Protortonia azteca (Ferris) Williams & Gullan, 2008

Williams, D. J. & Gullan, P. J., 2008, A revision of the Neotropical scale insect genus Protortonia Townsend (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Monophlebidae: Llaveiini), Journal of Natural History 42 (1 - 2), pp. 77-128 : 89-94

Protortonia azteca (Ferris) comb. nov.

( Figures 1 , 2 )

Marchalina azteca Ferris, 1925:230 . Syntypes, Mexico, Mexico City, on Pinus teocote (Ruelas) (BME) .

Adult female ( Figure 1 )

Body on microscope slide membranous, broadly oval, 4.90–9.25 mm long, 1.60– 4.55 mm wide, thoracic margins sometimes sub-parallel. Eyes each 170–210 Mm long, 130–150 Mm wide. Antennae each 11-segmented (rarely 10-segmented on one side of body), 1400–1830 Mm long, apical segment 200–275 Mm long, 90–120 Mm wide; all antennal segments with flagellate setae 50–210 Mm long, longest on segments VI and VII; fleshy setae on apical segment each 50–60 Mm long. Legs well developed; hind coxa 210–330 Mm long, hind trochanter + femur 870–1220 Mm long, hind tibia 740– 930 Mm long, hind tarsus 390–480 Mm long; ratio of lengths of hind tibia + tarsus to hind trochanter +femur 1.13–1.34; ratio of lengths of hind tibia to tarsus 1.89–2.00; claws each 140–160 Mm long, with 3 or 4 minute denticles, and with paired digitules shorter than claw; distal trochanteral setae each 375–450 Mm long; inner tibial setae robust, each mostly 40–70 Mm long, distal setae each about 75 Mm long; outer flagellate tibial setae each 124–150 Mm long. Remains of clypeolabral shield and labium barely discernible. Mesothoracic spiracles each 240–360 Mm long, 140– 185 Mm wide. Metathoracic spiracles each 275–325 Mm long, 135–200 Mm wide. Abdominal spiracles each 30–33 Mm wide, 20–25 Mm long. Anal opening about 100–125 Mm long but usually distorted when mounted, surrounded by about 40 flagellate setae, each about 60 Mm long; inner ring of anal tube about 155 Mm wide. Medial cicatrix 300–565 Mm long, 240–300 Mm wide, minutely notched at middle; outer cicatrices reniform, each 215–480 Mm long, 175–285 Mm wide.

Dorsal surface with multilocular disc pores each 10–13 Mm in diameter, mostly with 12–14 outer loculi except around anal opening, each pore usually with 16 outer loculi; pores fairly evenly distributed, about three or four pores deep in submedial areas of each abdominal segment, more scattered on head and thorax. Minute circular pores, each about 5 Mm in diameter and dome-shaped, discernible on most specimens. Setae dense, each mostly 25–40 Mm long, 3.5–5.0 Mm wide at base, with collar 10.0–12.5 Mm wide at base and 5 Mm long; a few more slender setae present, each 2.0–2.5 Mm wide at base; some setae on mid-abdomen thicker, each often about 150 Mm long with collar up to 25 Mm wide at base and 12.5 Mm long; some setae on mid-thorax each about 325 Mm long. Posterior marginal setae on abdominal segment VIII usually present in a group of four or five, each thick at base, 290–460 Mm long, with largest collar about 40 Mm wide at base and 25 Mm long; other marginal setae on abdomen each 190–340 Mm long; longest marginal seta opposite each fore coxa 375– 500 Mm long, longest marginal seta opposite each mid coxa 300–490 Mm long; marginal setae on head each 390–400 Mm long.

Ventral surface with multilocular disc pores similar to those on dorsum, more numerous on abdomen, sparse on mid-thorax, each pore mostly with 12–14 outer loculi, except for those around vulva each usually with 16 outer loculi. Setae similar to those on dorsum but less crowded, slender, each mostly 20–60 Mm long; thicker setae present on mid-abdomen, each about 120 Mm long, and posterior marginal abdominal setae each up to 425 Mm long; some setae on mid-thorax each about 200 Mm long, and on frons and between antennae each seta 150–475 Mm long.

First-instar nymph ( Figure 2 )

Body 0.65–1.35 mm long, 0.35–0.45 mm wide, broadly oval. Eyes each 60–70 Mm long. Antennae each 360–470 Mm long, with 6 segments; apical segment 100–120 Mm long, 40–50 Mm wide; all segments with a few flagellate setae, mostly about 50 Mm long, except on segments V and VI where some setae 75–85 Mm long; fleshy setae on apical antennal segments each 35–45 Mm long. Legs well developed, slender; hind coxa 60–75 Mm long, hind trochanter +femur 190–250 Mm long, hind tibia 210– 260 Mm long, hind tarsus 140–190 Mm long; ratio of lengths of hind tibia + tarsus to hind trochanter +femur 1.73–1.88: ratio of lengths of hind tibia to tarsus 1.32–1.50; claws slender, each 35–45 Mm long, with a single denticle near tip and with a pair of digitules; distal trochanteral setae each 115–150 Mm long; inner and outer tibial and inner tarsal setae each 25–35 Mm long; outer tarsal flagellate setae each 40–50 Mm long. Clypeolabral shield 110–140 Mm long, 100–120 Mm wide. Labium 125–140 Mm long, 100–120 Mm wide. Mesothoracic spiracles each 50–60 Mm long, 30–40 Mm wide. Metathoracic spiracles each 50–60 Mm long, 30–40 Mm wide. Abdominal spiracles each with atrium 3.5–4.0 Mm wide, 6.0–7.5 Mm long. Anal opening 35–40 Mm in diameter; inner ring of anal tube 30–45 Mm wide. Single cicatrix about 30–45 Mm in diameter.

Dorsal surface with quadrilocular and trilocular pores (mostly quadrilocular), each about 5 Mm in diameter, present mainly around margins and near mid-line; usually some quadrilocular pores present at posterior margins. Minute duct-like pores sparsely present near margins of some abdominal segments. Setae varying in shape: a distinctive enlarged setal type, spine-like and constricted near middle, each mostly 20 Mm long, with centre part of each seta minutely nodulose, present in marginal segmental groups and on mid-line; stiff pointed setae, each 15–20 Mm long, also present among groups of spine-like setae and in small submarginal groups; a few slender setae, each about 17 Mm long, associated with some groups of stiff setae. Long posterior marginal abdominal setae with large collars, largest collar about 25 Mm wide at base and 15 Mm long; apical marginal seta on each side of abdominal segment VIII, 350–425 Mm long, thick and flagellate, with collar up to 20 Mm wide and 10–15 Mm long; margins of abdominal segment VII with a pair of similar setae, each 365–590 Mm long, on each side of body, and margins of abdominal segment VI with single seta on each side, each 340–550 Mm long; long, thick flagellate setae present singly on margins of all thoracic segments: on prothorax, each 120–160 Mm long, on mesothorax, each 225–295 Mm long, on metathorax, each 285–440 Mm long.

Ventral surface with quadrilocular and trilocular pores (mostly quadrilocular); sparsely present on margins, and single pores present submedially on each thoracic segment and on abdominal segments II–VII. Slender flagellate setae, each mostly about 30 Mm long, present in mid-region; some, each about 40 Mm long, present near margins; a few longer setae present on head and mid-thorax; setae on abdominal segment VIII thicker, each about 130–165 Mm long, usually present in pairs.

Material examined

Lectotype (here designated): adult female, MEXICO, two slide labels: ‘‘ Marchalina’ ’ and ‘‘ Holotype / Paleococcus / aztecus n. sp. / From Pinus teocote / Mexico City, Mex. / Apr. 1922 / From Prof. Ruelas / G.F. F’’ ( BME). These data match Ferris’ original description exactly, except that Ferris did not specifically mention the holotype (or paratypes) in the description (only ‘‘types’’), and hence we treat all specimens as syntypes. We have chosen the specimen that Ferris labelled ‘‘Holotype’’ as the lectotype; this adult female is 6.9 mm long, 3.7 mm wide, and is missing the tibia and tarsus of the left mid leg .

Paralectotypes: same data as lectotype except labelled ‘‘Paratype’’ instead of ‘‘Holotype’’, three adult females on two slides ( BME) ; same data as lectotype except ‘‘Hatched in lab’’ instead of collection data and collector’s name, 13 first-instar nymphs on two slides ( BME) .

Other material examined: MEXICO, Michoacan, Mts NE [‘‘N’’ on one label] of Aguililla , on trunk of Pinus sp., 19.i.1926 (G.F. Ferris), two adult females on two slides ( BME) ; MEXICO, 30 miles W. Toluca, on Pinus sp., 6.iii.1972 (D. R. Miller and F.D. Parker), five adult females on five slides ( USNM) , one adult female ( BMNH).

Comments

Ferris (1925) described this species in Marchalina Vayssière , the only genus in the Marchalinini (now Marchalinidae ), and defined it as lacking ventral cicatrices on the adult female. Three distinct cicatrices are present posterior to the vulva and the species is regarded herein to be a component of the genus Protortonia , to which it is transferred. On the adult female, dorsal multilocular disc pores are only about four deep in the submedial areas of most abdominal segments and the majority of the dorsal setae are each only about 20–40 Mm long. Most multilocular disc pores on the dorsum and venter contain 12–14 outer loculi, and those around the vulva have about 16 outer loculi. Protortonia azteca is most similar to P. cacti , a species with dorsal and ventral multilocular disc pores mostly containing 16–18 outer loculi, except those around the vulva each have about 22 outer loculi. Adult females of P. azteca also have larger cicatrices and longer inner tibial setae on the hind legs than those of P. cacti .

The first-instar nymph of P. azteca differs from the first-instar nymph of P. navesi in lacking a series of long stout setae around the abdominal margins. It also differs from the first-instar nymph of P. cacti in possessing conspicuously long setae on each thoracic segment, whereas in P. cacti similar long setae are present only on the prothorax. The first-instar nymph of P. azteca is also similar to that of P. crotonis but differs in the long marginal prothoracic seta being much shorter and the dorsum having many fewer enlarged setae than on the first-instar nymph of P. crotonis .

Figures

Figure 1. Protortonia azteca (Ferris), adult female.

Figure 2. Protortonia azteca (Ferris), first-instar nymph.