Lunaceps mintoni, Gustafsson & Olsson, 2012

Gustafsson, Daniel R. & Olsson, Urban, 2012, 3377, Zootaxa 3377, pp. 1-85 : 47

Lunaceps mintoni sp. nov.

( Fig. 19a–d; Table 1)

Lunaceps drosti Timmermann, 1954a: 627 (partim)

Lunaceps holophaeus drosti Timmermann ; Emerson, 1972: 93 (partim)

Lunaceps drosti Timmermann ; Price et al., 2003: 196 (partim)

Lunaceps drosti Timmermann (“Clade 10”); Gustafsson and Olsson (2012): 94 ( Figs. 1, 2)

Type host: Calidris tenuirostris ( Horsfield, 1821)

Diagnosis: Head ovoid ( Fig. 19a). Hyaline margin very thin, and cannot be seen in some individuals. Marginal carina clearly demarcated along its length. Ventral anterior plate broad but short, with flat or slightly bulging posterior margin. Dorsal preantennal suture interrupted medially, and may bulge posterior to encapsulate the apertures of the ADS. AVS3 and ADS aligned, but AVS2 markedly posterior to these. Temporal marginal carina thick dorsally. MTS3 comparatively long and thick.

Abdominal tergites II in males and II–III in females with wedge-shaped median indentation of the anterior margin, reaching more than a third of the tergite width ( Fig. 19b). Paratergal plates broad and blunt, not much darker than tergites. Tergal heads of segments III–V slightly pointed or hook-shaped, otherwise broad and blunt. In males, dorsal intermediate setae of segment VII are shorter and more slender than median setae.

Female genital lobes with 4–5 posterior marginal setae, 3–4 sub-marginal setae, and 5–6 median marginal setae ( Fig. 19c). Posterior marginal setae quite short and slender. Parameres gently curved and slender ( Fig. 19d). Mesomere triangular. Lower endomere narrow. Apodemal bridge broad but very faint.

Nymphs: Marginal carina very prominent, and evenly thick, uninterrupted, along its length. Dorsal preantennal suture C-shaped, and at least as broad as the marginal carina. Preantennal setae very small, except for the AVS3, which is markedly longer, and perhaps proportionately as long as in the adult individual. Ventral anterior plate almost wholly obscured by the dorsal anterior plate, but appears to be roughly triangular.

Discussion: Included by Timmermann (1954a) in L. drosti , but Lunaceps populations on these two host species are genetically distinct (uncorrected “p” distance for COI = 19.2%; Gustafsson and Olsson, 2012). Both sexes of L. mintoni sp. nov. can be distinguished from L. drosti by the shape of the ventral anterior plate and by the tergal heads. Females generally have more sub-marginal setae in L. drosti than in L. mintoni .

Etymology: Named in honour of Clive Minton, who for several decades has been leading the expeditions of the Australasian Wader Study Group to North West Australia. It was during one of those expeditions that the first author collected some of the material on which this new species is based.

Material examined:

Ex Calidris tenuirostris (synonym: Erolia tenuirostris )

Holotype: ♀ 1, Australia: Western Australia: 80 Mile Beach: Near Anna Plains Cattle Station , 18 November 2008, ID: 900, Band number: 063-03628, D. Gustafsson, ( GNM).

Paratype: ♀ 1, Australia: Western Australia: 80 Mile Beach: Near Anna Plains Cattle Station , 17 November 2008, ID: 895, Band number: 063-03474, D. Gustafsson, ( SMNH) .

Non-type: ♀ 21, ♂ 14, Japan, Meinertzhagen Collection (11012) ( NHML) . ♀ 1, ♂ 2, Philippines: Luzon: Batangas: Calatanga , 10 August 1966, BM 1968-86 ( NHML) (one of these slides also contains an unidentified female Quadraceps ) . ♀ 4, ♂ 4, n#4, Australia: Western Australia: Mandurah , 1970, BM 1970-144 ( NHML) . ♀ 2, ♂ 2, Philippines: Luzon: Batangas: Calatanga , 10 August 1966, K.C. Emerson Collection ( OSU) .