Erimococcus Ezzat

Kaydan, Mehmet Bora, 2015, A systematic study of Peliococcus Borchsenius (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae), with descriptions of a new Palaearctic genus and four new species from Turkey, Zootaxa 3920 (2), pp. 201-248 : 209-210

Erimococcus Ezzat

Erimococcus Ezzat 1966: 169 ; Danzig & Gavrilov-Zimin 2014: 388.

Type species. Phenacoccus limoniastri Priesner & Hosny, 1935, by monotypy and original designation.

Generic diagnosis. Adult female. Female covered with white powdery wax. Ovisac woolly, white. Antennae 8 or 9 segmented. Eyes oval, on a small basal cone. Labium 3 segmented, longer than wide. Posterior spiracles always larger than anterior spiracles. Circulus present, lying between abdominal segments III and IV. Legs well developed, claw with a denticle; tarsal digitules hair-like, not capitate; claw digitules knobbed, claw digitules broader than tarsal digitules. Both pairs of ostioles well developed; anterior ostioles usually more weakly developed than posterior pair. Anal lobes well developed. Anal ring oval, with 1 inner row of pores and 1 or 2 outer rows of pores and 6 setae.

Dorsum. With either 17 or 18 pairs of cerarii on margin or with fewer than 8 pairs of recognisable cerarii. Dorsal setae of various sizes; dorsal cerarii absent or rarely present. Multilocular disc pores present or absent; if present, similar to those on venter, each with only a single ring of 12 loculi. Quinquelocular pores absent. Oral collar tubular ducts in clusters; each cluster with a pair of oral collar tubular ducts of 2 sizes; clusters arranged in transverse rows on body segments. Trilocular pores, each 3–5 Μm in diameter, often slightly larger than ventral trilocular pores; scattered over dorsum.

Venter. Most ventral setae slender and hair-like, of various sizes; setae on submargin spine-like, in longitudinal rows. Oral collar tubular ducts of 1, 2 or 3 sizes, each varying in length and width; with clusters of multilocular disc pores and ducts concentrated in submarginal zone. Multilocular disc pores present on posterior abdominal segments, especially around vulva, but sometimes also on thorax and head. Quinquelocular pores either absent, present medially on thorax or scattered throughout. Trilocular pores scattered throughout.

Comments. Erimococcus was introduced by Ezzat as a monotypic genus. Here a new species, E. ozani Kaydan , is described from Turkey and five other species are transferred to this genus based on the above combination of character states: Peliococcus kimmericus Kiritchenko , P. montanus Bazarov & Babaeva , P. multitubulatus (Danzig) , P. salviae Hadzibejli and P. talhouki Matile-Ferrero as: E. kimmericus (Kiritchenko) comb. nov., E. montanus (Bazarov & Babaeva) comb. nov., E. multitubulatus (Danzig) comb. nov., E. salviae (Hadzibejli) comb. nov. and E. talhouki (Matile-Ferrero) comb. nov.

Danzig & Gavrilov-Zimin (2014) regarded Peliococcus glandulifer Borchsenius and P. tritubulata (Kiritchenko) as Erimococcus glandulifer and E. tritubulatus . However, according to DNA analysis, P. glandulifer falls into the Pelionella clade and also these two species have different kinds of multilocular disc pores on the dorsum and venter and therefore differ from other species of Erimococcus . This argument based on morphology is supported by the DNA results ( Fig. 2 a, b). Danzig & Gavrilov-Zimin (2014) also regarded Peliococcus orientalis Bazarov as " Erimococcus orientalis comb. nov. ", but even according to the key in Danzig & Gavrilov-Zimin (2014), it is clear that this species has oral collar tubular ducts of a different shape and structure from those of Erimococcus , and this species should be transferred to the genus Phenacoccus (refer to discussion under the Comments section of Peliococcus below). In addition, Danzig & Gavrilov-Zimin (2014) regarded E. salviae , E. montanus , E. kimmericus as species of Peliococcus . According to the generic concept of the present study, all of these species can be separated from Peliococcus by: (i) the enlarged setae on the dorsum lacking a trilocular pore near the basal socket and each seta not on an elevated area, and (ii) each dorsal pore/duct cluster generally with 2 sizes of oral collar tubular ducts.

In the original description of Peliococcus ilamicus Moghaddam, Moghaddam (2013) considered that an anal lobe bar was possibly present but, as these are absent from all Phenacoccinae, this was unlikely. As pointed out by Moghaddam, P. ilamicus is very similar to P. kimmericus and the small differences in the distribution of the dorsal clusters of tubular ducts between P. ilamicus and P. kimmericus is here considered to be geographic and intraspecific variability of P. kimmericus , which is a widely distributed and highly polymorphic species. Therefore, P. ilamicus is considered to be a new synonym (syn. nov.) of Peliococcus kimmericus Kiritshenko (previously in Peliococcus and now in Erimococcus ).

Thus, the redefined genus contains seven species found in the Palaearctic region with the majority having an Irano-Turanian and Mediterrenean distribution. All of these species can be eliminated from other similar genera by the presence of: (i) morphologically similar multilocular disc pores on dorsum and venter, each pore with a single outer ring of loculi; (ii) enlarged setae on the dorsum without a trilocular pore near their basal socket and not on an elevated area, and (iii) each dorsal pore/duct cluster generally with 2 sizes of oral collar tubular ducts.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Phylogenetic relationship of the Peliococcus species-group within the Phenacoccinae based on COI and 28 S: clade a includes species with 2 types of multilocular disc pores, those in clusters with two rings of loculi in each pore, and pores not in clusters with only a single ring of loculi; and clade b includes species with multilocular disc pores with only a single ring of loculi. Percentages above main nodes = Bayesian estimations.