Illovococcus Hodgson, 2021

Hodgson, Chris J., 2021, New genera, new species and new combinations for some African Coccomorpha (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha), Zootaxa 5020 (1), pp. 57-80 : 61

Genus Illovococcus Hodgson gen. nov.

Type species: Ceronema mobile Brain, 1920

Generic diagnosis (based on description of adult female by De Lotto (1978)): Body of live adult broad, flat, with dorsum almost entirely covered in white waxy filaments, those on margins long and coarse, those on dorsum short, fine, more or less curly and appearing densely matted and felted.

Dorsum membranous; with 40‒60 groups of tubular ducts present submarginally, each duct of an unusual structure, with inner ductule emerging centrally from inner end of outer ductule; tubular ducts of 2 sizes, larger ducts each with 1 or 2 small spiniform setae associated with dermal orifice; both duct types and dorsal setae also present randomly elsewhere. Preopercular pores and submarginal tubercles absent. Anal plates each with 1 long apical seta and 3 shorter subapical setae, 2 of these on the inner margin.

Marginal setae each deeply split into 2 or 3 blunt ‘fingers’. Stigmatic clefts deep, each with a sclerotised inner margin and 2 stigmatic spines of different sizes, both with slightly swollen apices.

Venter with multilocular disc-pores, each with 8 loculi, very sparse medially on posterior abdominal segments only. Spiracular disc-pores as normal for Coccidae . Ventral tubular ducts absent. Pregenital setae numbering only 1 pair. Antennae each 6 or 7 segmented. Legs well developed, each with a tibio-tarsal articulatory sclerosis. Claw without a denticle; claw digitules both broad and of similar size.

Comments: Illovococcus is introduced to take Ceronema mobile ( Fig. 3 ), which is described in detail by De Lotto (1978). Illovococcus mobilis comb. nov. is only known from the original collection on Celastrus cordata (Celastraceae) near the Illovo river in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. It is immediately separable from other Coccidae in having the following combination of characters: (i) unusually-shaped dorsal tubular ducts; (ii) marginal setae divided along their length; (iii) only two stigmatic spines in each stigmatic cleft; (iv) each stigmatic cleft with sclerotised margins; (v) absence of ventral tubular ducts, and (vi) presence of very few multilocular disc-pores, restricted to around the vulva. Illovococcus appears to be related to either the Filippiinae or to the Eriopeltinae as defined by Hodgson (1994).

Name derivation: The name Illovococcus is composed of Illovo, the name of the river in South Africa near which this species was collected (Illovo), and Coccus (masculine) after the type genus of the family.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Illovococcus mobilis (Brain). Adult female. After De Lotto 1978.