Lesneia testudinata Yoshizawa & Lienhard, 2020

Yoshizawa, Kazunori, Marusik, Yuri M., Yao, Izumi & Lienhard, Charles, 2020, Systematic Position of the Enigmatic Psocid Family Lesneiidae (Insecta: Psocodea: Psocomorpha), With Description of Two New Species, Insect Systematics and Diversity (AIFB) 4 (6), No. 6, pp. 1-6 : 4

Lesneia testudinata Yoshizawa & Lienhard , n. sp.

( Figs. 1B , 4 ) (urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B885B740-0350-497D-AF2A-

84EEDB4880BE)

Holotype female (KY511). SOUTH AFRICA: Limpopo Prov., Kutetsha Research Centre at Bergplaas (litter shifting), 23°2 ′ 49 ″ S 29°26 ′ 51 ″ E, 23–25.i.2020, Y.M. Marusik (partly used for DNA extraction) (deposited at MHNG).

Description. Body entirely black, except for distal flagellar segments, all trochanters, tip of tibiae and tarsi, and lateral narrow longitudinal region of abdomen white. Eye well developed, IO/D = 4.0.

Carapace-like abdomen strongly expanded anteriorly over thorax, covering most of thorax together with vertex, surface rugose; in dorsal view, its anterior margin straight, gradually broadened to middle and more acutely narrowing toward the posterior end. Terminalia ( Fig. 4 ): Epiproct length/width ratio ca. 4/9. Paraproct with well-developed ventral lobe; latero-posteriorly with membranous region; posteriorly with two closely approximated equallength spines. Subgenital plate sharply narrowing toward slightly concave posterior margin.

Body length 1.9 mm.

Etymology. The species epithet is derived from testudinata , meaning ‘like a turtle-shell’ in Latin, indicating the characteristic sclerotized and carapace-like abdomen hanging over the thorax in this species. Remarks. By the anteriorly strongly expanded abdominal carapace, this species can be clearly distinguished from all other known species of Lesneia . Because of this highly autapomorphic condition, this species looks significantly different from the other Lesneia species, and establishment of new genus for this species might be justified. However, an autapomorphic specialization alone cannot justify the establishment of a new genus, because such treatment frequently results in paraphyly of the genus containing the remaining species, merely characterized by symplesiomorphies (highly autapomorphic Podopterocus and plesiomorphic Sigmatoneura of the family Psocidae are one of such examples, which are now united into a single genus: Yoshizawa et al. 2005). The abdominal conditions in L. testudinata , such as more swollen dorsum and rugose surface (probably apomorphic), are more similar to those in L. nigra than in L. johnsoni . However, L. testudinata shows more plesiomorphic eye condition than L. nigra and L. johnsoni (eye much more reduced in these species). Unfortunately, it was not feasible to amplify the DNA of L. nigra (see Material and Methods), so that the evolutionary pathway of these chimerical distribution of character states must be tested in a future study.

Figures

Fig. 1. Female habitus of Lesneia spp., dorsal (left) and dorsolateral (right) views.(A) L. johnsoni n. sp.(B) L. testudinata n. sp. (C) L. nigra. Scale = 1 mm.

Figs. 3–5. Female terminalia of Lesneia johnsoni n. sp.(3), Lesneia testudinata n. sp. (4), and Lesneia nigra (5). (A) terminalia, lateral view (setae omitted except for those on the paraproct). (B) epiproct, dorsal view. (C) subgenital plate, ventral view (setae omitted from right half).