Antecerococcus albospicatus (Green) Green, 2016

Chris J. Hodgson & Douglas J. Williams, 2016, (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha, Coccomorpha) with particular reference to species from the Afrotropical, western Palaearctic and western Oriental Regions, with the revival of Antecerococcus Green and description of a new genus and fifteen new species, and with ten new synonomies, Zootaxa 4091 (1), pp. 1-175 : 24-25

Antecerococcus albospicatus (Green) , comb. nov.

( Fig. 4 )

Cerococcus albospicatus Green 1909: 308 .

Phenacobryum albospicatus Green ; Tang & Hao 1995: 235. Change of combination.

Type details. SRI LANKA (as Ceylon), Nuwera Eliya, on Symplocos obtuse . Depositories: BMNH: lectotype adf (designated by Lambdin & Kosztarab 1977: 46–50) + 3 paralectotype adff. USNM: 1/1 adf, marked TYPE on cover (struck out); with same host plant data as type series, collector Green, # 14601. May not be part of type series (Miller, pers. comm.)

Material studied. Lectotype & paralectotype ff: SRI LANKA (as Ceylon): Newera Eliya, stem of Symplocos sp. ( Symplocaceae ), no date or coll. (BMNH): 1/4adff (p–vp). Also: JAVA, Bamdoeng, on tea ( Camellia sp. ( Theaceae )), no date, C. Bernard (BMNH): 1/2adff (f–g).

Note: Main description taken from Javanese material; data from lectotype in [...] brackets.

Mounted material. Body roundly pear-shaped but with a few lateral fleshy protuberances; length 2.1–3.0 [3.1] mm, width 1.6–2.6 [2.2] mm. Margins with a few fleshy protuberances.

Dorsum. Margins with 5 pairs of fleshy protuberances [none found but specimens not lying dorsoventrally]. Eight-shaped pores of 2 to 3 sizes: (i) largest rather variable in size, each 16– 22 x 10–12 µm, abundant throughout on head, thorax and anterior abdominal segments; in swirl-like patterns; also present in a marginal line of 8–11 on each side of posterior abdominal segments; and (ii) medium-sized 8-shaped pores, each 10–12 x 5.0–6.0 µm, about as abundant as larger pores and in a similar pattern; also in segmental transverse rows across posterior abdominal segments; (iii) small pores absent from apices of stigmatic pore bands [present in about 50% of apices]. Simple pores small, each 2–3 µm wide; sparse. Cribriform plates round, each 8–15 [8–13] µm wide with a broad sclerotized margin; micropores quite large; plates present in a submedial group of 3 or 4 [2–7] on each side of abdominal segment IV (one specimen has an additional small plate on 1 side on about segment III). Dorsal setae showing nothing distinctive. Tubular ducts each about 23 µm long, slightly broader than those on venter, present throughout. Anal lobes membranous apart from inner margins being distinctly sclerotized [and with some reticulation]; each lobe about 75 µm long with a long apical seta, 150–175 µm long [both broken]; apical fleshy setae short and stout, very bent [rather straight], each about 26–32 [20] µm long; more basal fleshy setae longer and almost straight, each 30–33 [28] µm long; ventral setose seta near apex stoutly setose, 18–24 [22] µm long; medioventral setae 10 µm long [not noted] and outer margin setae each about 12 [16] µm long; each lobe with 2 or 3 eight-shaped pores. Median anal plate 36–46 [43] µm long, 56–61 [48] µm wide at base, with a serrated transverse apex. Anal ring with 4 pairs of setae, each 100–110 [105] µm long.

Venter. Ventral 8-shaped pores medium-sized, rather variable and many asymmetrical, each 8.0–10.5 x 5–7 [10 x 7] µm, present in a fairly broad submarginal band which broadens anteriorly between antennae; none near mouthparts. Simple pores as on dorsum, very sparse. Small bilocular pores oval, each about 5 x 4 µm, rather abundant along margins of 8-shaped pore band and common medially on head and thorax. Spiracular disc-pores small, each 3–4 µm wide near each spiracle, increasing to 5 µm wide on dorsum, with mainly 5 loculi; mainly in fairly broad bands 3 or more pores wide [sparse—only 1 pore wide]; posterior band bifurcated; each band with 12– 16 [3–7] pores in a group near spiracle plus 60–70 [unknown] pores in each anterior band, and 33–60 [unknown] in each posterior band; apex of each pore band without small 8-shaped pores [1 occasionally]; also with 3–7 [3–7] quinquelocular disc-pores near each antenna. Small convex closed pores absent. Multilocular disc-pores, each about 6 µm wide with mostly 10 loculi, distributed as follows: abdominal segment VIII 0 or 1 on each side; VII–III each with 1 or 2 pores submarginally + 0 medially [only a single pore found]; absent more anteriorly and on metathorax. Tubular ducts similar to those on dorsum but narrower; throughout. Ventral setae showing nothing distinctive; preanal setae each 65 µm [90] long; companion setae short. Leg stubs small. Antennae each 40–42 [48] µm long, 43–47 [35] µm wide, without a conical point on apex but with a deep [shallow] setal cavity. Clypeolabral shield about 150 [145] µm long. Spiracles quite large, each peritreme 40–50 [40–45] µm wide.

Comment. The type specimens were far too poor to make a description from but no significant differences could be found between them and those from Java. The description is essentially similar to that in Lambdin and Kosztarab (1977) except that we found a single multilocular disc-pore sometimes present posterior to the vulva, on abdominal segment VIII but this was not found by them. On the assumption that these two lots of material do represent the same species, A. albospicatus is characterised by the presence of: (i) short, finger-like membranous processes along margin; (ii) 8-shaped pores of two or three sizes; (iii) large and intermediate-sized 8-shaped pores about equally frequent in a swirl-like pattern throughout head, thorax and anterior abdominal segments; (iv) each margin of posterior abdominal segments with 8–11 large 8-shaped pores; (v) cribriform plates round, in groups of 2–7 on each side of abdominal segment IV; (vi) stigmatic pore bands with 0 or 1 small 8-shaped pores in each apical group; (vii) posterior stigmatic pore bands bifurcated; (viii) leg stubs small; (ix) multilocular disc-pores very few, restricted to submargins of segments III–VIII; (x) antennae with a setal cavity but no apical cone-like extension, and (xi) posterior seta on ventral surface of each anal lobe stoutly setose.

The adult female of A. albospicatus falls within Group C in the key to species of Antecerococcus , close to A. indicus and A. roseus . All three species are from Sri Lanka and India.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Antecerococcus albospicatus (Green). Adult female.