Melanaspis lilloi Schneider, Claps, Wei, Normark & Normark, 2020

Schneider, Scott A., Claps, Lucia E., Wei, Jiufeng, Normark, Roxanna D. & Normark, Benjamin B., 2020, Five new species of Aspidiotini (Hemiptera, Diaspididae, Aspidiotinae) from Argentina, with a key to Argentine species, ZooKeys 948, pp. 47-73 : 47

Melanaspis lilloi Schneider, Claps, Wei, Normark & Normark sp. nov. Figs 7 , 8

Material examined.

Holotype: Argentina • 1 adult female; Jujuy, 30 km N Humahuaca; 22.97S, 65.39W; 12.II.2002; L. E. Claps, P. Zamudio, L. Diaz-Briz, & P. Cabrera leg.; IFML, L. E. Claps catalog #5-02, #1092 (D0275L). Paratypes: Argentina • 3 adult females; same data as holotype; USNM (D0275H) • 1 adult female; same data as holotype; USNM (D0275G) • 1 adult female; same data as holotype; USNM (D0275K) • 4 adult females; same data as holotype; UMEC (D0275I) • 1 adult female; same data as holotype; UMEC (D0275M) • 4 adult females; same data as holotype; IFML (D0275J) • 1 adult female; Jujuy, Humahuaca, entrada a Iruya; 22.997S, 65.356W; 12.II.2002; L. E. Claps, P. Zamudio, L. Diaz-Briz, & P. Cabrera leg.; IFML, L. E. Claps catalog #15-02 (D0297C).

Description

(N = 16). Adult female presumed to secrete scale cover, not pupillarial. Appearance in life not recorded. Slide-mounted adult female 930-1610 (median 1350, holotype 1610) μm long, 820-1350 (median 1160, holotype 1330) μm wide; broadest near mesothorax. Body outline turbinate. Derm membranous throughout at maturity except for pygidium, which has characteristic dorsal sclerotized areas; sclerotization of these areas unusually heavy, such that paraphyses and basal scleroses of lobes difficult to discern clearly on some specimens. Antennae, simple, each with 1 long seta, distance between antennae 200-330 μm (median 260). Without disc pores near spiracles. Lobes: With 4 pairs of well-developed pygidial lobes, L1-L3 apically rounded and L4 truncate or pointed, notches absent from lobes; L1 slightly wider than long, median lobes separated by narrow space 0.15 times width of L1, with basal sclerosis about 1/2 width of L1 arising from mesal edge; L2 and L3 similar in size and shape, shorter and broader than L1; L4 somewhat variable in shape, truncate or with sloping edges. Paraphyses: Short and clavate, scarcely longer than L1; absent between L1, paraphysis formula 2-2-3 or 2-2-4; 1 interlobular paraphysis near outer corner of L1, 1 attached to inner corner of L2, 1 in interlobular space between L2 and L3, 1 attached to inner and outer corners of L3, 1 narrow paraphysis attached to inner corner of L4 and 2-3 narrow paraphyses in interlobular space between L3 and L4, these often fused into a single complex mass and difficult to count; several paraphysis-like sclerotizations surrounding macroduct orifices present beyond L4. Plates: Apparently absent. Ducts: Dorsal pygidial macroducts of 1-barred type, nearly uniform in size, with minute orifices and long slender ducts, most arranged in distinct furrows between sclerotized areas arising from interlobular spaces; 1 submarginal macroduct orifice immediately anterior to each L1, with ducts extending beyond posterior margin of anal opening; 10-21 (median 16) duct orifices in furrow of first space, originating between L1 and L2 and extending in elongate cluster anteriorly 60-85% of distance to anus, each duct about 120-130 μm in length; 18-40 (median 29) in furrow of second space, originating between L2 and L3 and extending anteriorly to a point laterad or anterolaterad of anus; 3-9 (median 6) on sclerotized area arising from L3; 2-24 (median 15) in furrow of third space, originating between L3 and L4 and extending anteriorly to a point anterolaterad of anus; duct orifices in furrows of second and third spaces membranous, especially towards anterolateral corner of furrow, or surrounded by partial or complete sclerotized ring, especially near posterior end and along medial margin of furrow; submedial clusters of dorsal macroducts present on each pre-pygidial abdominal segment, shorter and narrower than pygidial ducts. Ventral pygidial microducts similar to dorsal macroducts in size and shape and similarly arranged in rows on segments V-VII, 21-44 (median 33) on each side; ventral duct orifices on segment V each surrounded by conspicuous sclerotized ring, degree of sclerotization decreasing towards anterolateral corner of segment; microducts also distributed along head, thorax, and pre-pygidial margins, as well as rows extending from marginal area toward each spiracle. Anal opening: Oval, 20-28 (median 24) μm long, positioned 3.5-6.3 (median 4.6) anal lengths (85-124, median 107 μm) from base of L1, near midpoint of pygidium. Perivulvar pores : Absent.

DNA sequences.

Several DNA sequences of Melanaspis lilloi sp. nov. have been published, including fragments of 4 loci from a paratype (D0275G): 28S, GenBank accession number KY218989.1; EF-1α, MH915714.1 and KY221286.1; CAD, MH915988.1; and COI-II, KY22069.1 and MH916394.1. DNA sequences have also been published for other members of the type series that were ground to powder during DNA preparation; these include sequences of 28S (D0275D, DQ145363.2; D0297A, DQ145362.2 and KY219142.1), EF-1α (D0275D, DQ145475.1; D0297A, DQ145474.1 and KY221295.1), and COI-II (D0275, GQ445417.1; D0297A, GQ425005.1). DNA sequences of the primary bacterial endosymbiont, Uzinura diaspidicola , of M. lilloi sp. nov. have also been published for ground-up individuals of the type series, including fragments of 16S rDNA (D0275, DQ133558.1 and DQ868836.1; D0297A, GQ424858.1) and 23S rDNA (D0275, DQ873248.1).

Informal synonyms.

Specimens from the type series have appeared in several published phylogenetic trees, and have been referred to variously as " Melanaspis sp. nov." ( Gruwell et al. 2005) " Melanaspis sp undesc #2" and " Melanaspis sp undesc #3" ( Gruwell et al. 2007; Morse and Normark 2006; Rugman-Jones et al. 2010), " Melanaspis sp. undesc." ( Gruwell et al. 2009), " Melanaspis sp nov 1" and " Melanaspis sp nov 2" ( Andersen et al. 2010), and " Melanaspis ud0276" ( Schneider et al. 2018; Normark et al. 2019).

Remarks.

This species is very similar to M. targionoides sp. nov. The diagnosis and affinities of M. lilloi sp. nov. are discussed below under the remarks for M. targionoides sp. nov.

Host plant.

Not recorded.

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a noun in the genitive case, meaning "of Lillo". It honors the Instituto Miguel Lillo, academic home of Lucia Claps and the other scientists who first collected the species described in this manuscript.

Distribution.

Argentina (Jujuy).

Figures

Figure 7. Melanaspis lilloi sp. nov. Adult female, full body view, illustrated from the holotype (D 0275 L).

Figure 8. Melanaspis lilloi sp. nov. Adult female, expanded view of pygidium, illustrated from the holotype (D 0275 L).