Agadirius trojani, Badano, Davide & Pantaleoni, Roberto Antonio, 2012

Badano, Davide & Pantaleoni, Roberto Antonio, 2012, Agadirius trojani gen. et sp. nov.: a new owlfly (Neuroptera: Ascalaphidae) from Morocco, Zootaxa 3270, pp. 51-57 : 53-55

Agadirius trojani sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Very small and dark ascalaphid; body almost totally black with many long white setae; forewing hyaline, hind wing with the costal and radial areas blackish ( Fig. 1 ).

Description. Size. Body length 18.2 mm; forewing length 16.8 mm, ratio length–width 3.13; hind wing length 12.2 mm, ratio length–width 2.72; antenna length 13.3 mm; abdomen length 10.5 mm.

Head. Vertex and occiput black, thickly covered by long white and grey setae; frons black, almost hidden by a thick covering of white and grey setae; clypeus black with a paler edge; labrum dark brown with a paler edge; genae hairless; mandible dark brown, maxillary palpi dark brown, labial palpi almost black; antennae almost as long as the distance between the forewing base and the pterostigma; scape black; flagellum black, hairless; external half of the club black, internal half white.

Thorax. Pronotum short, black, covered by long white setae; mesonotum and metanotum black with longer setae on the side, shorter dorsally.

Legs. Black except some brown rings at the articulation between the femur and the tibia and again near the middle of the tibia, those rings are more evident in the first two legs; spurs and claws black.

FIGURE 4. Wings: A, Agadirius trojani gen. et sp. nov., male holotypus; B, P. maculatus (Olivier, 1789) , male; Hérault, France; D. Badano collection. Costa (C), Sub costa (Sc), Radius (R), Radius sector (Rs), Media (M), Cubitus 1st branch (Cu1), Cubitus 2nd branch (Cu2), 1st Anal (1A).

Wings. Forewing noticeably longer than the hind wing; venation black or dark brown; pterostigma dark brown, similar in shape in both wings; forewing membrane completely hyaline except a small dark area at the base hind wing heavily marked with brown along the area of the costa, subcosta, radius and radius sector (the anterior/ distal half of the wing obliquely subdivided), the dark pigmentation of the membrane extends from the longitudinal and transverse veins giving it a reticulated appearance more evident toward the apex; the median, cubital and anal areas totally hyaline, except at the base; dark base of both wings with long, black setae ( Figs. 1 , 4A).

Abdomen. Black, extensively covered by fine white setae, longer along the pleural area; tergites and sternites black; tergites 3 – 7 with a small brown spot at the posterior edge.

Male genitalia. Ninth tergite black with a light brown inferior edge; ectoproct not forcipate, oval in shape, dark in color except a light brown area at the inferior margin, covered by long robust dark setae ( Fig. 2 ); ninth sternite with a round ventral apex ( Fig. 3 D), totally black except a light brown area at the superior edge; gonarcus archlike, surrounding the dorsal surface of the paramere ( Fig. 3 B); paramere tubular, smooth, their caudal portion sclerotized with an irregular surface pattern ( Fig. 3 ); pelta distinct; pulvini small, slightly protruding, covered by sparse, short gonosetae ( Fig. 3 B).

Type material. Holotype 1 ɗ pinned, genitalia preserved in glycerol, labeled: MOROCCO –SW., \ Anti–Atlas Mts., Tafraoute prov., \ Aït Mansour Valley, Douar Tizght \ Ilja Trojan leg. 21–24.v.2009. \\ Agadirius trojani g. nov. sp. nov. \ Badano & Pantaleoni 2012 \ HOLOTYPUS ( Fig. 1 )

Type depository. Museo civico di Storia naturale “Giacomo Doria”, via Brigata Liguria 9, I–16121 Genova GE, Italy.

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to Ilja Trojan, Czech entomologist, who collected the only known specimen.

Type locality with ecological remarks. The type locality (29°32'54.83"N 8°52'49.33"O), situated near Aït Mansour in the Anti–Atlas Mountains, is a small, deep valley where a small clear stream flows surrounded by date palms ( Fig. 5 ). The slopes of the valley are bare and rocky, with sparse vegetation constituted by low scrub and herbs. The specimen was observed on the slope of the valley flying very fast, hardly noticeable, around midday in very hot weather (Trojan pers. comm.).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Agadirius trojani gen. et sp. nov., habitus of the male holotypus.

FIGURE 5. Aït Mansour Valley, Douar Tizght (Morocco), locus typicus of Agadirius trojani (photo I. Trojan).

FIGURES 2 & 3. 2. Agadirius trojani gen. et sp. nov., male abdomen in situ, lateral view. 3. Agadirius trojani gen. et sp. nov., A, male genitalia, lateral view; B, male genitalia everted, lateral view; C, male genitalia, dorsal view; D, male genitalia, ventral view. Ectoproct (ep), parameres (pa), gonarcus (gs), pulvini (pv).