Bunyipellum, Craig & Currie & Moulton, 2018

Craig, Douglas A., Currie, Douglas C. & Moulton, John K., 2018, Reassignment of Western Australia Paracnephia gladiator Moulton & Adler to a new genus, Bunyipellum (Diptera: Simuliidae), Zootaxa 4375 (3), pp. 341-357 : 342

Bunyipellum nov. gen. Craig, Currie, Moulton.

Paracnephia gladiator Moulton & Adler, 2004 . Type species.

Diagnosis. As noted by Moulton et al. (2004: 6) in their original description of Paracnephia gladiator , the larvae could be distinguished from those of all other species in the family by a suite of characters—namely, head capsule brown, hypostoma with eight equal-sized teeth, postgenal cleft squared and extended 1/4-1/3 distance to the hypostoma, body dark brown and gradually expanded posteriorly. Pupae were unique in having elongated spines on the head and thorax. Females were distinguished from those of all others by the orange scutum, maxillary palpomere V shorter than III and tarsal claws either lacking a tooth, or with a markedly small example. Males by the scutal colour and maxillary palp (as for female). With newer material available of most stages of the Australian Gondwanan simuliids, and with the recent reassignment of two such species to Paraustrosimulium ( Craig et al. 2017) , our reexamination of all stages of Paracnephia gladiator reveals that generic reassignment is also warranted for that species.

Adults: Nine antennomeres; body markedly tri-coloured with abdomen dark, antennae, legs and genitalia light yellow, thorax coloured; wings lacking colour spots, vein C with spine-like setae, Rs not branched, R and Rs not closely applied, small basal cell present, CuA2 and M1 sinuous. Female: Frons markedly broad; thorax yellowish orange; claw tooth absent to markedly small, heel colourless; spermatheca enlarged; hypogynial valves broadly rounded apically, anal lobe exacerbated. Male: Thorax reddish orange; genitalia protruded ventrally; gonostylus with two terminal spines; ventral plate as broad as long, narrow median carina, hirsute; paramere connector thin and closely applied to lateral edge of ventral plate, paramere plate-like, spines small and on bare aedeagal membrane. Pupa: Elongated spine-like setae (aka trichomes) on head and thorax; abdominal tergites ridged; pleurites absent; terminal spines elongated and sharp; 'grapnel hooks' as stiff straight setae. Larva: Body and head dark brown; labral fan stems short and broad; ray number and expression exacerbated; antenna subequal to fan stem length, basal antennomere markedly short and clear; hypostomal teeth small, in concave arrangement, tooth 5 forming 'lateral' tooth; anterior proleg circlet of hooks markedly small, similarly posterior proleg circlet, but hooks dark brown and enlarged.

Etymology. Named after the fearsome mythical beast of Australian Aboriginal mythology, the 'Bunyip'; said to lurk in the depths of billabongs ( Holden & Holden, 2001).