Culicoides (Culicoides) selandicus Nielsen, Kristensen & Pape, 2015

Nielsen, Soren Achim, Kristensen, Michael & Pape, Thomas, 2015, Three new Scandinavian species of Culicoides (Culicoides): Culicoidesboyi sp. nov., Culicoidesselandicus sp. nov. and Culicoideskalix sp. nov. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Biodiversity Data Journal 3, pp. 5823-5823 : 5823

Culicoides (Culicoides) selandicus Nielsen, Kristensen & Pape, 2015 sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: sex: Female; lifeStage: Adult; preparations: Slide (euparal); Taxon: order: Diptera; family: Ceratopogonidae; genus: Culicoides; subgenus: Culicoides; specificEpithet: selandicus; scientificNameAuthorship: Nielsen, Kristensen & Pape, 2015; Location: continent: Europe; country: Denmark; countryCode: DK; county: Næstved; verbatimCoordinates: 55°11'20.15''N, 11°47'58.61''E; Event: samplingProtocol: UV-light suction trap; eventDate: 2008-07-08; year: 2008; month: 07; day: 08; Record Level: institutionCode: ZMUC

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: sex: Female; lifeStage: Adult; preparations: Slide (euparal); Taxon: order: Diptera; family: Ceratopogonidae; genus: Culicoides; subgenus: Culicoides; specificEpithet: selandicus; scientificNameAuthorship: Nielsen, Kristensen & Pape, 2015; Location: continent: Europe; country: Denmark; countryCode: DK; county: Næstved; verbatimCoordinates: 55°11'20.15''N, 11°47'58.61''E; Event: samplingProtocol: UV-light suction trap; eventDate: 2008-07-08; year: 2008; month: 07; day: 08; Record Level: institutionCode: ZMUC

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: sex: Female; lifeStage: Adult; preparations: Slide (euparal); Taxon: order: Diptera; family: Ceratopogonidae; genus: Culicoides; subgenus: Culicoides; specificEpithet: selandicus; scientificNameAuthorship: Nielsen, Kristensen & Pape, 2015; Location: continent: Europe; country: Denmark; countryCode: DK; county: Næstved; verbatimCoordinates: 55°11'20.15''N, 11°47'58.61''E; Event: samplingProtocol: UV-light suction trap; eventDate: 2008-07-08; year: 2008; month: 07; day: 08; Record Level: institutionCode: ZMUC

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: sex: Female; lifeStage: Adult; preparations: Slide (euparal); Taxon: order: Diptera; family: Ceratopogonidae; genus: Culicoides; subgenus: Culicoides; specificEpithet: selandicus; scientificNameAuthorship: Nielsen, Kristensen & Pape, 2015; Location: continent: Europe; country: Denmark; countryCode: DK; county: Næstved; verbatimCoordinates: 55°11'20.15''N, 11°47'58.61''E; Event: samplingProtocol: UV-light suction trap; eventDate: 2008-07-08; year: 2008; month: 07; day: 08; Record Level: institutionCode: ZMUC

Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: sex: Female; lifeStage: Adult; preparations: Slide (euparal); Taxon: order: Diptera; family: Ceratopogonidae; genus: Culicoides; subgenus: Culicoides; specificEpithet: selandicus; scientificNameAuthorship: Nielsen, Kristensen & Pape, 2015; Location: continent: Europe; country: Denmark; countryCode: DK; county: Næstved; verbatimCoordinates: 55°11'20.15''N, 11°47'58.61''E; Event: samplingProtocol: UV-light suction trap; eventDate: 2008-07-08; year: 2008; month: 07; day: 08; Record Level: institutionCode: ZMUC

Description

Female: Eyes bare and contiguous dorsally (Fig. 2a), length of contact divided by diameter of one ocellus = 1.5 ± 0.8. Length of antennal flagellum 616.3 ± 10 μm, antennal ratio (AR: length of flagellomeres 9-13 divided by length of flagellomeres 1-8) = 1.12 ± 0.04, number of sensilla coeloconica = 12.29 ± 0.95. First flagellomere with 3.65 ± 0.70 sensilla coeloconica (Fig. 2b). First flagellomere ratio (length divided by width) = 1.56 ± 0.11 (Fig. 2b). Maxillary palp ratio (PR: length/width of third palpal segment) = 3.2 ± 0.3 (Fig. 2c), P3/P2 (length of third palpal segment divided by length of second) = 0.96 ± 0.06 (Fig. 2c). Numbers of mandibular and maxillary teeth = 15.0 ± 1.0 and 19.6 ± 1.5, respectively. Ratio of mandibular vs. maxillary teeth (M/M) = 1.31 ± 0.12. Head height/proboscis length ratio (H/P) = 1.16 ± 0.06.

Wing length 1,339 ± 33 μm (Fig. 2d, e). The dark hourglass-shaped mark in the centre of cell r3 is broadest above the longitudinal fold above M1. The dark areas on the wing are extensive and encompassing vein M1 and sometimes M2. Small pale spots may be found at the tip of veins M1 and M2. Wing with a large dark spot in cell cu separated from the dark areas bordering Cu1 and Cu2 (Fig. 2d, e).

Spermathecae not observed.

Male: Unknown.

Etymology

The species epithet refers to the name of the major Danish island Sjælland (Latin = Selandia; English = "Zealand" or more rarely "Sealand"), where the type series was collected.

Distribution

Palaearctic - Denmark (Zealand).

Taxon discussion

Culicoides selandicus may be confused with C. kalix but differs habitually by the extensive dark areas on the wings. The head/proboscis ratio of C. selandicus (1.16 ± 0.06) is smaller than in C. kalix (1.29 ± 0.07), although a small overlap should be expected when more specimens are measured. The average number of antennal sensilla coeloconica (12.29 ± 0.95) is higher than in C. kalix (10.70 ± 0.82), and the first flagellomere has a higher average of sensilla (4.1) compared to C. kalix (3.0). The P3/P2 ratio (0.96 ± 0.06) differs from that of C. kalix (0.87 ± 0.08), but with a large overlap. Second maxillary palp segment is about as long as the third, while in C. kalix the second palp segment is longer than the third. Third maxillary palp segment is more slender (PR = 3.2 ± 0.3) than that of C. kalix (PR = 2.9 ± 0.2). Maxillary palp segments four and five of equal length provides a difference from C. kalix , where the fifth palp segment is longer than the fourth. The ratio of mandibular vs. maxillary teeth is significantly higher in C. selandicus (1.31 ± 0.12) than in C. kalix (1.17 ± 0.12).