Rhachiella malawica, Aspöck & Aspöck & Johnson & Donga & Duelli, 2020

Aspöck, Ulrike, Aspöck, Horst, Johnson, James B., Donga, Trust Kasambala & Duelli, Peter, 2020, Rhachiella malawica gen. nov., spec. nov. from Malawi-another beauty of the Afrotropics (Neuroptera: Rhachiberothidae), Zootaxa 4808 (1), pp. 131-140 : 132-136

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4808.1.7
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:82D8C720-6938-4AF2-9186-491F07053EC8
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4327849
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/996C842D-D937-FFE2-FF5D-F8A1D14C208B
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Rhachiella malawica
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Rhachiella malawica spec. nov.

Holotype: male, Malawi, Southern Province, Lake Zomba, 1458m, -015°21’37” / +035°18’32”, 17-XI- 2018 JB Johnson, P. Duelli, T. Donga leg.

Type locality: Malawi, Lake Zomba.

General appearance ( Figs 1 View FIGURE 1 , 2, 3 View FIGURES 2–6 ) with the typical rhachiberothid look, hairiness, bright yellowish habitus, with only basal parts of antennae dark brown; pterostigma of male brownish, with a yellowish patch in the centre, however yellowish with a brownish patch in the centre in the female.

Length of forewing of males 6.5–6.7 mm, of females 6.8–7.2 mm.

Description of male ( Figs 2–4 View FIGURES 2–6 ): Head flat, yellow, with paired brown stripes on the vertex, laterally brownish; frons yellow with brown spot, base of clypeus dark brown, genae slightly inflated; scape twice as long as broad, scape, pedicellus and first segment of flagellum dark brown, rest of flagellum yellow. Mouthparts dark brown. Pronotum brownish, with two pairs of brownish tubercles. Meso- and metanotum with a yellow median fascia, and with a median brown line. Meso- and metanotum brown, mesonotum with yellowish patches laterally.

Femora of raptorial forelegs with two rows of brown, comb-like thorns ( Fig. 3 View FIGURES 2–6 ).

Forewing ( Figs 2, 4 View FIGURES 2–6 ): Radius and Media free to wing base. Pterostigma brownish, with a yellow patch. Wing membrane hyaline with light smoky shadows around cross veins and forkings. Venation: longitudinal veins yellowish, cross-veins brownish. Hindwing: Basal Media anterior sinuate. Pterostigma brownish, much smaller than in forewing.

Abdomen: Tergites yellow, with median brown line, pleurae yellow with brownish zig-zag line, sternites whitish-yellowish.

Genital segments of male ( Figs 5–6 View FIGURES 2–6 ): Tergite and sternite of segment 8 much shorter than the previous ones, with distinct spiraculum, tergite 9 ribbon-like with a small ridge. Sternite 9 inconspicuous, short, with deep incision. Ectoproct with distinct trichobothria rosette, apex broad finger-shaped, sculptured. Gonocoxites 9+11 extremely reduced to a tiny weakly sclerotized structure. Gonocoxites 10 paired basally, fused with the unpaired gonapophyses 10, terminating in a long penisfilum. Hypandrium internum of typical shape.

Description of female ( Figs 1 View FIGURE 1 , 7 View FIGURES 7–10 ): Eidonomic characters similar to those of the male. Pterostigma yellowish with brownish patch in the centre, however less contrasting than in the male.

Genital segments of female ( Figs 8–10 View FIGURES 7–10 ): Sternite 7 reduced to a small band-like sclerite. Pseudohypocaudae with two apical digitiform processes. Gonocoxites 9 with short apex (hypocaudae).

Bursa copulatrix connected by a long ductus with receptaculum seminis, which comprises a complex system of ducts.

Rhachiella malawica spec. nov. is differentiated from all known species of Rhachiberotha by the lack of tubercles on the head, by possession of a penisfilum in the male (lacking in Rhachiberotha ), and by pseudohypocaudae with two processes (only a simple apex in Rhachiberotha ).

Rhachiella malawica spec. nov. is differentiated from all known species of Mucroberotha by a flat head (domed in Mucroberotha ), by Radius and Media of forewing free to wing base (fused in Mucroberotha ).

Rhachiella malawica spec. nov. is differentiated from Hoelzeliella by the rounded apex of the forewing (slightly sinuate in Hoelzeliella ).

Etymology: Rhachiella is derived from Rhachiberotha . It has feminine gender; malawica is an adjective derived from the country where the species has been discovered.

Material studied: Holotype, male, and 4 males, and 4 females, paratypes: Malawi, Southern Region, Lake Zomba, 1458m, -015°21’37” / +035°18’32”, 17 Nov 2018, J.B. Johnson, P. Duelli, T. Donga leg. Holotype, and 1 female in MM, 1 male and 1 female in WFBEMI, 2 males and 1 female in NHMW, 1 male and 1 female in HUAC .

The specimens were taken 30 m from the lake shore of the Zomba-dam, mainly on trees at the edge of natural vegetation, while most other trees along the shore were ornamentals. It was noteworthy that the times of the collections occurred between mid-afternoon and early evening, mostly 3-5 PM local time. Trees that had not yielded specimens of R. malawica earlier in the day did yield specimens when revisited during this time period.

1 male paratype ( MM): Malawi, Southern Region, Zomba, Forest path near Sunbird Hotel , 1521m, -015°21’55” / +035°18’5”, 16 Nov 2018, JB Johnson, P. Duelli, T. Donga leg., collected on a bush along a path on a steep slope. Rain forest , natural vegetation ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 ) .

Rhachiella malawica spec. nov. is known from the region of Zomba in Malawi only and thus in the centre of the hitherto known distribution of Rhachiberothidae ( Figs 12 View FIGURE 12 –14).