Paratachardina morobensis Williams & Watson

Kondo, Takumasa & Gullan, Penny J., 2007, Taxonomic review of the lac insect genus Paratachardina Balachowsky (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Kerriidae), with a revised key to genera of Kerriidae and description of two new species, Zootaxa 1617, pp. 1-41 : 18-20

Paratachardina morobensis Williams & Watson

( Fig. 6 )

Paratachardina morobensis Williams & Watson, 1990: 188 .

Type data. Holotype, adult female. PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Bulolo, coll. 31.iii.1977, J.A. Simpson, A9591/600, on Casuarina oligodon ( BMNH). Paratypes. 12 adult females, same data as holotype ( BMNH); 3 adult females, Morobe P., Wau, [date not given], G. Young, on C. oligodon ( BMNH).

Type material studied. Paratypes. Adult females. Bulolo, coll. 31.iii.1977, J.A. Simpson, A9591/600, on Casuarina oligodon , 5(6) ( BMNH).

Adult female

Unmounted material. Live appearance not known.

Mounted material ( Fig. 6 ). Body subcircular, 1.1–1.8 mm long, 1.0– 1.7 mm wide, constricted at level of anterior spiracles and slightly notched near body apex (n = 6).

Dorsum. Brachia membranous, short, usually less than half length of brachial plate. Brachial plates subcircular to subquadrate, often with an irregular outline, each plate 180–215 µm long, 105–145 µm wide; brachial crater very shallow, with 195–290 pseudospines covering most of plate, most pseudospines with 5- loculi, with several setae and brachial pores present around margins of pseudospine group; each brachial pore 5–6 µm wide. Anterior spiracles each 100–140 µm long, 45–68 µm wide, surrounded by a sclerotized area; with a group of 30–45 pores around spiracles within spiracular sclerotization; canella represented by a group of 40–70 spiracular pores on area just outside spiracular sclerotization; canellar and spiracular pores each with 5 loculi, 4–5 (mostly 5) µm wide. Dorsal spine well-developed, 113–165 µm long, 95–118 µm wide at base, with a slit-like opening at apex; membranous pedicel inconspicuous, no longer than length of dorsal spine, and perhaps up to 3 times as wide as base of dorsal spine when visible (indicated by dotted line on drawing due to poor condition of cuticle). Anal tubercle well developed, subquadrate to rectangular, tapering, highly sclerotized; pre-anal plate membranous, often hard to detect (not illustrated); supra-anal plate 150–255 µm long, 175–280 µm wide at widest point. Pygidial apodemes not detected. Anal fringe vestigial, with a pair of bifid plates or thick setae. Anal ring 90–105 µm wide, each seta present on a partially divided plate, tip of setae well surpassing anal fringe. Microducts scarce, present submarginally, each 2–3µm wide. Spermatoid ducts: 1 (rarely 2) associated with each microduct. Dorsal setae each 3–5 µm long.

Venter. Antennae 128–158 µm long, 2 segmented, segmentation poorly defined, first antennal segment and base of second antennal segment showing some sign of sclerotization, with latter part of third segment membranous and inconspicuous, with an apical sclerotic plate bearing 2 long fleshy setae and 3 or 4 shorter setae. Clypeolabral shield 150–175 µm long, 125–130 µm wide. Labium apparently 2 segmented, 60–70 µm long, 65–85 µm wide. Pre-oral lobes elongate, poorly developed, present along margins of clypeolabral shield. Post-oral lobes present. Legs vestigial, represented by a membranous area 45–115 µm wide, bearing a membranous to sclerotic claw 15–40 µm long. Posterior spiracles much smaller than anterior spiracles, peritremes each 23–30 µm wide; with 20–35 spiracular pores present around each spiracle, each pore 4.0 µm wide. Marginal duct clusters distinct, 8 pairs in total; each composed of only large-sized microducts, each microduct 3–4 (mostly 4) µm wide, with 0–2 spermatoid ducts associated with its rim. Ventral duct clusters 8 pairs in total, each closely associated with a marginal duct cluster, all composed of numerous medium-sized microducts, each microduct 3–4 (mostly 3) µm wide. Microducts outside ventral and marginal duct clusters smallest, each 2–3 µm wide, present marginally and submarginally, abundant particularly around marginal duct clusters. Spermatoid ducts similar to those on dorsum, detected around body margin, appearing most numerous within each marginal duct cluster. Ventral setae each 7–10 µm long.

Diagnosis. Paratachardina morobensis is characterized by following combination of features: (i) brachial plates each with about 200 pseudospines; (ii) vestigial legs, each composed of a membranous tubercle and a claw; (iii) 8 pairs of well developed ventral duct clusters, each closely associated with a marginal duct cluster; and (iv) the presence of a vestigial anal fringe composed of a pair of poorly developed anal fringe plates or sword-shaped setae. Paratachardina morobensis differs from all other species currently included in the genus due to the presence of the following features (character states of other species in parentheses): (i) each brachial plate with 200 pseudospines (usually less than 100); vestigial legs composed of a membranous tubercle and a claw (legs usually absent, when present composed of a sclerotic area or claw, but not on a membranous tubercle); and (iii) marginal duct clusters composed of large-sized microducts only (composed of mediumsized and large-sized microducts).

Notes. The above description agrees well with that given by Williams & Watson (1990). However, we found more short setae at the apex of the antennae than Williams & Watson, and the dorsal spine duct illustrated by them resembles the non-dendritic type, but it is of the dendritic type. Some of the specimens studied were missing their dorsal spine duct, and these were probably removed during the clearing process of slide preparation. Only two collections are known for this species, both from Papua New Guinea on C. oligodon (Casuarinaceae) . We did not examine the holotype (from the same collection as the paratypes that we studied) or the paratypes from Wau, all of which are deposited in the BMNH.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Paratachardina morobensis Williams & Watson, adult female.