Megagonoleon annulatus ( Esben-Petersen, 1918 ) Machado & Oswald, 2020

Machado, Renato Jose Pires & Oswald, John David, 2020, Morphological phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the former antlion subtribe Periclystina (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Dendroleontinae), Zootaxa 4796 (1), pp. 1-322 : 186-190

Megagonoleon annulatus ( Esben-Petersen, 1918) , new combination

( Figs. 90–92 )

http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ 08BEC04A-0BB4-45FB-8CBC-4AA00BB4867E

Glenoleon annulatus Esben-Petersen, 1918:7 (OD); Esben-Petersen 1923:586 (cit); Stange 1976:304 (cat); New 1985b:50 (key, rd, ill); New 1996:81 (cat); Whittington 2002:382 (cit); Stange 2004:102 (cat); Oswald 2018 (cat).

Diagnosis. Forewing broad; body mostly orange; tibial spurs present; frons with a small dark mark beneath the eyes; posterior gonapophysis short and narrow; pregenital plate large and conically invaginated.

Description. Lengths: forewing: 28–32 mm; hind wing: 26–29 mm.

Head ( Figs. 90 a–b): Labrum pale; with a line of white setae. Clypeus pale; with few elongate white setae. Frons orange to pale except by a transverse dark brown line below antennae, which extends to area between antennae (some specimens the line is reduced to small brown marks below antennae); set with short white setae. Gena pale to orange. Vertex raised; in anterior view mostly orange to pale with a small medial longitudinal dark brown line and two rounded dark brown spots on each side; in dorsal view mostly orange to pale with a central longitudinal dark brown line, and three rounded dark marks on posterior border; vertex mostly covered with short black setae. Ocular setae absent. Antennae clubbed; elongate, about three times longer than pronotum; distance between width; all segments orange but posterior surface slightly darker; torular membrane orange; flagellomeres almost as long as wide at base, apical ones much wider than long; scape, pedicel and two basal flagellomeres covered with short white setae, remaining flagellomeres set with short black setae. Mandibles pale with tip black. Palpi, maxillary and labial entirely pale to orange but area around palpimacula darker; apical labial palpomere fusiform, palpimacula opening oval-shaped, located medially.

Thorax ( Fig. 90b ): Pronotum slightly wider than long; posterior margin as wide as anterior; subapical furrow present; mostly orange except by small dark spots on setal base, and some larger dark brown marks as follows: a central and two lateral curved marks on posterior region, two small marks at furrow and other two on medial an- terior area; beset with short black setae, and some long black and white setae on margins. Mesonotum orange with small dark rounded spots on setal bases, and some irregular larger dark brown marks on medial area, and two small longitudinal lateral lines at scutum; covered with short black setae, and some long white setae in some specimens. Metanotum very similar to mesonotum, but dark areas concentrated at scutum medial area and border of scutellum. Pterothoracic pleura orange with scattered dark brown spots on anterodorsal sclerites; covered with long white setae; Miller’s organ present.

Wings ( Fig. 90c ): Broad; anterior Banksian line present in both wings, posterior absent; veins orange but intercalated with brown spots, beset with short black setae. Male pilula axillaris present. Forewing membrane hyaline; CuA fork located near RP origin; three presectoral crossveins; subcostal veinlets simple, but few distal crossveins forked; posterior area about as wide as prefork area at CuA fork level; pterostigma pale. Hind wing membrane hyaline, except by a small rhegmal mark; MP fork located near RP origin; subcostal veinlets simple; one presectoral crossvein.

Legs ( Figs. 90 a–b): All pairs of legs, femur elongate (near three times longer than coxa); tibia about as long as femur, but about twice longer than tarsi; tibial spurs long, extending over T1 apex; T3 and T4 about same size, T2 slightly longer than T3, T1 longer than T2, T5 longer than T1; claws longer than half of T5 length. Proleg coxa orange with small black marks on posterior surface, covered with elongate white setae; trochanter orange, covered with short white setae; femur mostly orange, except by two brown areas on dorsal surface (an apical and a medial), covered with short white setae, few black setae and scattered long white setae, sense hair short, about as long as femur width; tibia orange but dorsal surface intercalated with three brown marks, covered with many short black setae, few short white setae, and scattered long white setae; tarsi mostly orange but T3, T4 and tip of T5 dark brown, covered with short black setae, T5 ventrally with two rows of thick, long, black setae. Mesoleg very similar to proleg, except for coxa entirely orange. Metaleg with femur and tibia slightly longer than in other legs; all segments orange, except for dark brown tip of tibia, T3, T4 and T5; long setae on tibia are black.

Abdomen: Sternites orange with few irregular brown marks. First abdominal tergite orange with lateral area brown; second tergite mostly brown with few orange marks; remaining tergites with basal halves orange and distal halves brown (some specimens the orange areas have few irregular brown marks). Beset with short black setae, and some short white setae on basal sternites.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 91 a–e): Ectoproct large and with posterior margin rounded in lateral view, set with elongate black setae. 9 th tergite large, in lateral view with ventral margin rounded and elongate, covering part of the 9 th sternite. 9 th sternite posterior margin medially straight with lateral areas rounded in ventral view; set with long black setae. Gonarcus with anterior margin elongate and straight in posterior view. Mediuncus broad and elongate in lateral and posterior view, tip straight. Paramere reduced, hidden behind mediuncus in posterior view, in lateral view vertically elongate with tip more sclerotized.

Female Terminalia ( Figs. 91 f–g): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded, set with thin elongate setae and some elongate cavisetae ventrally. Lateral gonapophyses rounded, about same size as ectoproct, beset with elongate cavisetae. 9 th tergite set with few elongate cavisetae. 7 th sternite very long with distal margin medially elongate in ventral view (size of elongation varies in different specimens); covered with short black setae, and few thickened setae on elongation tip. Pregenital plate a long conically invaginated sclerotized structure, in lateral view with tip rounded and curved dorsally. Posterior gonapophyses mostly reduced as a small, thin lobe; covered with short setae in some specimens. 9 th tergite without membranous digitiform process. Anterior gonapophyses absent. Ventral membrane gonapophyseal plates absent, with numerous short black setae.

Distribution ( Fig. 92 ). Australia: NT, QLD, WA. Known from sparse records across northern Australia. We have re-examined many of New’s (1985b) records for M. annulatus and found them to belong to other species (often M. banksi ). Here, we list (and map) only specimens that we have examined and confirmed. In particular, we were not able to confirm New’s record of the presence of this species in South Australia.

Adult activity period. Records from July to September.

Biology. Unknown, larva unknown.

Name-bearing type. Glenoleon annulatus : Holotype (by explicit monotypy), female, NHRS, high-resolution images examined. Type locality: Australia, Queensland, Cape York (peninsula). From original description: “One specimen in alcohol from Cape York, Queensland ”. From New (1985b): “ Holotype, ♀ (in alcohol), Queensland, Cape York (Stockholm) (seen)”. Condition: in alcohol, good; terminalia dissected.

Additional material examined (1♂, 13♀). AUSTRALIA: Northern Territory: Border Waterhole: Margaret Station , 27.viii.1967 (1♀, ANIC) ; West from Camooweal (QLD): 20.vii.1968, K. Armstrong (1♀, ANIC) ; 10 km SE of Finke , 30.ix.1972 (1♀, FSCA) ; Queensland: Cloncurry District : 1940 (1♀, MVM) ; Kundala : (1♀, MVM) ; Mount Isa : 7.viii.1947 (1♀, MVM) ; Western Australia: Carson escarpment: 14.49S– 126.49E, 9–15.viii.1975, IFB Common & MS Upton (1♀, 1♂, ANIC) ; Elvine Station Halls Creek : 1959 (1♀, SAMA) ; Forrest River : 2.viii.1953 (1♀, MVM) ; Kimberley: Margaret Station , 24.viii.1929, IM MacKerras, TG Campbell (1♀, ANIC) ; 8 mi S of Lans- downe Homestead , 12–17.vii.1964, R. Plumb (3♀, ANIC) .

Comments. New (1985b) noted that no males were then known for M. annulatus , and that females exhibited a wide range of variation in frontal markings. However, with the discovery here of the first male, and the study of a larger series of Megagonoleon gen. nov. species and specimens, it is now clear that much of the variation noted by New (1985b) is attributable to misidentifications (particularly of M. banksi ). Despite its superficial similarity with M. banksi , M. annulatus is actually more similar to M. roseipennis and M. punctatus sp. nov., based on the large, conically invaginated, pregenital plate. However, it can be separated from the latter two species based on the presence of the posterior gonapophysis, the shape of the male terminalia, and the markings of the frons. For phylogenetic relationships see Fig. 4 .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Strict consensus tree of morphology-based parsimony analysis of species belonging to the former subtribe Periclystina (ingroup, names in black), and outgroups (names in red). Former Glenoleon species are shown on blue branches, former Austrogymnocnemia species on green branches. Numbers above branches are Bremer support values; numbers below branches are bootstrap values (shown where>50%).

FIGURE 90. Megagonoleon annulatus: a) head, anterior; b) head and thorax, dorsal; c) wings, dorsal.

FIGURE 91. Megagonoleon annulatus: male: a) terminalia, lateral; b) 9th sternite, ventral; c) genitalia, lateral; d) genitalia, posterior; e) genitalia, ventral; female: f) terminalia, lateral; g) 7th sternite and pregenital plate (hidden beneath sternite), ventral. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 92. Distribution of Megagonoleon species (part).