Leptosialis necopinata Price, Liu, de Moor & Villet

Price, Benjamin W., Liu, Xingyue, Moor, Ferdy C. de & Villet, Martin H., 2012, A review of the alderfly genus Leptosialis Esben-Petersen (Megaloptera, Sialidae) with description of a new species from South Africa, ZooKeys 201, pp. 27-41 : 31-34

Leptosialis necopinata Price, Liu, de Moor & Villet sp. n. Figures 3 –47-916– 2123

Type locality.

South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal: Kokstad [30°33'S, 29°25'E].

Type material.

Holotype, male (pinned; Fig. 3), SOUTH AFRICA: KwaZulu-Natal: "Kokstad [30°33'S, 29°25'E], I.1941, [possibly R.S. Crass] / GEN 2081A / HOLOTYPE" (AMGS). Paratypes, 1 male, 5 female (all pinned), same data as holotype, male "GEN 2081B / PARATYPE" females "GEN 2081C / PARATYPE" (AMGS).

Other material.

SOUTH AFRICA: 1 female (pinned), Eastern Cape: "Maclear Municipal Dam [31°4'0"S, 28°18'36"E], 27.III.1993 [F.C. de Moor and H.M. Barber-James] / ECR 124S" (AMGS); 2 female (pinned), KwaZulu-Natal: "Tugela river [30°6'0"S, 29°11'24"E], 15.XI.1959, [M. Chutter] / GEN 380H" (AMGS); 3 larvae (in alcohol), KwaZulu-Natal: "Mooi River [29°15'0"S, 29°58'12"E], 15.VI.1995, [C.W.S. Dickens] / MOI 52K" (AMGS); 4 larvae (in alcohol), KwaZulu-Natal: "Mooi River [29°21'36"S, 29°53'24"E], 4.I.1996, [F.C. de Moor, C.W.S. Dickens & R.S. Crass] / MOI 69H" (AMGS).

Etymology.

The specific epithet ‘necopinata’ is a feminine adjective in the second declension which refers to the Latin for unexpected or unforeseen, following the discovery of the adults strikingly different from Leptosialis africana and relating to the unforeseen occurrence of this second species in the relatively well-sampled waters of South Africa.

Diagnosis.

The adults of Leptosialis necopinata sp. n. may be easily distinguished from adults of Leptosialis africana in having broadly rounded to truncated wings compared to narrowly rounded wings in the latter species. In addition the forewing venation of Leptosialis necopinata sp. n. has MA and one or both branches of MP all forked distally, whereas those of Leptosialis africana are fused into three simple veins. The larvae of Leptosialis necopinata sp. n. can be distinguished from Leptosialis africana by the paler colouration of head and thorax, which lack distinct marks on the vertex and pronotum.

Description.

Adult male (Fig. 3).

Forewing length 10.6 mm, hindwing length 9.8 mm (n = 2).

Head (Fig. 7) black, slightly pale brown surrounding posterior margin of compound eyes; vertex with a pair of raised black vittae medially, and several small raised black protrusions laterally Compound eyes blackish brown, strongly produced. Antennae blackish brown, pilose, approximately half the length of the forewing. Mouthparts blackish brown. Thorax (Fig. 8) entirely black. Legs dark brown throughout, bearing dense brown setae; tarsal claws reddish brown. Wings (Fig. 9) distally broadly rounded to truncate, brown, slightly darker proximally; veins brown. Forewing approximately 3.0 times as long as wide; proximally with five to eight distinct costal crossveins; sc-r absent; RS distally branched, MA bifurcated or trifurcated, MP with one or both main branches bifurcated, and CuA bifurcated, three or four crossveins between R and Rs. Hindwing as broad as forewing, about 3.0 times as long as wide; with two or three distinct costal crossveins proximally; venation similar to forewing, with three crossveins between R and Rs. Abdomen blackish brown. Terminalia (Figs 16-19) with 9th tergum transversely arched, with a pair of digitiform processes posterolaterally that curve slightly ventromedially; anterior and posterior margins slightly arcuately concave in dorsal view; 9th sternum slightly longer than 9th tergum, posterior margin moderately produced; 9th gonocoxite in lateral view nearly elliptical; ectoproct paired, small, roundly inflated ventrad; 11th gonocoxite broadly triangular dorsoventrally, dorsal margin slightly sinuous in dorsal view, ventrally with a pair of acute hook-like processes in caudal view, in lateral view ventral processes with an anteriorly directed, hook-shaped accessory protuberance one third along its length.

Adult female (Fig. 4).

Forewing length 11.7 mm, range 11-12 mm, hindwing length 10.4 mm, range 10-11 mm (n = 5). Larger than male, but similar in colouration and wing venation. Head pale to dark brown, with frons and clypeus black; vertex with a pair of raised black vittae medially, and several small raised black markings laterally. Terminalia (Figs 20-21) with 7th sternum broad, with posterior margin feebly produced; 8th gonocoxite almost separated into a pair of subtriangular lobes, which are obtusely protruding posterolaterally; 9th gonocoxite broad, apex with small, stout gonostylus; ectoproct feebly sclerotized, small, suboval.

Larva

Head (Figs 7, 8, 23) yellow, slightly darkended medially on frons. Prothorax (Fig. 7) yellow to orange, dorsally with indistinct markings, meso- and metathorax castaneous with reticulated yellowish markings; Legs pale yellow, bearing dense setae, tarsal claws reddish brown; Abdomen dark purplish-brown dorsally with paired, pale, submedian, comma-shaped marks on each segment; lateral abdominal gills pale yellow.

Distribution.

South Africa: Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces (Fig. 24).

Remarks.

The larvae of Leptosialis necopinata sp. n. have been described in detail by Crass (1949).