Megagonoleon cahillensis (New, 1985)

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 : 198-201

Megagonoleon cahillensis (New, 1985) , new combination

( Figs. 92 , 97–98 )

http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ DFC7356F-AD1A-4D18-9D42-8AFE8B911952

Glenoleon cahillensis New, 1985b:55 (OD); New 1996:81 (cat); Stange 2004:103 (cat); Oswald 2018 (cat).

Diagnosis. Fons mostly black; hind wing with a large rhegmal infuscation; pronotum: posterior margin as wide as anterior margin; female ectoproct without cavisetae; male paramere with apex strongly bent in ventral view.

Description. Lengths: forewing: 27–31mm; hind wing: 24–29 mm.

Head ( Figs. 97 a–b): Labrum and clypeus pale; set with a line of elongate pale setae. Frons black, except for ventral margin pale; set with short pale setae. Gena pale. Vertex raised; in anterior view mostly pale with two small transverse dark brown marks laterally, and a small medial line; in dorsal view mostly pale with a central longitudinal dark brown line and three rounded marks on posterior border; set with short black setae. Ocular setae absent. Antennae clubbed; elongate,> 2x length of pronotum; distance between antennae wider than scape width; all segments brown, except for four subapical pale segments; torular membrane pale; flagellomeres almost as long as wide at base, apical ones wider than long; scape and pedicel covered with short white setae, flagellomeres set with short black setae. Mandibles mostly pale, with tip black. Palpi, maxillary and labial pale with dark brown marks on each basal segment and around palpimacula; apical labial palpomere fusiform, palpimacula opening oval-shaped, located medially.

Thorax ( Fig. 97b ): Pronotum longer than wide; posterior margin as wide as anterior; subapical furrow present; mostly pale with black areas as follows: a broad dark mark anterior to furrow, three longitudinal lines posterior to furrow, lateral lines enclosing a pale line medially; beset with short black setae and few long white setae at margins. Mesonotum mostly black, with some pale longitudinal marks specially at scutum; covered with short black setae. Metanotum mostly black, except for two large pale marks on prescutum. Pterothoracic pleura mostly black with scattered pale marks on ventral sclerites; covered with white setae; Miller’s organ present.

Wings ( Fig. 97c ): Fairly broad; anterior Banksian line present in both wings, posterior absent. Veins mostly brown, but some veins intercalated with pale spots, beset with short black setae. Male pilula axillaris present. Forewing membrane hyaline with small infuscations on rhegmal area, around some crossveins particularly at radial area, and at forks in posterior and apical margins; pterostigma light brown; CuA fork located near RP origin; three presectoral crossveins; subcostal veinlets simple, few distal ones forked; posterior area narrower than prefork area. Hind wing membrane hyaline, with a large rhegmal infuscation and small marks at hypostigmatic cell; MP fork located near RP origin; subcostal veinlets simple; one presectoral crossvein.

Legs ( Figs. 97 a–b): All pairs of legs, femur elongate (> 3.5x length of coxa); tibia and femur about same size, but almost twice longer than tarsi; tibial spurs surpassing T1 apex; T2, T3 and T4 about same size, T1 longer than T2, T5 twice longer than T1; claws about half of T5 length; coxa, trochanter and femur set with many short white setae, femur, tibia and tarsi set whit short black setae and scattered long black setae; T5 ventrally with two rows of thick, long, black setae. Proleg sense hair absent; tibia with antennal cleaning setae ventroapically; coxa pale with some dark brown marks, trochanter pale, femur pale but tip and a medial mark on dorsal surface dark brown, tibia pale with three dark brown rings, one at apex, and two at basal half, T1 and T2 pale remaining tarsi areas dark brown. Mesoleg with same colour pattern of proleg. Metaleg with femur and tibia slightly longer than in other legs; all segments pale except for apex of femur, tibia and t5, dark brown.

Abdomen: Tergites mostly dark brown with two squared pale marks at base. Sternites mostly pale but with dark brown marks on distal segments. Beset with short white setae.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 98 a–c): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded in lateral view; set with elongate black setae. 9 th sternite posterior margin with tip rounded and elongate; set with elongate black setae. Gonarcus, arched, thin and “C” shaped in lateral view thin. Mediuncus long and broad in posterior view, with apex curved in lateral view. Paramere in ventral view with ventral area wide, rounded and covered with short black setae; dorsal area thinner with apex strongly bent and acute; in lateral view with anterior area large and rounded.

Female Terminalia ( Figs. 98 d–e): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded, set with thin elongate setae and few thickened setae ventrally. Lateral gonapophyses rounded, about same size as ectoproct, beset with elongate cavisetae. 9 th tergite in lateral view with dorsal margin narrow, and set with thickened setae on ventral area. 7 th sternite long with distal margin straight, in ventral view; covered with black setae. Pregenital plate large and transverse, with anterior margin rounded and posterior curved medially in ventral view. Posterior gonapophyses thin, elongate, covered with black setae. 9 th tergite with a short membranous digitiform process. Anterior gonapophyses absent. Ventral membrane gonapophyseal plates present.

Distribution ( Fig. 92 ). Australia: NT, QLD*. Known from sparse records in north-central and northeastern Australia

Adult activity period. Records for March to May.

Biology. Unknown, larva unknown.

Name-bearing type. Glenoleon cahillensis : Holotype (by original designation), female, ANIC, examined. Type locality: Australia, Northern Territory, 10 km NE of Mount Cahill (hill). From original description: “ Holotype, ♀, Northern Territory, 12 o 51’S., 132 o 47’E., 10 km E. by N. Mt Cahill, 22.v.1973, M. S. Upton and R. S. McInnes ( ANIC)”. Condition: good, right metaleg missing, terminalia dissected. The two paratypes (2 males; not a male and a female as stated by New) were also examined for this study.

Additional material examined (3♂, 6♀). AUSTRALIA: Northern Territory: Koongarra : 15 km E of Mount Cahill , 12.52S– 132.50E, 24.iii.1973, M.S. Upton (1♀, ANIC) ; 70 mi ESE of Kununurra (WA), UV light, 17.iv.1966, N. McFarland (1♀, SAMA) ; 10 km E of Mount Cahill , 12 o 51’S., 132 o 47’E., 22.v.1973, M.S. Upton and R.S. Mc- Innes (2♂ PT, ANIC, 1♂, FSCA); 6 km SW by S of Oenpelli , 12.22S– 133.01E, 30.iii.1973, M.S. Upton & R.S. McInnes (3♀, ANIC) ; Queensland: 20 km S of Emerald , 24.iv.1994, M.S. Moulds (1♀, AMSA) .

Comments. Megagonoleon cahillensis is closely associated with M. newi n. sp. Despite the differences in the body colour pattern, the overall shape of the male terminalia is very similar, particularly the gonarcus. 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 92. Distribution of Megagonoleon species (part).

FIGURE 97. Megagonoleon cahillensis: a) head, anterior; b) head and thorax, dorsal; c) wings, dorsal.

FIGURE 98. Megagonoleon cahillensis: male: a) terminalia, lateral; b) genitalia, lateral; c) genitalia, posteroventral; female: d) terminalia, lateral; e) 7th sternite and pregenital plate, ventral. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.