Culex (Melanoconion) sallumae Talaga, 2022

Talaga, Stanislas & Gendrin, Mathilde, 2022, Three new species of Culex (Melanoconion) (Diptera: Culicidae) from French Guiana based on morphological and molecular data, Zootaxa 5205 (2), pp. 177-189 : 179-181

Culex (Melanoconion) sallumae Talaga , n. sp.

Zoobank LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C727E9C3-C13F-40A1-9BF4-279DA8F104D3

BIN: BOLD:AER7739.

Male. Habitus not examined. Genitalia ( Fig. 2A‒G ): Tergum VIII with a shallow emargination separating the lateral lobes. Tergum IX lobes small, somewhat triangular in outline, rounded apically, widely separated, bearing 18‒21 setae arranged in 2 irregular rows. Gonocoxite obovoid; ventrolateral setae strongly developed; ventromesal surface with small setae scattered from base to level of subapical lobe, setae stronger basally; lateral surface with a well-developed patch of long setae (lsp) at level of subapical lobe; proximal part of ventrolateral surface without scales. Subapical lobe clearly divided into 2 divisions. Proximal division short, columnar, bearing 2 robust, sinuous, apically hooked setae (setae a and b); seta a slightly shorter and thinner than seta b and inserted slightly basal to seta b; a tight group of 5 enlarged and abruptly pointed setae inserted lateral to proximal division. Distal division long, columnar, with 7 apical setae, 1 long hooked seta (h), 1 short saber-like seta (s) arising close to seta h, 1 relatively long saber-like seta (s), 1 broad, petiolate, striate foliform seta (l), 3 narrow, appressed flattened setae (f) arising from distal side. Gonostylus slender, curved, wider at base, tapering to apex, with a patch of short spicules on dorsal surface extending from basal 0.33 to apical snout, subapical crest weakly distinct before apical snout on ventral side, apical snout forming a small, upturned ridge; gonostylar claw short, leaf-like; 2 small setae near dorsal side before gonostylar claw. Phallosome with lateral plates and aedeagal sclerites equivalent in length; aedeagal sclerite broad, curved in lateral view and broadly connected to base of lateral plate; distal part of lateral plate without median process, sternal and tergal processes present; apical sternal process long and hooked at apex; apical tergal process very long, nearly pointed, directed dorsolaterally; apical margin markedly concave; base of lateral plate with a markedly distinct tergal process. Aedeagal sclerite not connected by dorsal aedeagal bridge. Proctiger elongate; paraproct narrowed distally, expanded basally, crown a row of about 5 or 6 simple blades. Cercal sclerite long and narrow with 1 or 2 cercal setae. Basal plate and paramere as figured. Tergum X shape as shown in Fig. 2C .

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Professor Maria Anice Mureb Sallum for her incommensurable work on mosquito taxonomy in South America, and particularly on the Spissipes Section of Culex (Melanoconion) (e.g. Forattini & Sallum 1985; Forattini & Sallum 1995; Sallum & Forattini 1996; Sallum et al. 1997).

Bionomics. Nothing is known about the bionomics of Cx. sallumae . Adult males were collected using CDC and CDC UV-light traps placed at 1 m above ground and operated from 1800 to 0600 h along an oxbow section of a rainforest stream in deep shade.

Distribution. Culex sallumae is only known from the type locality ( Fig. 1A ).

Type material. Holotype: Adult male in 96% ethanol with dissected genitalia mounted on a microscope slide (specimen numbers ST1#01700, BOLD: FGMOS2885-22 ), FRENCH GUIANA: Montagnes de la Trinité, Crique Aya (53.41378° W, 4.60310° N, 115 m above sea level), 3-XI-2020, S. Talaga, IPG . Paratypes: Two adult males in alcohol with dissected genitalia mounted on separate microscope slides (specimen numbers ST1#01702, BOLD: FGMOS2887-22 and ST1#01704, BOLD: FGMOS2889-22 ), same collection data as the holotype, IPG .

Figures

FIGURE 1. A, Map showing the distribution of Culex (Melanoconion) sallumae n. sp. (red star), Cx. (Mel.) hutchingsae n. sp. (green dots) and Cx. (Mel.) lucackermanni n. sp. (yellow triangle) in French Guiana; B, Maximum Likelihood (ML) tree of the COI barcodes obtained from the type specimens of the three new species. Bootstrap support values under 500 replications are indicated near nodes. The specimen number, species name and Barcode Index Number (BIN) provided by the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) are indicated for each barcode sequence.

FIGURE 2. Male genitalia of Culex (Melanoconion) sallumae n. sp. A, Gonocoxopodite, lateral aspect; B, gonocoxopodite, mesal aspect; C, paraproct, tergum X and basal plate, in lateral views; D, paramere, lateral view; E, lateral plate and aedeagal sclerite, lateral views; F, tergum IX; G, tergum VIII.AeS, aedeagal sclerite; BP, basal plate; dSL, distal division of subapical lobe; Gc, gonocoxite; GC, gonostylar claw; Gs, gonostylus; LP, lateral plate; lsp, lateral setal patch; Ppr, paraproct; pSL, proximal division of subapical lobe; X-Te, tergum X.