Megagonoleon drysdalensis (New, 1985)

Machado, Renato Jose Pires & Oswald, John David, 2020, Morphological phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the former antlion subtribe Periclystina (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Dendroleontinae), Zootaxa 4796 (1), pp. 1-322 : 204-208

Megagonoleon drysdalensis (New, 1985) , new combination

( Figs. 101–103 )

http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ 8369C958-E732-4636-A47A-B5F70BFCD9D0

Glenoleon drysdalensis New, 1985b:45 (OD); New 1996:82 (cat); Stange 2004:104 (cat); Oswald 2018 (cat).

Diagnosis. Forewing broad; body mostly orange; tibial spurs absent; frons mostly dark; posterior gonapophysis long and narrow.

Description. Lengths: forewing: 20–25 mm; hind wing: 18–23 mm.

Head ( Figs. 102 a–b): Labrum pale; with a line of elongate setae. Clypeus pale; with few elongate black setae. Frons predominantly black with ventral margin orange to pale (some specimens with orange to pale marks be- tween antennae); set with few black setae. Gena pale. Vertex raised; in anterior view mostly orange with a medial transverse dark brown line (interrupted medially in some specimens); in dorsal view mostly orange with scattered dark brown marks, mainly on posterior margin and medially; set with some short black setae. Ocular setae absent. Antennae clubbed; elongate,> 3x length of pronotum; distance between width; four to five subapical flagellomeres completely pale (some specimens apical flagellomeres and scape, entirely dark brown), remaining segments light brown with a dorsal pale ring; torular membrane orange to pale; flagellomeres almost as long as wide at base, apical ones much wider than long; all segments set with short black setae. Mandibles mostly pale, with tip black. Palpi, maxillary and labial pale; apical labial palpomere fusiform, palpimacula opening oval-shaped, located medially.

Thorax ( Fig. 102b ): Pronotum wider than long; posterior margin as wide as anterior; subapical furrow present; mostly orange to pale except for some dark brown marks as follows: a central large “X” shaped, two curved and thin surrounding central one, and two small located on margins (some specimens with darker areas larger, often linked); beset with short black setae and some long ones at borders. Mesonotum colouration mostly orange to pale, with some dark brown areas distributed on segments, scutum with a broad central mark and thin longitudinal lines laterally; covered with short black setae. Metanotum orange, with few small dark brown marks, mainly near wings bases and midline. Pterothoracic pleura mostly orange to pale with scattered dark brown areas (in darker specimens these areas are larger); covered with white and black setae; Miller’s organ present.

Wings ( Fig. 102c ): Broad; anterior Banksian line present in both wings, posterior absent; veins mostly pale, but some veins intercalated with brown spots, beset with short black setae. Male pilula axillaris present. Forewing membrane hyaline with small amber marks on pterostigma and rhegmal area (some specimens with marks darker and area surrounding crossveins marked); CuA fork located between RP origin and first fork; three presectoral crossveins; most of subcostal veinlets simple but some forked; posterior area about same size as prefork area. Hind wing membrane hyaline with small amber rhegmal spot; MP fork located between RP origin and first fork; subcostal veinlets simple; one presectoral crossvein.

Legs ( Figs. 102 a–b): All pairs of legs, femur elongate (near three times longer than coxa); tibia and femur about same size but slightly longer than tarsi; tibial spurs absent; T2, T3 and T4 about same size, T1 twice longer than T2, T5 slightly longer than T1; claws about half of T5 length; coxa set with many short white setae, remaining segments set whit short black setae and scattered long black setae; T5 ventrally with two rows of thick, long, black setae. Proleg sense hair short, almost as long as femur width; tibia with antennal cleaning setae ventroapically; coxa pale with some dark brown marks, trochanter pale, femur pale with tip and part of dorsal surface dark brown, tibia pale with tip and a medial ring dark brown, tarsi pale with tip of T5 dark brown in some specimens. Mesoleg with same colour of proleg. Metaleg with femur, tibia and T1 slightly longer than in other legs; colour same of other legs except for tibia that lacks the dark medial ring in some specimens.

Abdomen: Tergites mostly orange with scattered dark brown marks, size of these marks varies among specimens. Sternites pale to orange, with a few dark brown marks in some specimens. Beset with short black setae.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 103 a–c): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded in lateral view, set with elongate black setae. 9 th sternite posterior margin rounded in ventral view; set with elongate black setae. Gonarcus simple and arched in lateral view. Mediuncus long, and fused with gonarcus. Paramere weakly sclerotized, vertically elongate and curved in lateral view.

Female Terminalia ( Figs. 103 d–e): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded, set with thin elongate setae and some cavisetae ventrally. Lateral gonapophyses rounded, about same size as ectoproct, beset with cavisetae. 9 th tergite with some cavisetae on ventral area in lateral view. 7 th sternite distal margin straight in ventral view; covered with short black setae. Pregenital plate transversely elongate with anterior margin rounded in ventral view. Posterior gonapophyses thin, elongate, curved, and covered with long black setae and few thickened setae. 9 th tergite without membranous digitiform process. Anterior gonapophyses absent. Ventral membrane gonapophyseal plates absent.

Distribution ( Fig. 101 ). Australia: NT*, QLD*, SA*, WA. Known from sparse records in western and northern Australia.

Adult activity period. Records for October to December, February, March, and May.

Biology. Unknown, larva unknown.

Name-bearing type. Glenoleon drysdalensis : Holotype (by original designation), female, ANIC, examined. Type locality: Australia, Western Australia, Drysdale River, 14 o 39’S– 126 o 57’E. From original description: “ Holotype, ♀, Western Australia, 14 o 39’S., 126 o 57’E., Drysdale River, 18–21.viii.1975, I. F. B. Common and M. S. Upton ( ANIC)”. Condition: good; terminalia dissected.

Additional material examined (11♂, 8♀). AUSTRALIA: Northern Territory: 46 km SSW of Borroloola , 16.28S– 136.09E, 28.x.1975, M.S. Upton (1♂, ANIC) ; 20 km N of Renner Springs , 17.xi.1989, R.B. Miller (1♂, 1♀, FSCA) ; Queensland: 13 km W of Charter Towers , 11.xii.1989, R.B. Miller (1♀, TAMU) ; 61 km E of Mount Isa , 7.xii.1989, R.B. Miller (1♂, FSCA) ; South Australia: Musgrave Range : x.1994 (1♂, SAMA) ; Western Australia: Carson escarpment: 14.49S– 126.49E, 9–15.viii.1975, I.F.B. Common & M.S. Upton (1♀, ANIC) ; Drysdale River : 14 o 39’S– 126 o 57’E, 18–21.viii.1975, I.F.B. Common and M.S. Upton (2♂ PT, 1♀ PT, ANIC) 57 km W of Newman , 25 o 51’17.0’’S– 119 o 04’39.4’’E, 2.iii.1994, L. Stange (1♂, 1♀, FSCA) ; Whim Creek Hotel: 28 o 50’26.6’’S– 117 o 56’4.7’’E, 27.ii.1994, R. Miller & L. Stange (1♂, TAMU) ; 25 km NE of Whim Creek Pub , 20 o 51’33.0’’S– 118 o 03’23.0’’E, 28.ii.1994, L. Stange & R. Miller (2♂, 1♀, FSCA; 1♂, TAMU) ; Wittenoon : 4.v.1996, L. Stange (1♀, FSCA) .

Comments. The relatively small size of M. drysdalensis and the absence of tibial spurs clearly distinguish it from other species of the stigmatus species group. For phylogenetic relationships see Fig. 4 .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Strict consensus tree of morphology-based parsimony analysis of species belonging to the former subtribe Periclystina (ingroup, names in black), and outgroups (names in red). Former Glenoleon species are shown on blue branches, former Austrogymnocnemia species on green branches. Numbers above branches are Bremer support values; numbers below branches are bootstrap values (shown where>50%).

FIGURE 101. Distribution of Megagonoleon species (part).

FIGURE 102. Megagonoleon drysdalensis: a) head, anterior; b) head and thorax, dorsal; c) wings, dorsal.

FIGURE 103. Megagonoleon drysdalensis: male: a) terminalia, lateral; b) genitalia, lateral; c) genitalia, posterior; female: d) terminalia, lateral; e) terminalia, ventral (note pregenital plate hidden beneathsternite). Scale bars = 0.5 mm.