Periclystus aureolatus Tillyard, 1916

Machado, Renato Jose Pires & Oswald, John David, 2020, Morphological phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the former antlion subtribe Periclystina (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Dendroleontinae), Zootaxa 4796 (1), pp. 1-322 : 270-275

Periclystus aureolatus Tillyard, 1916

( Figs. 142–144 )

Periclystus aureolatus Tillyard, 1916:50 (OD); Esben-Petersen 1918:6 (cit); Esben-Petersen 1923:586 (cit); Stange 1976:307 (cat); New 1985b:4 (key, rd, ill); New 1996:91 (cat); Stange 2004:107 (cat); Oswald 2018 (cat).

Diagnosis. Body mostly pale; wings broad, with tips weakly falcate; hind wing tip hyaline with a few golden marks.

Description. Lengths: forewing: 24–33 mm; hind wing: 22–30 mm.

Head ( Figs. 143 a–c): Labrum pale, set with a line of elongate setae. Clypeus reddish brown to brown; with some elongate black setae. Frons reddish brown to dark brown, generally darker than clypeus; covered by short black setae. Gena reddish brown. Vertex strongly raised, pale to orange, with some short black setae located medially on each side. Ocular setae absent. Antennae clubbed; short, slightly longer than pronotum; distance between antennae wider than scape width; scape and pedicel reddish brown, flagellum mostly brown but apex slightly paler; torular membrane pale; flagellomeres almost as long as wide at base, apical ones much wider than long; all segments set with short black setae. Mandible reddish brown, with internal margin darker. Palpi, maxillary and labial pale to reddish brown; apical labial palpomere fusiform, palpimacula opening oval-shaped, located medially.

Thorax ( Figs. 143 b–c): Pronotum about as long as wide; posterior margin about as wide as anterior; subapical furrow present; in general pale to orange, with lateral margins and some central marks darker in some specimens; covered with short black setae and long setae at margins and medially. Mesonotum mostly brown, except for irregular pale marks: two rounded spots at prescutum and scutellum, and small longitudinal lines medially at scutum; with tufts of very long black setae: at prescutum anterior margin and medial line; a longitudinal medial line on each side of scutum, and two tufts at posterior margin of scutellum; posterior margin of scutellum elevate in lateral view. Metanotum mostly dark brown except for some irregular marks at scutum and scutellum; with two tufts of elongate black setae at posterior margin of scutellum; posterior margin of scutellum elevated in lateral view. Pterothoracic pleura dark brown with irregular pale marks mainly on ventral margin and anterior sclerites; covered with few black setae, with ones at anterior sclerites longer; Miller’s organ absent.

Wings ( Fig. 143d ): Broad with tip weakly falcate, mainly forewing. Anterior Banksian line present in both wings, posterior absent. Veins mostly white, but with brown marks along membrane spots, beset with short black setae. Male pilula axillaris present. Forewing membrane mostly hyaline but with numerous irregular rounded golden to brown marks, mainly at tip, posterior margin, apex of mediocubital and prefork areas, pterostigma, around some crossveins in mediocubital and radial areas; CuA fork located near RP origin; five to six presectoral crossveins, with distal ones connected by longitudinal crossveins in some specimens; subcostal veinlets simple; posterior area much wider than prefork area. Hind wing membrane mostly hyaline except for few irregular golden to brown marks at tip, one at pterostigma, one at hypostigmatic cell base, a large one on rhegmal area, and a small one on radial area medially; MP fork located near RP origin; subcostal veinlets simple; one presectoral crossvein.

Legs ( Figs. 143 a–c): All pairs of legs, femur elongate (> 2.5x length of coxa); tibia and femur about same size but slightly longer than tarsi; tibial spurs extending over T2 apex; T2, T3 and T4 about same size, T1 slightly longer than T2, and T5 about twice longer than T1; claws about half of T5 length; all segments set with short black setae, and scattered long setae; T5 ventrally with two rows of thick, long, black setae. Proleg sense hair absent; tibia without antennal cleaning setae; coxa and trochanter brown but dark brown in some specimens, femur brown except for internal surface and a subapical mark pale; tibia mostly pale with three light brown rings; tarsi pale. Mesoleg with colour pattern similar to proleg, except for coxa and trochanter dark brown; femur and tibia brown areas darker than proleg. Metaleg with femur and tibia much longer than in other legs; with colour similar to anterior legs, except for femur and tibia pale to white with apex dark brown.

Abdomen: Tergite 1 pale to white; tergites 2, 3 and 4 mostly pale to white with a large irregular dark medial mark, remaining tergites mostly dark brown with distal margin pale to white. Sternite 1 pale to white; remaining sternites pale basally and dark brown distally (basal segments pale areas larger and distal segments dark brown areas larger). There are some darker specimens with pale areas reduced. Beset with black setae.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 144 a–d): Ectoproct large, with ventral margin slightly longer than dorsal in lateral view; set with elongate black setae. 9 th sternite short, with posterior margin straight, in ventral view; covered with long black setae. Gonarcus broad, with posterior margin straight but anterior narrower and rounded in lateral view; arched in posterior view. Mediuncus curved with tip acute in lateral view; in posterior view elongate with apex enlarged and acute. Paramere broad, elongate, with posterior margin rounded and anterior thinner; in posterior view curved and tip acute; in ventral view with two lobes: external lobe broad and rounded but internal lobe narrow, with tip acute.

Female Terminalia ( Figs. 144 e–f): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded covered with thin elongate setae. Lateral gonapophyses rounded, smaller than ectoproct, covered with elongate setae. 7 th sternite long, with distal margin straight in ventral view; covered with long black setae. Pregenital plate small, semi triangular, with apex rounded and ventral margin concave in ventral view. Posterior gonapophyses broad, long, with apex wider and rounded, covered with many long black setae and many long cavisetae apically. 9 th tergite with a broad membranous digitiform process. Anterior gonapophyses as a plate covered with long setae. Ventral membrane gonapophyseal plates present.

Distribution ( Fig. 142 ). Australia: NT, QLD, SA, VIC*, WA. Widespread across mainland Australia; apparently absent from far eastern areas.

Adult activity period. Records for October, and January to May.

Biology. Unknown, larva unknown.

Name-bearing type. Periclystus aureolatus : Holotype (by original designation), female [not male], WAM, high-resolution images examined. Type locality: Australia, Western Australia, Cunderdin (town). From original description, Tillyard (1916): “A unique specimen, apparently a male, but the abdomen is somewhat shriveled. Type in Coll. West Australian Museum, Perth. Museum label No.6972; no date”. From New (1985): “ Holotype, ♀, Western Australia, Cunderdin, No. 6972 (WAM) (seen). Tillyard supposed this to be a male, and it is labelled as such in his writing. A female from the same locality in BMNH is also labelled as 'Type' but this is presumed an error”. From Stange (2004): “ Holotype, female, Cunderdin, Western Australia (WAMP!)”.

New’s (1985b) statements regarding the WAM and BMNH specimens are confirmed here: the WAM holotype is a female, and the BMNH non-type specimen is erroneously labeled as “type”. The high-resolution images of the holotype received from the WAM perfectly match the image of the type specimen published in the original description. Condition: good; right forewing broken, left forewing with damaged tip.

Additional material examined (17♂, 42♀). AUSTRALIA: Northern Territory: Carpentaria Highway : 4.8 km E of Hi-Way Inn, 2.iv.2008, at light, ex woodland, G. Williams & W. Pullawski (1♀, AMSA) ; 12 km S of Mataranka , 15.02S– 130.05E, 31.iii.1995, E.D. Edwards & M. Matthews (2♀, ANIC) ; Mount Cahil : 16 km NE, 12 o 50’S– 132 o 51’E, 29.x.1972, M.S. Upton & R.S. McInnes (1♀, ANIC) ; Queensland: Archer River crossing: 13 o 25’S– 142 o 56’E, 5.iv.1989, mv lamp, G. & A. Daniels (2♂, QMBA) ; 6.iv.1989 (1♂, QMBA) ; 7.iv.1989 (1♂, 4♀, QMBA) ; 10.iv.1989 (1♂, QMBA) ; 13.iv.1989 (1♂, QMBA) ; 4 km E of Camooweal , 19 o 56’S– 138 o 09’E, 12.v.1973, M.S. Upton (1♀, ANIC) ; 13 km W of Musgrave , 14 o 48’S– 143 o 23’E, 26.iv.1989, G & A Daniels (1♂, QMBA) ; Mus- selbrook Resource Centre: Lawn Hill National Park , 160 m, 18 o 35’54’’S– 138 o 07’44’’E, 18.iv.1995, A Daniels & MA Schneider (1♀, QMBA) ; White Mountains : 10 km S of Warang Camp, 20.31S– 144.51E, 29.iii.2000, E.D. Ed- wards (1♀, ANIC) ; South Australia: (1♀, SAMA) ; Aroona Dam : iii.1958 (1♀, SAMA) ; Mindarie : (1♂, SAMA) ; Victoria: Lake Hattah : 31.i.1967 (1♀, MVM) ; Western Australia: Broome : 33 km E of Rocbuck Roadhouse, 1.iii.1994, R. Miller & L. Stange (3♂, 6♀, FSCA) ; Bridgetown : 5.iii.1957 (1♂, MVM) ; Camboon Park : 22.i.1951 (1♂, MVM) ; 28.i.1957 (1♂, MVM) ; 11.ii.1957 (1♂, 7♀, MVM) ; 17 km NE of Cane River Homestead , 21 o 56’S– 115 o 39’E, 27.iv.1971, Upton & Mitchell (1♀, ANIC) ; Cape York : 20.x.1900 (1♀, ANIC) ; Chichester Range Na- tional Park: Black Hill Pool , 21.20S– 117.15E, 1.v.2003, E.D. Edwards, F. Fitz Gibbon (1♂, ANIC) ; Giles : ii.1962 (1♀, MVM) ; Kimberley Research Station: via Wyndham , 1.iii.1955, E.C.B. Langfield (1♀, ANIC) ; 1 km NE of Millstream Homestead , 21 o 35’S– 117 o 04’E, 23.iv.1971, Upton & Mitchell (1♂, 5♀, ANIC) ; 5 km SE of Millstream Homestead , 21 o 37’S– 117 o 06’E, 12.iv.1971 (1♀, ANIC) ; Pilgangoora: Pilbara , v.1953 (3♀, SAMA) ; Roebuck Road- house: 33 km E Broome, 1.iii.1994, L. Stange (1♀, TAMU) ; Yokine: Mount Yokine , 6.i.1957 (1♂, 1♀, MVM) .

Comments. Periclystus aureolatus was recovered as sister to the remaining three species of Periclystus and adjacent to P. laceratus ( Fig. 4 ), supporting the hypothesis that lightly marked and less-falcate wings are basal within the genus. The two species with more darkly marked wings, P. circuiter and P. vicinus , form a terminal species-pair subclade within the genus. Periclystus aureolatus is also the smallest species of the genus by forewing length. Interestingly, the two species with the most strongly falcate wings, P. circuiter and P. laceratus , do not form a clade.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Strict consensus tree of morphology-based parsimony analysis of species belonging to the former subtribe Periclystina (ingroup, names in black), and outgroups (names in red). Former Glenoleon species are shown on blue branches, former Austrogymnocnemia species on green branches. Numbers above branches are Bremer support values; numbers below branches are bootstrap values (shown where>50%).

FIGURE 142. Distribution of Periclystus species.

FIGURE 143. Periclystus aureolatus: a) head, anterior; b) head and thorax, lateral; c) head and thorax, dorsal; d) wings, dorsal.

FIGURE 144. Periclystus aureolatus: male: a) terminalia, lateral; b) genitalia, lateral; c) genitalia, posterior; d) genitalia, ventral; female: e) terminalia, lateral; f) 7th sternite and pregenital plate, ventral. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.