Periclystus laceratus Gerstaecker, 1888

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 : 279-282

Periclystus laceratus Gerstaecker, 1888

( Figs. 142 , 147–148 )

Periclystus laceratus Gerstaecker, 1888:105 (OD); Esben-Petersen 1915:68 (cit, ill); Esben-Petersen 1918:6 (cit); Esben-Petersen 1923:586 (cit); Stange 1976:307 (cat); New 1985b:3 (key, rd, ill); New 1996:91 (cat); Stange 2004:107 (cat); Oswald 2018 (cat); Winterton et al. 2018 (tree); Machado et al. 2019 (tree).

Diagnosis. Body mostly dark; wings broad, apices strongly falcate; hind wing apex hyaline with several brown marks.

Description. Lengths: forewing: 33–40 mm; hind wing: 30–36 mm.

Head ( Figs. 147 a–b): Labrum brown with margins pale, mainly between labrum and clypeus, set with a line of elongate setae. Clypeus reddish brown to black; set with some elongate black setae. Frons reddish brown to black, except for a rounded pale mark, medially beneath antennae; with some short black setae. Gena reddish brown to black. Vertex strongly raised, pale, and covered with short black. Ocular setae absent. Antennae clubbed; short, about twice longer than pronotum; distance between antennae wider than scape width; scape, pedicel, and two basal flagellomeres reddish brown to black except for pale distal margin of pedicel, nine to ten apical flagellomeres pale to white, remaining flagellomeres brown; torular membrane entirely pale; flagellomeres almost as long as wide at base, apical ones slightly wider than long; all segments set with short black setae. Mandible reddish brown, with internal margin darker (some darker specimens base also black). Palpi, maxillary and labial reddish brown to black with apical labial segment paler; apical labial palpomere fusiform, palpimacula opening oval-shaped, located medially.

Thorax ( Fig. 147b ): Pronotum about as long as wide; posterior margin about as wide as anterior; subapical furrow present; mostly brown with three longitudinal dark brown lines before furrow (darker specimens with pronotum almost entirely dark brown with paler marks at anterior area); covered with short black setae and long setae at margins and medial area. Mesonotum mostly dark brown to black, except for irregular pale marks around midline of each segment; set with some short black setae, and some elongate black setae, generally at prescutum, two longitudinal lines at scutum, and posterior margin of scutellum; posterior margin of scutellum elevate in lateral view. Metanotum dark brown to black with irregular pale marks at scutellum in some specimens, set with few short black setae, posterior margin of scutellum elevated in lateral view. Pterothoracic pleura black, in some specimens anterior sclerites with some irregular pale marks; covered with long black setae; Miller’s organ absent.

Wings ( Fig. 147c ): Broad with tip strongly falcate; anterior Banksian line present in both wings, posterior absent; veins mostly white, but some veins intercalated with brown marks, beset with short black setae. Male pilula axillaris present. Forewing membrane mostly hyaline but with numerous irregular brown areas, mainly at tip, inferior margin, pterostigma, tip of prefork area, around some crossveins, mainly at mediocubital, subcostal, and radial areas; CuA fork located near RP origin; five presectoral crossveins; subcostal veinlets simple; posterior area much wider than prefork area. Hind wing veins mostly white; membrane mostly hyaline except for some irregular brown marks at tip, one at pterostigma, two at radial area, and a large one at rhegmal area; MP fork located near RP origin; subcostal veinlets simple; one presectoral crossvein.

Legs: ( Figs. 147 a–b) All pairs of legs, femur elongate (> 3.5x length of coxa); tibia slightly longer than femur and about twice longer than tarsi; tibial spurs surpassing T2 apex; T3 and T4 about same size, T2 slightly longer than T3, T1 longer than T2, and T5 about twice longer than T1; claws about half of T5 length; all segments set with short black setae, and scattered long setae; T5 ventrally with two rows of thick, long, black setae. Proleg sense hair absent; tibia with antennal cleaning setae ventroapically; coxa and trochanter black, femur dark brown to black except for internal surface pale; tibia brown with two pale rings; tarsi pale, but T3 and tip of T2 sometimes brown. Mesoleg with colour pattern similar to proleg, except for femur dark brown with two pale marks, one at base and other at apex. Metaleg with femur and tibia slightly longer than in other legs; with colour similar to mesoleg, except for femur and tibia pale to white with apex dark brown.

Abdomen: Mostly dark brown except for pale to white tergites basal halves; distal margin of sternites pale; in some specimens sternite 1 entirely pale to white. Beset with black setae.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 148 a–d): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded in lateral view; set with elongate black setae. 9 th sternite short, with posterior margin rounded in ventral view; covered with long black setae. Gonarcus broad, with anterior margin curved in lateral view; in posterior view broad and rounded. Mediuncus curved and acute in lateral view; apex rounded in posterior view. Paramere broad, elongate with apex rounded in lateral view; in posterior view with two acute lobes in ventral margin (external larger); in ventral view with apex divided into two acute expansions (external larger).

Female Terminalia ( Figs. 148 e–f): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded, covered with thin elongate setae. Lateral gonapophyses rounded, smaller than ectoproct, covered with elongate setae. 7 th sternite long, with distal margin straight, in ventral view; covered with long black setae. Pregenital plate small, semi triangular with apex rounded and ventral margin concave in ventral view. Posterior gonapophyses broad, long, and apex wider and rounded, covered with many long black setae and many cavisetae apically. 9 th tergite with a broad membranous digitiform process. Anterior gonapophyses a plate covered with long setae. Ventral membrane gonapophyseal plates present.

Distribution ( Fig. 142 ). Australia: NSW, QLD, SA, VIC*, WA. Known from scattered records across mainland Australia. Based on existing records both P. laceratus and P. circuiter are primarily distributed in the eastern half of Australia. However, the two species appear to prefer different environments, with P. circuiter records mostly in montane areas relatively near the east coast and P. laceratus records further inland.

Adult activity period. Records for October to February.

Biology. Unknown, larva unknown.

Name-bearing type. Periclystus laceratus : Holotype (by implicit monotypy), male, ZIMG, high-resolution images examined. Type locality: Australia. From original description: “(mas.)—Patria: Australia ”. From New (1985): “Types (Greifswald) (not seen)”. From Stange (2004): “Types, Australia (EMAU [today ZIMG])”. Condition: good; right antenna and mesoleg missing. Gerstaecker (1888) did not explicitly state the number of specimens in the type series; here, we accept the ZIMG specimen as a holotype by implicit monotypy.

Additional material examined (4♂, 14♀). AUSTRALIA: New South Wales: 80 mi W of Bourke , 31.x.1967, R. McInnes (1♀, ANIC) ; Lake Mungo : 33.44S– 141.59E, 22.ii.1998, C. Reid (1♀, ANIC) ; Nombinnie Nature Reserve: 18 air km SSE Mount Hope , 160m, 32.99613 oS– 145.94006 oE ± 70m, 3.i.2013, M.V., Oswald, Diehl & Machado, Oswald #626 (2♀, TAMU) ; South Australia: Highway 1 pulloff, 1.6 air km ENNE of Kimba , 220m, 33.12763 oS– 136.43115 oE ± 80m, 12.xii.2012, M.V., Oswald, Diehl & Machado, Oswald #600 (1♀, TAMU) ; Orro- roo: 20.xii.1943, Gray (1♀, SAMA) ; Pinkawillinie : xi.1995 (1♂, SAMA) ; Weetaratank : 27 km E Wirrulla, xi.1995 (2♀, SAMA) ; Queensland: Carnarvon Range : 20.xii.1938, N. Geary (1♂, AMSA) ; Clermont : 15.ii.1924, E. J.D. (1♂, ANIC) ; 66 mi W of Emerald , 29.xi.1965, A. Mesa & R. Sandulski (1♀, ANIC) ; Gilruth Plains : 15.xii.1963, A.L. Dyce (1♀, ANIC) ; 55 km NNE of Injune , 23.xi.1986, M.S. & B.J. Moulds (1♂, AMSA) ; Selwyn Mine : 160 km SE of Mount Isa, 2.i.1992, T. Woodger (1♀, ANIC) ; Stonehenge : 16.x.1968, G. Monteith (2♀, QMBA) ; Victoria: Murray-Sunset National Park : - 34.63207 o– 141.97935 o, 10.i.2010, S. Winterton (1♀, CSCA) .

Comments. See Comments for P. aureolatus .

Figures

FIGURE 142. Distribution of Periclystus species.

FIGURE 147. Periclystus laceratus: a) head, anterior; b) head and thorax, dorsal; c) wings, dorsal.

FIGURE 148. Periclystus laceratus: male: a) terminalia, lateral; b) genitalia, lateral; c) genitalia, posterior; d) genitalia, ventral; female: e) terminalia, lateral; f) 7th sternite and pregenital plate (hidden beneath sternite), ventral. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.