Antecerococcus bryoides (Maskell)

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 : 130

Antecerococcus bryoides (Maskell) , revived comb.

Planchonia bryoides Maskell 1894: 84 .

Asterolecanium bryoides (Maskell) ; Cockerell 1896: 328. Change of combination. Phenacobryum bryoides (Maskell) ; Cockerell 1902: 114. Change of combination. Antecerococcus bryoides (Maskell) ; Fernald 1903: 58. Change of combination. Cerococcus bryoides (Maskell) ; Green 1908: 15. Change of combination.

Corococcus bryoides (Maskell) ; Ramakrishna Ayya, 1919: 92. Misspelling of genus name. Cerococcus bryoïdes (Maskell) ; Balachowsky, 1932: 34. Misspelling of species name.

Type details. FIJI, on undetermined host, by R.L. Holmes. Depositories: NZAC: syntypes: Planchonia bryoides , adf, 1893, W.M.M. (labelled paratypes but see below): 1/1adf; as previous but labelled spinnerets and tubercles; as previous but labelled larvae embryonic; as previous, labelled larvae after hatching. USNM: syntype slides: 2/4adff (labelled paratypes but see below).

Note: Lambdin and Kosztarab (1977) state they examined paratypes, but Maskell did not designate holotypes (Deitz & Tocker 1980) and Miller et al. (2005a) also point out that there is no holotype and so the original type material should be considered syntypic. Also note that the specimens that were deposited in the Cawthron Institute, Nelson, New Zealand, were transferred to NZAC.

Material studied. Antecerococcus bryoides Green , AUSTRALIA, coll. W.W. Maskell (BMNH): 1/2adff (f-g). COOK Is., Rarotonga, on Fitchia sp. (Asteraceeae), no date, L.J. Dumbleton (BMNH): 3/6adff (mainly g). FIJI, Viti Levu, on Capsicum sp. (Solonaceae), 18.iii.1975, J. Ulvin Aceva (BMNH): 1/2adff (g).

Comment. Lambdin and Kosztarab (1977) mention literature records of this species from China and India. In the absence of specimens, these records were considered dubius by Williams and Watson (1990) and are here considered likely to be misidentifications, probably of either A. indicus (Maskell) or A. roseus (Green) . Both of the latter species are known from both countries and are morphologically similar, with all three species falling within Group C in the key above. These species differ mainly as follows: (i) A. bryoides lacks multilocular disc-pores altogether, whilst A. indicus and A. roseus have a few submarginally on most abdominal segments, and (ii) A. bryoides lacks leg stubs whilst the other two species have well-developed leg stubs. We here consider, therefore, that this species does not occur within the main geographical area covered by this paper. Good descriptions and illustrations can be found in Lambdin and Kosztarab (1977) and Williams and Watson (1990).

The adult female of A. bryoides is characterised by the following combination of character-states: (i) 8-shaped pores of three sizes present on dorsum; (ii) large 8-shaped pores sparse, in loose swirls throughout dorsum anterior to cribriform plates; (iii) 8-shaped pores absent from within apices of stigmatic pore bands; (iv) posterior abdominal segments with about seven or eight large 8-shaped pores along each margin; (v) cribriform plates in three submedial groups of two plates on each side of body, with anterior pair on about abdominal segment III and posterior two pairs in submedial groups on segment IV; (vi) leg stubs absent; (vii) posterior stigmatic bands bifurcated; (viii) multilocular disc-pores entirely absent, and (ix) stigmatic pore bands narrow and not expanding much at apex.

The adult female of A. bryoides falls within Group C in the key to species of Antecerococcus and keys out close to A. echinatus from China and A. stellatus from Australia.