Austrocnephia, Craig & Currie & Gil-Azevedo & Moulton, 2019

Craig, Douglas A., Currie, Douglas C., Gil-Azevedo, Leonardo H. & Moulton, John K., 2019, Austrocnephia, new genus, for five species of ‘ Paracnephia’ (Diptera: Simuliidae), with a key to Australian black fly genera, Zootaxa 4627 (1), pp. 1-92 : 5-6

Austrocnephia n. gen. Craig, Currie, Gil-Azevedo & Moulton

Type Species: Simulium aurantiaca Tonnoir 1925: 234

Diagnosis. Adults: moderate to large-sized species (total body length 2.2–5.0 mm) with yellow-orange thorax, both sexes with markedly domed thorax. Antenna with nine flagellomeres. Female: frons narrowed; sensory vesicle of palpomere III half or more length of article, (terminal) palpomere V elongate; mandible with teeth only on medial side except strenua ; cibarium unarmed, cornuae flared posteromedially and well sclerotized apically; wing a:b ratio 1.0:2.5–2.7, basal medial cell poorly expressed or absent, apex of wing and anal lobe slightly fumose, anterior veins yellowish, as is membrane, pigmentation at junction of r-m cross vein and R 1 absent to strongly expressed, costa with both hair-like and spine-like setae, the latter of varied thickness and color; apices of R 1 and Rs not joined together or closely appressed before joining C, Rs slightly branched apically in aurantiaca species-group, unbranched in tonnoiri species-group, CuA slightly sinuous, CuP extended essentially to wing margin, as also A 1 in some species; katepisternum as wide as deep, sulcus wide and shallow; metathoracic furcasternum with flange on dorsal arms; hind basitarsus with distinct row of ventral spines and calcipala well-developed, tarsomere II with poorly expressed pedisulcus usually obscured by calcipala; claw bifid, with basal tooth moderately-to-well expressed, directed slightly laterally, claw heel scarcely-to-moderately expressed; cercus and anal lobe elongated; spermatheca darkly pigmented, surface smooth to somewhat wrinkled, with variously-sized membranous area at junction with spermathecal duct. Male: eye with relatively few (15–20) large upper ommatidia; gonocoxa strengthened posteromedially and fluted, gonostylus quadratic to cone-shaped, typically with two or three (rarely four) apical spines; ventral plate with apex directed slightly- to markedly ventrally, basal arms moderately elongate, paramere connector short but substantial; median sclerite not markedly developed; parameres plate-like, triangular, size various; parameral spines absent, although variously expressed substantial microtrichia may be present on adjacent aedeagal membrane; dorsal sclerite absent. Pupa: gill arborescent, consisting of 21–50 short, pseudoannulated filaments; head without postorbital spine on ocular sclerite; head and thorax not tuberculate; dorsocentral setae with curled tips; abdomen with tuberculae poorly expressed or absent, but well expressed in tonnoiri , posterior abdominal segments with pleurites present in tonnoiri species-group, absent in aurantiaca species-group, grapnel-like hooks absent from segment IX. Cocoon: silk of irregular weave, cocoon poorly defined, covering abdomen and thorax of pupa, and incorporating various amounts of foreign material. Larva: body relatively robust; first instar larvae with well-developed labral fans; antenna with distal article subequal in length to medial article, not extended beyond labral fan stem; cephalic sensilla not markedly expressed; first mandibular spinous tooth of normal length to markedly elongated; cervical sclerites typically connected to postocciput by narrow strap; hypostoma with teeth either borne on three variously expressed lobes, or teeth arranged in delta-like fashion with tooth 0 most prominent; postgenal cleft small, inverted-U or subrectangular shaped, extended less than quarter distance to hypostomal groove; posterior tentoral pits either rectangular or rounded in shape; prothoracic proleg lappets present, or absent; lateral plate of proleg either L- or V-shaped; abdominal segment nine without ventral tubercles; rectal papillae of three simple lobes; anal sclerite with posteroventral arms markedly developed, in some species with posterolateral arm also; membrane between arm and circlet of hooks with either many or few campaniform sensilla; posteromedial gap between ventral arms either open or closed (hole); posterior circlet of hooks markedly expressed and directed slightly ventrally, some species with large numbers of hooks.

Etymology. The name Austrocnephia preserves the original assignment of these species to Cnephia (an otherwise exclusively northern hemisphere taxon), while reflecting the geographical endemicity of the segregate. The gender is feminine.

Distribution. The genus is widely distributed in mesic subtropical and temperate areas along the eastern and southern seaboards of Australia. Most species range from the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns, Queensland, south along the Great Divide Mountains to Victoria and Tasmania, then westward to southeastern-most South Australia. One species, Austrocnephia tonnoiri , however, is disjunct from the others in the southwestern-most corner of Western Australia and there occurs sporadically in fast flowing portions of more productive, often lower gradient streams. Austrocnephia fuscoflava of the tonnoiri species-group appears to be restricted to lowland coastal streams of southeastern Queensland. Austrocnephia orientalis is also sporadic in distribution. Detailed locality data is given for each species, as is a distribution map for each species-group ( Figs. 196 , 197 ).

Remarks. Monophyly of the five species considered herein is supported by a suite of diagnostic character states, inter alia: adult thorax yellow/orange and markedly domed; wing vein CuA only slightly curved; maxillary palp of female with sensory vesicle ca. two-thirds length of palpomere III; cercus of female distinctly longer than length of anal lobe; larva with abdomen elongate, expanded at segments VII and VIII, tapered markedly to posterior proleg on segment IX. While none of these character-states by themselves is unique within the Simuliidae , taken collectively, they are constitutive for the five species at this phylogenetic level. Austrocnephia aurantiaca and A. tonnoiri are morphologically variable, probably representing complexes. Cytological and/or molecular analyses are needed to clarify the specific boundaries of nominal species recognized in this study. Two species groups are recognized to reflect the overall similarity of included species.

Constituent species. The following described species are assigned to Austrocnephia n. gen. and new combinations therefore established.

aurantiaca species-group: Austrocnephia aurantiaca ( Tonnoir 1925) n. comb., A. strenua ( Mackerras & Mackerras 1950) n. comb.

tonnoiri species-group: Austrocnephia fuscoflava ( Mackerras & Mackerras 1949) n. comb., A. orientalis ( Mackerras & Mackerras 1950) n. comb., A. tonnoiri ( Drummond 1931) n. comb.

Figures

FIGURE 196. Distribution of Austrocnephia aurantiaca species-group (A. aurantiaca, A. strenua).

FIGURE 197. Distribution of Austrocnephia tonnoiri species-group (A. fuscoflava, A. orientalis, A. tonnoiri).