Afroptera pruinosa ( Tjeder, 1967 ) Abdalla & Mansell & Sole, 2019

Abdalla, Ishtiag H., Mansell, Mervyn W. & Sole, Catherine L., 2019, Revision of the southern African genera Nemopterella Banks and Nemia Navás (Neuroptera: Nemopteridae: Nemopterinae), with descriptions of new genera and species, Zootaxa 4635 (1), pp. 1-89 : 68

Afroptera pruinosa ( Tjeder, 1967) comb. nov.

( Figs 113 , 121 , 153 )

Synonymy

Nemopterella pruinosa Tjeder, 1967: 486 .

Etymology. Unknown, but probably from the Latin word purinos (smoke, frost, purinas) for its extensively powdered greyish body.

Type locality. South Africa, Northern Cape Province. Houmoed , 29°18’53’’S 19°32’47’’E .

Type depository. TMSA .

Diagnosis. Afroptera pruinosa is a small species with greyish pruinose thorax. Superficially similar to A. koranna through its small size, pruinose brown body, unstriped thorax and sparse short black hairs on the prescutum disc. It can be distinguished from A. koranna by a combination of the following characters: A. pruinosa has a blackish brown abdomen with white hair on the dorsum and venter, while in A. koranna the abdomen is brown with white hair on the dorsum and black hair on the venter. Afroptera pruinosa also has forewings with a rounded apex but with a slight emargination before the apex ( Fig. 121 ), while in A. koranna the apex is rounded without emargination.

Type material examined. SOUTH AFRICA, Northern Cape Province. Holotype ♂ ( Fig. 113 ), TMSA02072 , HOLOTYPE Neu 102, Nemopterella pruinosa Tjeder (red printed label) / Houmoed [29°18’53’’S 19°32’47’’E], N.W. Cape, 20.X.1955, H.K.Munro (white handwritten label) / Holotypus ♂, Nemopterella pruinosa Tjed., Bo Tjed- er 1966 (red handwritten label). ( TMSA) .

Distribution and habitat. This species is recorded from the Northern Cape Province and is known only from the type locality in the Nama Karoo Biome ( Fig. 153 ). The locality falls within the Bushmanland Inselberg Shrubland vegetation unit in the Bushmanland Bioregion ( Mucina & Rutherford 2006). See description of the habitat under distribution of A. dyscrita . The area receives late summer rains ranging between 70–120 mm from February to April.

Remarks. The species is represented by the male holotype only and occurs sympatrically with A. munroi .

Figures

FIGURES 111–114. Holotypes of Afroptera spp with their associated labels. 111, A. munroi (Tjeder) ♂; 112, A. nigrosetosa (Tjeder) ♂; 113, A. pruinosa (Tjeder) ♂; 114, A. sabuleti (Tjeder) ♂.

FIGURES 115–122. Afroptera spp. Male forewings. 115, A. longicornis (Tjeder); 116, A. munroi (Tjeder); 117, A. aequabilis (Tjeder); 118, A. sabuleti (Tjeder); 119, A. olivacea (Tjeder); 120, A. apicalis (Tjeder); 121, A. pruinosa (Tjeder); 122, A. nigrosetosa (Tjeder). Scale = 1 mm.

FIGURES 153–154. Distribution maps of Afroptera spp.