae present on posterolateral margin; a broad longitudinal black stripe present medially, and a pair of black markings at scutum laterally. Metanotum covered with a few brownish setae; anterior margin yellow, with a medial broad black stripe, and a pair of lateral reddish brown markings. Pleurae with a broad black stripe; sternum pale brown.

Legs. Long and slender, with many black and dark brown spots ( Figs 6–8 ). All legs with tibial spurs slightly curved; tarsomeres 1–4 generally pale brown; tarsomere 5 pale brown with distal half dark brown, as long as entire length of tarsomeres 2–4, with a ventral setal brush of tapered and thickened setae ( Fig. 24 ) (thickened setae on hind leg sparser than on fore- and midleg); pretarsal claws nearly straight and strongly curved backward (opposable). Foreleg ( Fig. 6 ): Coxa brown, with a dark brown marking; femur generally brown; tibia pale brown, with many black dots, setae on distal part short, generally yellowish brown; tibial spurs reaching base of tarsomere 2. Midleg ( Fig. 7 ): coxa pale brown; femur mostly black, pale brown basally and distally, some pores prominent; tibia pale brown, with many black spots, ventrally with a few short spinous setae; tibial spurs reaching base of tarsomere 2. Hind leg ( Fig. 8 ): Coxa pale brown; femur pale brown with black markings; tibia pale yellowish brown, with many black spots; tibial spurs reaching subdistal portion of tarsomere 1; tarsomere 1 longer than that of fore- and midleg.

Wings. Elongate, with various brownish markings ( Fig. 9 ). Banksian lines absent. Hind wing longer than forewing. Pterostigma pale. Forewing with apex slightly pointed; costal space distally with indistinct brown marking; poststigmal area mostly transparent; both ends of hypostigmatic cell with a dark brown spot; radial area with scattered brownish markings, a brownish band present on margin; mediocubital area with a few dark brown spots; rhegma present as elongate ovate dark brown marking; cubital area with scattered brownish markings, with a curved band basally; posterior area with some continuous brownish spots; costal crossveins mostly simple; RP origin beyond CuA fork; presectoral area with 15–17 crossveins, sometimes with about 2–4 biareolate cells; RP with 12–13 branches. Hind wing with basal 2/3 transparent; posterodistal margin slightly concaved and brown, with a large brownish mark; costal space with indistinct brown mark posteriorly; both ends of hypostigmatic cell with a dark brown spot; a hook-like brownish mark present along distal margin, which is expanded into an ovoid marking on distal portion of radial area; radial area with indistinct brown marks posteriorly; rhegma present as a large ovate dark brown mark; costal crossvein mostly simple; presectoral area with 1 crossvein; RP origin basal to MP fork.

Abdomen. Generally dark brown in dorsal and ventral parts, lateral part mostly brown, covered with short setae; tergum 1 pale brown anteriorly. Male genitalia ( Figs 10–17 ). Tergum 9 subtrapezoid in lateral view, covered with short setae. Sternum 9 subtrapezoid in ventral view, covered with long setae. Gonocoxites 9 elongate, medially curved internally; posterior part strongly sclerotized and scaly, concaved in lateral view; anterior part bilobed ( Fig. 16 ); a pair of tufts of long setae present on membranous part of gonocoxites 9 anteriorly in ventral view ( Fig. 12 ). Gonocoxites 11 narrowly arched, both sides half with a round projection, median part prominent, subtriangular. Gonapophyses 11 weakly developed. Ectoproct semicircular in lateral view, covered with long setae. Female genitalia ( Figs 18–19 ). Sternum 7 covered with many long setae ( Fig. 19 ). Pregenital plate small, triangluar. Tergum 8 wide, subrectangular in lateral view; gonocoxites 8 elongate, digitiform, slightly curved, covered with many long setae directed medially; gonapophyses 8 narrow, ribbon-shaped. Tergum 9 covered with long setae on ventral side; gonocoxite 9 swollened posteriorly, covered with stout digging setae. Ectoproct truncated distally, covered with stout digging setae on ventral side.

Type material. Holotype 1♀, “ Formosa, Horisha [= China: Taiwan, Nantou County, Puli Town ], 5.X.1916 ” ( ZMUC).

Additional material examined. 1♀, China: Yunnan, Honghe, Lvchun County [fife], Mt. Huanglianshan National Nature Reserve [黄κ山βτá自然ff护区], Yakou Management Station [丫口Wª站], 1925 m , 9. VI .2015 , Jianyun Wang , Ziqiang Sun & Hangrui Liu ( CAU); 1♂, China: Yunnan, Dehong, Yingjiang County [Ɨ 江e], Xima Town [AƼNJ], 1200 m , VII.2019, Weizong Yang ( CAU); 1♀ , China: Yunnan, Dehong, Yingjiang County, Xima Town , 1000 m , 21. V . 2020 , Weizong Yang ( CAU).

Distribution. China ( Taiwan, Yunnan); Vietnam (Kon Tum).

Remarks. All known collecting sites of T. splendidus have the habitats of tropical or subtropical rainforests, but they are distantly apart from each other in a broad range of the Oriental region ( Fig. 30 ).

Figures

FIGURE 9. Thaumatoleon splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921, female, wings. Abbreviations: C: costa; Sc: subcosta; RA: radius anterior; RP: radius posterior; MA: media anterior; MP: media posterior; CuA: cubitus anterior; CuP: cubitus posterior; A: anal veins. Scale bar: 10.0 mm.

FIGURE 30. Distribution map of Thaumatoleon splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921.

FIGURES 1–3. Thaumatoleon splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921. 1. photo of a living female from Mt. Huanglianshan, Yunnan (photo by Jianyun Wang); 2. female habitus; 3. male habitus. Scale bar: 10.0 mm.

FIGURES 4–8. Thaumatoleon splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921, male. 4. head and thorax, dorsal view; 5. head, frontal view; 6. foreleg; 7. midleg; 8. hind leg. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 10–19. Thaumatoleon splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921. Male genitalia: 10. lateral view; 11. ventral view; male genitalia: 12. ventral view; 13. anteroventral view; 14. lateral view; 15. dorsal view; 16. dorsolateral view, pale blue lines indicate bilobed part; 17. caudal view; female terminalia: 18. lateral view; 19. ventral view. Abbreviations: ect: ectoproct, gx: gonocoxites, gp: gonapophyses, pp: pregenital plate, S: sternum. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 20–29. Morphological comparison of genitalia and tarsomere 5 between Paraglenurus japonicus (McLachlan, 1867) (Figs. 20, 22, 25, 27, 29) and Thaumatoleon splendidus Esben-Petersen, 1921 (Figs. 21, 23–24, 26, 28). 20–21. male genitalia, ventral view; 22–23. male genitalia, dorsolateral view; 24–25. hind leg pretarsal claw; 26–27. female genitalia, lateral view; 28–29. female genitalia, ventral view. Abbreviations: tbs: thickened setal brush. Scale bars: 1.0 mm.