Ululodes sp. 1

ENGEL, MICHAEL S. & GRIMALDI, DAVID A., 2007, The Neuropterid Fauna of Dominican and Mexican Amber (Neuropterida: Megaloptera, Neuroptera), American Museum Novitates 3587, pp. 1-60 : 44-48

Ululodes sp. 1 [Larvae]

figures 47–49

DESCRIPTION: Third instar?: Body length (exclusive of mandibles) 5.9 mm; head capsule length 1.5 mm; head capsule width 1.8 mm.

Head, pronotum, and mandibles dark brown; remainder of body brown. Head quadrate, slightly wider than long, dorsoventrally flattened. Posterolateral margins weakly cordate. Labral margin narrow and strongly bilobed with a single wide notch at midline; labral lobes bulbous. Dorsum of head weakly convex medially and laterally; ventral surface convex with excavated anterolateral margins to permit retraction of jaws beneath ocular tubercle. Surface integument granulose, covered with scattered clumps of particulate debris. Ocular tubercles prominent although not particularly enlarged; slightly cylindrical, not tapered distally or flattened; all five stemmata similar in size. Antennal tubercles prominent, cylindrical, nearly one-half length of ocular tubercle, well separated from latter by approximately length of antennal tubercle. Jaws slightly falcate and with slight upward tilt, tapering at apices, much longer than head capsule. First tooth of mandible situated approximately at midpoint; central tooth at about midpoint between first tooth and apex; central tooth longer than other two teeth and slightly curved; distal tooth smaller than preceding two teeth and situated at midpoint between apex and central tooth.

Body ovoid in outline. Pronotum small, sclerotized, slightly convex, trapezoidal, about twice as wide as long, without scoli or tubercles but with short, stiff setae pointed anteriad. Remainder of body lightly sclerotized. Lateral margins of meso- and metathoracic and abdominal segments except ninth and tenth with prolonged, unflattened, fingerlike, setose scoli, 10 pairs in total and decreased in length posteriad. Each mesothoracic scolus as long as head capsule or nearly so, inclined forward basally and reflexed posteriorly at about its midpoint. Metathoracic scoli two-thirds as long as mesothoracic scoli; not relfexed. Remaining eight pairs of abdominal scoli straight, shorter than thoracic scoli. Pairs of vestigial scoli present, positioned behind and slightly ventrad elongate scoli on meso- and metathorax.

Dense, double fringe of long serrate setae present on lateral margins of head and peripherally on all scoli. Single row of shorter, distally flared, serrate dolichasters closely set along entire anterior labral margin. Ocular tubercle with still shorter, tightly packed dolichasters, with two elongate, subequal setae projecting posteriad from posterior margin. Antennal tubercle bearing a group of three long dolichasters. Two pairs of stout, toothlike digging setae present on posterior border of ninth abdominal segment; dolichasters present along margin of apical abdominal segment.

MATERIAL: Larva; MACT-1200 ( figs. 47 , 48 ), Miocene amber of the Dominican Republic. Larval head; AMNH DR- 10-2010 ( fig. 49 ), Miocene amber of the Dominican Republic.

COMMENTS: This larva can be confidently assigned to the genus Ululodes based on the excellent descriptive work of living ascalaphid immatures by Henry (1976). The absence of pronotal tubercles, presence of 10 scoli, and reflexed mesothoracic scoli, among many other characters ( Henry, 1976), are all in- dicative of the genus Ululodes . Although tempted to do so, we have not assigned this fossil immature to the species U. paleonesia despite the presence of an adult of this species in the same deposit. Given that two diagnosable species of larval Ululodes can be recognized (see Ululodes sp. 2 below) it is entirely unknown to which, if any, the adult might belong. The behavior of ascalaphid larvae mentioned above perhaps accounts for the entrapment of this immature in resin and preservation in amber.

Figures

Fig. 47. Photomicrograph of immature of Ululodes sp. 1 (MACT-1200).

Fig. 48. Habitus of immature of Ululodes sp. 1 (MACT-1200), with details of head enlarged.

Fig. 49. Details of head of Ululodes sp. 1 immature (DR-10-2010).