Siccanda Abdalla & Mansell, 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 : 18-19

Genus Siccanda Abdalla & Mansell gen. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:62B00463-

Synonymy

Nemopterella Banks, 1910: 454 (partim)

Etymology. The genus name is derived from the Latin adjective siccaneus (dry soil) for the dry areas where the species occurs. Gender feminine as derived from the name of the type species.

Type species. Nemopterella arenaria Tjeder, 1967 ( Fig. 29 ), designated here.

Diagnosis. Small to medium-sized species, distinguished by: (1) faintly visible light yellowish pterostigma ( Fig. 24b ); (2) blackish greyish body ( Fig. 29 ); (3) terminal segment of antennae ending with acute bare tooth ( Fig. 25 ); (4) faint brown shading over Cx ( Fig. 29 ); (5) between 20–32 Cx; (6) indistinct body stripes ( Figs 20 , 28 , 29 ), (7) subcostal, radial and anal areas never tinged ( Figs 24 a ); (8) costal cells before and beyond pterostigma never tinged ( Fig. 24b ); (9) whitish apical portion of hind wings clothed with white hairs ( Fig. 27 ); (10) tergite 5 of abdomen with pleuritocavae ( Fig. 20 ); (11) Frons above antennae with pair of yellow transverse spots along the postfrontal suture ( Fig. 26 ); (12) ventral side of the thorax tinged dark brown.

Description. Size (mm). Male: body length 7.8 (6.5–10); forewing 21.9 (20.3–26.9); hind wing 49.1 (43.4–62); antenna 20.4 (18.9–24.3); Female: body length 9.8 (9.2–10.6); forewing 21.2 (20.3–21.9); hindwing 45.1 (43.4– 46.7); antenna 12.5 (11.1–12.8). (N = 47).

Head. Yellow, medium-sized with large prominent eyes that are relatively smaller and more widely separated in females than males. Vertex brown with yellow hind margin, distinctly broader in females than males. Frons above antennae markedly elevated with a pair of yellow transverse spots along postfrontal suture. Palpi brown. Antennae in males much longer than females, reaching beyond pterostigma, yellow proximally, darkened distally, covered in black setae becoming denser towards apex. Apical segment short, blackish, ending in acute bare tooth.

Thorax ( Fig. 28 ). Shape as in Nemopterella . Markedly pruinose. Pronotum dark greyish brown without distinct stripes and with yellowish hind margin. Fore and hind margins covered in long, erect black hairs intermixed with long fine hairs. Fine, long white hairs situated behind the fore-margin hairs. Distal anterior lateral portions of pronotum covered in mixture of long black and white hairs. Setation in males much denser and longer than females. Mesonotum dark greyish with two greyish portions on anterior lateral sides of prescutum and central greyish yellow portion between prescutum and mesoscutellum. Mesonotum ventral sides tinged greyish dark brown. Mesonotum very hairy particularly on prescutum disc, densely covered with long hairs, mainly black on prescutum and mesoscutum and white in mesoscutellum, also with some white hairs admixed with the black hairs on the antero-lateral sides of prescutum and on mesoscutum disc. Metanotum yellowish with two clusters of long white hairs laterally. Legs as in Nemopterella but coxae tinged dark brown.

Forewings ( Fig. 29 ). Broader in females than males with faintly greyish membrane. Males with slightly falcate apex and shallow emargination before apex, ending in a narrowly rounded apex while in females the apex is broadly rounded. Pterostigma small with light yellowish tinge. Costal cells, subcostal, radial and anal areas before and beyond pterostigma not tinged as in Nemia and N emopterella. Proximal Cx slightly shaded with brown. From 20–32 Cx present.

Abdomen ( Fig. 20 ) as in Nemopterell a. Blackish with reddish yellow hind margins to tergites dorsally, without distinct stripes, yellowish ventrally. Setation different between sexes, long, dense and white in males, short, sparse and black in females.

Figures

FIGURE 28. Siccanda arenaria (Tjeder). Thorax dorsal

FIGURE 29. Holotype, Nemopterella arenaria Tjeder, type species of the genus Siccanda with associated labels.

FIGURES 20–24. Siccanda arenaria (Tjeder). 20, Abdomen, lateral view; 21, Apex of male abdomen; 22, Parameres and gonarcus; 23, Gonarcus dorsal showing bases of the Parameres; 24(a), Anal area; 24(b), Pterostigma in forewing. Abbreviations as in Figs 3–7.

FIGURES 25–27. Siccanda arenaria (Tjeder). 25, Antennal apex; 26, Head; 27, Apical white portion of hind wing.