Sabethes (Peytonulus) harbachi Nascimento-Pereira, Guimarães, Lourenço-de-Oliveira & Motta, 2021

Nascimento-Pereira, Agostinho C., Neves, Maycon Sebastião Alberto Santos, Guimarães, Anthony Érico, Motta, Monique De Albuquerque & De-Oliveira, Ricardo Lourenço-, 2021, Wyeomyia shannoni Lane & Cerqueira, 1942, a taxonomic puzzle (Diptera: Culicidae): synonymy, genus transfer, homonymy, and description of a new species of Sabethes Robineau-Desvoidy, 1827, Zootaxa 5082 (3), pp. 259-277 : 269-270

Sabethes (Peytonulus) harbachi Nascimento-Pereira, Guimarães, Lourenço-de-Oliveira & Motta , sp. n.

( Figs 3 and 6 )

Male. Similar to Sa. shannoni (Lane & Cerqueira) except for the following characters. Head: Scales on anterior area of vertex (near the interocular space) with weak violaceous and bluish reflections. Antenna: Length 1.7–1.9 mm, slightly shorter than the proboscis; pedicel large, brown, pubescent, mesal side darkish brown with inconspicuous minute setae; flagellum brown, rather strongly verticillate, flagellomere 1 without or with inconspicuous cluster of dark scales on middle area, proximal flagellar whorl with 11,12 setae. Clypeus nude, light brown to brown, pubescent, rounded. Proboscis ( Fig. 3C,D ): Length 1.9–2.1 mm; distal 0.28–0.30(0.30) slightly flattened and expanded laterally to 2.4–3.5 times width of proximal part; ventral surface with conspicuous white stripe from base (0.06 to 0.63–0.66) immediately before expanded distal part, apex of expanded part with narrow transverse white stripe ( Fig. 3D ); 2–7(3) basal labial setae. Maxillary palpus 0.10–0.13(0.13) length of proboscis. Thorax: Antepronotum with 10–15 darkish brown setae, scales on anterior part with violet reflections, scales on mid part with violet and blue reflections, those on posterior part with golden reflections; integument of scutum light brown, with 12–19 darkish brown setae on anterior promontory, supraalar area with 24–32 brown setae; scutellum with 19–30 darkish brown setae, 6–12 on midlobe and 13–18 on each lateral lobe (9,10 long and 6–8 short); mesopostnotum with 10–12(11) brown setae. Pleural integument brown with 2–4 yellowish upper proepisternal setae, 2 brown prespiracular setae, 3,4(3) pale yellow lower mesokatepisternal setae and 12–14 pale yellow upper mesepimeral setae. Wing: Length 3.2–3.5; alula with 5–9(8) scales on distal margin. Legs: Forecoxa with yellowish setae on anterior (5–7 setae), outer (2,3) and mesal (3–5) surfaces; midcoxa with yellowish setae on outer (1,2) and mesal (4–6, mode 5) surfaces; hindcoxa with yellow setae on outer (4–6), posterior (4) and mesal (4,5) surfaces. Trochanters pearly white-scaled except for a small apical spot of conspicuous dark scales on anterodorsal surface, and entirely pearly white-scaled on ventral surface. Hindtibia dark-scaled, with a weak stripe of white scales ventrally. Tarsi entirely dark-scaled, including ventral surface of hindtarsomere 5. Genitalia ( Fig. 6 ): Tergum VIII (ventral in position) as figured. Sternum VIII (dorsal in position) with anterior 0.5 bare; posterior margin with 1 row of long setae between 2 rows of shorter setae; scales well distributed on posterior 0.5, few among setae. Tergum and sternum IX fused laterally, forming a complete ring of sclerotization; tergum IX widely separated by relatively narrow slightly concave bridge, lobes slightly produced, each with 5–8(5,6) flattened laterally bent setae with pointed apices; sternum IX with concave anterior margin, roughly triangular in shape, posterior margin more or less straight. Gonocoxite elongate, tapered in distal 0.5, tergomesal surface membranous, distal part of sternal surface covered with scales and setae, 1 long and 2 unequal shorter tergomesal setae; a large alveolus in lateral position, above and mesad of the 3 tergomesal setae (tergal triad); basal mesal lobe narrow covered with small setae and 2 strong setae at caudolateral angle. Gonostylus 0.72–0.8 length of gonocoxite; stem narrow and nearly straight (in lateral view), head divided into 3 lobes and an irregularly shaped (membranous) tergal process (tp): lobe A,E large, laterally flattened and rectangular in lateral view, straight tergoapical margin with 1 strongly developed horn-like tooth (setae s?), 3 smaller stout setae and 3,4 folded digitiform chitinized processes; sternoapical margin with a row of about 5 slender setae; apical 0.5 of sternal side with noticeably flattened, bent and apically expanded and forked setae, dorsally with a row of fine simple setae progressively more numerous towards base of sternal side; lobe M prominent, arising from sternolateral area of lobe A,E, elongate, tapered apically, bearing 2 large unequal flattened setae on tergal margin, most proximal larger setae with apices bent laterad, and a row of small leaf-like setae on sternolateral margin longer toward apex of lobe; lobe C a stemmed process arising sternolaterally from lobe M, bent mesad and with a spherical apex covered with rows of minute decumbent spicules; a well-developed membranous tergal process (tp) arises from base of lobe C, borne sternolaterally at base of lobe M. Aedeagus slightly longer than wide, broadest in proximal 0.5, oval in dorsal view; submedian tergal arms joined at midline; apical tergal arms broadly fused, containing a weak protrusion; median sternal plate membranous, expanded apically and hood-like; paramere and basal piece as figured. Proctiger (lateral view) with broad basal sclerotization (tergum X) narrowly fused with base of paraproct; paraproct with 2–5 small apical teeth and 2 or 3(3) subapical cercal setae.

Adult female, pupa, larva and egg. Unknown.

Systematics. The female of Sa. harbachi is unknown. The male differs from all other known species of Sabethes , except Sa. shannoni (Lane & Cerqueira) , by the absence of brilliant metallic scutal scales. Like Sa. shannoni , the male is similar to Wyeomyia species in general habitus, differing by the absence of prealar setae. The adult male of Sa. harbachi is easily distinguished from Sa. shannoni (Lane & Cerqueira) in having the distal expansion of the proboscis less marked (2.4–3.5 times wider than the proximal part) than in Sa. shannoni (4.88–5.66 times wider than the proximal part) and the labella are much larger basally in Sa. shannoni ( Fig 3 ). Moreover, the ventral surface of the proboscis of the male of Sa. harbachi has an extensive line of white scales and a transverse band of white scales at the apex ( Fig. 3D ), while that of Sa. shannoni has a shorter line of white scales and is entirely black apically, devoid of an apical band of white scales ( Fig. 3B ). In addition, the ventral surface of the mid- and hindtrochanters of Sa. harbachi is entirely pearly white-scaled and hindtarsomere 5 is entirely dark-scaled, while Sa. shannoni has a spot of dark scales on the mid- and hindtrochanters and hindtarsomere 5 is white-scaled ventrally. The male genitalia of Sa. harbachi are easily distinguished from those of Sa. shannoni , as well as all other Peytonulus species, in having the remarkably rectangular shape of lobe A,E, with a straight tergoapical margin bearing a strong, well-developed horn-like tooth (setae s?), three smaller stout setae and three or four folded chitinized digitiform processes. In Sa. shannoni , lobe A,E is rounded in shape, devoid of such developed and chitinized setae and folded digitiform processes. Also, lobe A,E of Sa. shannoni has a fringe of differentiated, flattened setae of different sizes extending from the tergoapical angle to the base of the sternal side, while Sa. harbachi has a row of slender setae on the sternoapical margin and numerous fine simple setae near the base of the sternal side. Tergum IX of Sa. harbachi is similar to that of Sa. identicus Dyar & Knab, 1907 , but it is distinct from Sa. shannoni where the interlobar space is almost flat and large, while in Sa. harbachi the interlobar space is concave and almost half the length of that in Sa. shannoni . The aedeagus of Sa. harbachi is oval in dorsal view, similar to the aedeagi of Sa. aurescens , Sa. fabricii, Sa. (Pey.) gorgasi Duret, 1971, Sa. hadrognathus and Sa. (Pey.) ignotus Harbach, 1995b, but differs from Sa. shannoni in which the aedeagus is elongate.

Etymology. The species is dedicated to Dr Ralph Harbach for his numerous and important contributions to mosquito taxonomy, especially to the genus Sabethes .

Bionomics. Nothing is known about the bionomics of this species.

Distribution. Sabethes harbachi is known only from Mangaratiba and Teresópolis, both located in the Atlantic Rainforest biome in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. This species was found in sympatry with Sa. shannoni (Lane & Cerqueira) in these localities.

Material examined. Six specimens (1 ♂, 5 ♂ G). HOLOTYPE ♂, with dissected genitalia on microscope slide (no. 43960-1, slide 8160 T), selected by A.C. Nascimento-Pereira, R. Lourenço-de-Oliveira and M.A. Motta, 2021, deposited in CMN, BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro, Mangaratiba, R.C. Shannon coll., April 1938, A.C. Nascimento- Pereira det., 05.VIII.2019. PARATYPES: 3 ♂ G, same data as holotype (nos. 43960-2, 43960-3, 43960-4; slides 8161 T, 8162 T, 8163 T, respectively); 1 ♂ G, same data as holotype, except Teresópolis (no. 43961-1, slide 8164 T); 1 ♂, same data except May 1938 (no. 43962-1); all deposited in CMN .

Figures

FIGURE 3. A, B, Sabethes (Peytonulus) shannoni, holotype male: A, proboscis (dorsal); B, proboscis (ventral). C, D, Sabethes (Peytonulus) harbachi, adult male: C, proboscis (dorsal); D, proboscis (ventral).

FIGURE 6. Sabethes (Peytonulus) harbachi, male genitalia.A, Gonocoxite and gonostylus (mesal view); B, gonostylus (lateral view); C, proctiger; D, aedeagus, with paramere and basal piece of one side; E, tergum IX; F, sternum IX; G, tergum VIII; H, sternum VIII. A, E, C, M, lobes of the gonostylus; Gc, gonocoxite; Gs, gonostylus; tp, tergal process.