Megagonoleon lesouefi (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 : 208-211

Megagonoleon lesouefi (New, 1985) , new combination

( Figs. 101 , 104–105 )

http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ ED142502-249F-4F61-B892-54A02B91340D

Glenoleon lesouefi New, 1985b:41 (OD); New 1996:82 (cat); Stange 2004:104 (cat); Oswald 2018 (cat).

Diagnosis. Hind wing apex with a large longitudinal line on posterior margin; pronotum with posterior margin wider than anterior margin; female ectoproct with cavisetae; male gonarcus with ventral area wide in lateral view.

Description. Lengths: forewing: 27–29 mm; hind wing: 25–27 mm.

Head ( Figs. 104 a–b): Labrum pale with small reddish-brown marks; set with a line of elongate setae. Clypeus pale with two large longitudinal reddish-brown bands laterally; set with few elongate pale setae. Frons predominantly pale, except for reddish brown marks beneath antennae, a small central longitudinal black line on ventral half, and a curved black band behind antennae; set with few black setae. Gena pale. Vertex raised; in anterior view pale, with a median reddish-brown mark, and two small lateral transverse reddish-brown marks; in dorsal view mostly pale with two central perpendicular reddish-brown bands; covered with short black setae. Ocular setae absent. Antennae clubbed; elongate,> 2x length of pronotum; distance between antennae as wide as scape; mostly reddish brown except for scape and pedicel light brown; torular membrane reddish brown; flagellomeres almost as long as wide at base, apical ones much wider than long; all segments set with short black setae. Mandibles mostly pale, with tip black. Palpi, maxillary and labial mostly pale, except for labial distal segment, reddish brown; apical labial palpomere fusiform, palpimacula opening oval-shaped, located medially.

Thorax ( Fig. 104b ): Pronotum much longer than wide; posterior margin wider than anterior; subapical furrow present; mostly pale except for three longitudinal reddish-brown bands: a large one at midline, and two thinner and shorter laterally (extending from posterior margin to subapical furrow); beset with many short pale setae and few long setae on anterior margin. Mesonotum mostly reddish brown, with two longitudinal pale bands around midline; covered with short pale setae. Metanotum very similar to mesonotum. Pterothoracic pleura mostly reddish brown with some pale areas mainly on sclerites ventral areas; covered with pale setae; Miller’s organ present.

Wings ( Fig. 104c ): Fairly broad with tip acute; anterior Banksian line present in both wings, posterior absent; veins mostly light brown, but some veins intercalated with white spots, beset with short black setae. Male pilula axillaris present. Forewing membrane mostly hyaline with brown marks concentrated on apical margins and pterostigma; CuA fork located near RP origin; three presectoral crossveins; subcostal veinlets simple; posterior area narrower than prefork area. Hind wing membrane mostly hyaline except for a large brown band at apical ventral margin and brown marks at anterior margin; pterostigma apex white; MP fork located near RP origin; subcostal veinlets simple; one presectoral crossvein.

Legs ( Figs. 104 a–b): All pairs of legs, femur elongate (> 3.5x length of coxa); tibia slightly longer than femur, but about twice longer than tarsi; tibial spurs surpassing T1 apex; T2, T3 and T4 about same size, T1 about twice longer than T2, and T5 about twice longer than T1; claws about half of T5 length; all segments beset with short black setae, and scattered long black setae; T5 ventrally with two rows of thick, long, black setae. Proleg sense absent; tibia with antennal cleaning setae ventroapically; coxa reddish brown with some pale areas on anterior surface, trochanter light brown, femur reddish brown but internal surface pale, tibia mostly reddish brown with three pale rings; tarsi mostly reddish brown, except for base of T1, T2 and T5 pale. Mesoleg with same colour pattern of proleg, except for a subapical pale spot at femur dorsal surface. Metaleg with femur, tibia and T1 slightly longer than in other legs; colour pattern similar to mesoleg, except for tibia with internal surface reddish brown but external pale, and T2 entirely reddish brown.

Abdomen: Reddish brown but basal segments slightly lighter; set with white setae.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 105 a–c): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded in lateral view; set with elongate black setae. 9 th sternite posterior margin rounded in ventral view; set with very long black setae. Gonarcus broad and arched in posterior view; with anterior margin bending downwards in lateral view, ventral area much wider than dorsal area in lateral view. Mediuncus large, broad, with apex straight in posterior view but curved in lateral view. Paramere large and very sclerotized, dorsal region rounded and ventral region curving laterally in posterior view; in lateral view with a medial posterior lobe.

Female Terminalia ( Figs. 105 d–e): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded set with thin elongate setae and some cavisetae ventrally. Lateral gonapophyses rounded, same size as ectoproct, beset with cavisetae. 9 th tergite with few thickened setae ventrally in lateral view. 7 th sternite distal border with a small concavity to fit the pregenital plate in ventral view; covered with black setae. Pregenital plate as large concave transverse bar in ventral view. Posterior gonapophyses thin, elongate, covered with short black setae. 9 th tergite with a short membranous digitiform process. Anterior gonapophyses absent. Ventral membrane gonapophyseal plates present.

Distribution ( Fig. 101 ). Australia: QLD. Known only from the Cape York peninsula of northern Queensland.

Adult activity period. Records for May, June, and July; perhaps an unusual late fall/early winter emerging species.

Biology. Unknown, larva unknown.

Name-bearing type. Glenoleon lesouefi : Holotype (by original designation), female, MVM, examined. Type locality: Australia, Queensland, 16 km N of Coen (town), Hann River . From original description: “ Holotype, ♀, Queensland, Hann R. 10 miles N. Coen, 27.vi.1970, J. C. Le Souëf ( MVM)”. Condition: good, left antenna, pro- and mesoleg missing; terminalia dissected.

Additional material examined (5♂, 2♀). AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 6 km NW of Laura , 15 o 31’12’’S– 144 o 25’25’’E, 30.v.1998, MV, JD Oswald (1♂, TAMU) ; Coen : 15 km S of Yarraden , 27–28.vi.1975, S.R. Monteith (3♂, 2♀ PT; ANIC) ; Telegraph Crossing: Cape York Peninsula , Dulhunty R., 2–4.vii.1973, S. R. Monteith (1♂ PT; ANIC) .

Comments. Megagonoleon lesouefi appears to be restricted to the forested areas of northern QLD and can be easily distinguished from the other species of the Periclystus genus group by its elongate pronotum and hind wing markings. However, the overall shape of both the male and female terminalia indicate a close relationship with the other two species of the cahillensis species group ( 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 101. Distribution of Megagonoleon species (part).

FIGURE 104. Megagonoleon lesouefi: a) head, anterior; b) head and thorax, dorsal; c) wings, dorsal.

FIGURE 105. Megagonoleon lesouefi: male: a) terminalia, lateral; b) genitalia, lateral; c) genitalia, ventral; female: d) terminalia, lateral; e) 7th sternite and pregenital plate, ventral. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.