Paralecanium acinaces Hodgson

Chris J. Hodgson & Douglas J. Williams, 2018, Revision of the soft scale genus Paralecanium (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) with the introduction of three new genera and twenty new species, Zootaxa 4443 (1), pp. 1-162 : 79-81

Paralecanium acinaces Hodgson spec. n.

( Fig. 31 )

Material examined. Holotype f: INDONESIA: left label: kv877 14.xi.2011 / Indonesia, Bali / Is., forest under / lake Buyan / about 1500 m altitude / on leaf of tree / I. Gavrilov-Zimin; right label: Paralecanium / acinaces / Hodgson / holotype ( ZIAS): 1/1 fairly mature adf (g).

Other material. Paratype ff: Indonesia, same collection data as holotype ( ZIAS) 1/2 adff (not seen in this study).

Note. The description is based on the holotype specimen only.

Slide-mounted adult female. Body basically oval and more pointed anteriorly than posteriorly, but clearly somewhat asymmetrical, particularly on venter. Length 2.1 mm, width 1.6 mm.

Dorsum. Dorsum fairly uniformly sclerotised, with areolations paler than derm present throughout submargin, becoming more obscure submedially and absent medially. Marginal radial lines absent, positions indicated by pores and setae, with 11 lines anteriorly between anterior stigmatic clefts, each side with 3 lines between clefts and 11 on abdomen; radial lines from each stigmatic cleft absent. Abdominal clear areas absent. Dorsal setae, each elongate and more or less parallel-sided but expanding into a scimitar-like apex, about 15 µm long, frequent submarginally but absent more medially. Larger dorsal pores, each 6–7 µm wide without obvious micropores, present in loose submedial bands extending anterolaterally from anal plates to head, each band with perhaps 21–25 pores, possibly in a sparse polygonal pattern. Smaller simple pores, each about 2.0 µm wide with a dark centre, frequent throughout, also perhaps in a sparse polygonal pattern. Anal plates together slightly longer than wide, each plate with a seta in middle and 3 short setae along outer margin near apex; no small pores noted medially; length of plates 96 µm, combined width 76 µm. Anogenital fold with 1 pair of small setae along anterior margin, each lateral margin with 1 seta anteriorly and another posteriorly.

Margin. Marginal ornamentation represented by small sclerotised blocks, each with a short radial line on each side of each block, with 4 or 5 blocks between marginal setae. Marginal setae fan-shaped and mainly clearly oval; width of each fan 30–40 µm, length 25 µm; with about 51 setae anteriorly between anterior stigmatic clefts, each side with 22 or 23 setae between stigmatic clefts, and 60–62 setae along abdominal margin. Stigmatic clefts rather shallow, each with a broad opening, a sclerotised inner margin and a single stigmatic spine; each spine 25–30 µm long, parallel sided with a blunt apex. Eyespots each more or less round; width of socket about 33 µm; diameter of lens 13–14 µm.

Venter. Ventral marginal band dark, about 175 µm wide, with paler radial “riverlets”. Multilocular disc-pores present in bands on either side of genital opening and on preceding two segments, each side with 7–9 on abdominal segment VII, 15–20 on segment VI and 1 on segment V. Spiracular disc-pores present in a narrow band between margin and each spiracle, with 21 in each band on narrower side and 24–29 on broader side. Ventral microducts minute, sparse, probably present throughout. Ventral setae: with 2 pairs of interantennal setae; long setae present on abdominal segment VII and on all preceding abdominal and thoracic segments; other setae sparse. Antennae well developed, each with 6 segments; total length 275 µm; apical segment each 66 µm long; apical seta each 20 µm long. Clypeolabral shield placed asymmetrically on venter. Spiracles small; width of each peritreme 17–19 µm. Legs well developed; dimensions of hind leg (µm): coxa 80, trochanter + femur 115, tibia 60 and tarsus 65, claw 12. Tarsal digitules slightly longer than claw digitules, with capitate apices; claw digitules both broad but one slightly narrower than other; claw without a denticle; setal distribution: coxa 6; trochanter 1, moderately long; femur 2; tibia 1 and tarsus 3.

Comments. Adult female P. acinaces spec. n. are extremely distinctive due to having: (i) only a single stigmatic spine in each cleft, and (ii) dorsal setae which broaden apically into a narrow blade-like apex somewhat resembling a scimitar.

Host-plant. Unknown.

Name derivation. The species name acinaces is a Latin masculine noun meaning scimitar, referring to the blade-like apices of the dorsal setae. It is used here as a noun in apposition.

Figures

FIGURE 31. Paralecanium acinaces Hodgson, spec. n., adult female. Where ar = areolations, ldp = large dorsal pore; mb = ventral marginal band; mo = marginal ornamentation; mrl = marginal radial lines, and ii, iii, iv, v, vi and vii = abdominal segmentation on venter.