Neochauliodes simplex ( Walker, 1853 )

Liu, Xingyue, Hayashi, Fumio & Yang, Ding, 2010, Revision of the fishfly genus Neochauliodes van der Weele (Megaloptera: Corydalidae) from India and adjacent regions of South Asia, Zootaxa 2692, pp. 33-50 : 42-43

Neochauliodes simplex ( Walker, 1853)

( Figures 5 , 25–29 )

Chauliodes simplex Walker, 1853: 200 . Type locality: Bangladesh (Sylhet).

Diagnosis. The background wing coloration of this species is smoky brown in both sexes, however, there is little other coloration in males expect for the pterostigmatic stripes. In females, besides the pterostigmatic stripes, there are distinct dark spots on proximal half of costal areas and distal half among radial sectors in forewing, and on median portion of hindwing. Male genitalic characters are also distinctive. The median plate of the tenth sternum is elongate and narrow in both lateral and ventral view, without elevated ridges ventrally. The female ninth gonocoxite is much broader than tenth tergum.

Male. Body length 17–18 mm; forewing length 27 mm, hindwing length 24 mm.

Head dark reddish brown, with clypeus yellow ( Fig. 5 ). Compound eyes dark; ocelli yellowish brown, medially margined black. Antennae dark. Mouthparts yellow; mandibles with distal half reddish brown, maxillary and labial palpi with distal three segments reddish brown.

Thorax dark reddish brown, meso- and metanota much darker laterally. Legs yellow with short, dense yellowish setae; joints between femora and tibiae, apices of tibiae, and tarsi brown, tarsal claws reddish brown. Wings ( Fig. 5 ) pale smoky brown; pterostigmatic area short, whitish. Forewing almost immaculate with a few indistinct brownish spots on proximal half of costal area and between branches of Rs, and with distinctly brown spots on nygmata; costal area respectively with a long and a short brownish stripe flanking pterostigmata. Hindwing similarly patterned, but spots on proximal costal area absent, distally with only an indistinct brownish stripe along proximal half of R2. Veins brown. Rs six-branched, smoothly curved posteriad; three crossveins between R1 and Rs.

Abdomen dark. Ninth tergum ( Fig. 25 ) subtriangular and angled anteroventrad in lateral view. Tenth tergum ( Figs 25, 27 ) in lateral view subquadrate, slightly wider than long, posterodorsal corner rounded and slightly prominent, posteroventral corner rounded; in dorsal view medially inflated, bearing rows of brushy setae. Tenth sternum ( Figs 25–26 ) strongly sclerotized, lateral arms short and rounded, connected with median plate by narrow protrusions that bear a few short setae; median plate in ventral view subtriangular, narrowly elongated, with round tip, anterior emargination V-shaped; median plate in lateral view thin, slightly narrowed apically.

Female. Body length 13–23 mm; forewing length 28–33 mm, hindwing length 24–29 mm.

Wings with markings distinct, much darker than those in male. A few dark spots presented on proximal half of costal areas and distal half among radial sectors in forewing, and a short transverse band presented on median portion of hindwing.

Eighth sternum ( Figs 28–29 ) subtrapezoidal in lateral view, with roundly convex posterior margin in ventral view. Tenth tergum ( Fig. 28 ) short and stout, slightly produced posterodorsad. Ninth gonocoxite ( Fig. 28 ) much broader than tenth tergum, acutely produced posteriad.

Type material. Lectotype ɗ, BANGLADESH: “Silhet[= Sylhet, ca. 91°52'E, 24°53'N]/ simplex / Type / LECTOTYPE / Chauliodes simplex Walk [er] ɗ D.E. Kimmins det. 1964 LECTOTYPE ” (NHM). Paralectotypes: 1ɗ, BANGLADESH: “Silhet/ PARALECTOTYPE / Neochauliodes simplex Wlk [=Walker] det v[an]d[er] Weele 1907 / Abdom en in slide cabinet” (NHM); 1 ɗ, B ANG LADE SH: “Silhet/ PARALECTOTYPE / C. simplex Silhet ” (NHM).

Additional material. 4ɗ3Ψ, INDIA: Meghalaya, Khasis [= Khasia Hills], Nat[ive]. Coll[ector]. (NHM); 1ɗ, Meghalaya, Shillong (NHM); 1Ψ, Uttarakhand, Garhwal [78°30'E, 30°30'N] (NHM).

Distribution. Bangladesh (Sylhet); India (Meghalaya, Uttarakhand).

Remarks. This species was described by Francis Walker based on specimens from Sylhet in Bangladesh ( Walker 1853). Banks (1911) also recorded this species in India (Lebong); however, his description indicates that the wings of the male specimen he examined are distinctly marked by dark spots, which is different from the wing patterns in male of true N. simplex but similar to that in N. indicus . Kimmins (1954) confirmed the presence of I. simplex in India, providing relatively precise distribution records and an adequate redescription of the male. Ghosh (1981, 2000) listed N. simplex as being present in India based on several specimens from Meghalaya; however, judging from his measurement of the wings (male forewing length 30–36 mm, but female forewing length 32 mm) and his figures of the male genitalia (median plate of tenth sternum possesses a pair of lateral ridges in ventral view), we postulate that it should be misidentified N. fletcheri , a species closely related species of N. simplex . A record of N. simplex from Indochina ( Lestage 1927) was based on a misidentified specimen of N. bowringi (McLachlan) , an error that was corrected by Liu et al. (2010a). Consequently, we believe that N. simplex is distributed only in Bangladesh and northern India ( Fig. 40 ). For a detailed comparison between N. simplex and N. fletcheri , see the remarks under N. fletcheri .

Figures

FIGURE 40. Geographic distribution of Neochauliodes spp from India and adjacent regions. Lower map shows the general range of Neochauliodes, while upper map shows the distribution for each species. (●) N. fletcheri Kimmins; (․) N. indicus (van der Weele); (□) N. nepalensis sp. nov.; (˔) N. obscurus van der Weele; (Ο) N. simplex (Walker); () N. subfasciatus (Westwood); (+) N. truncatus Kimmins.

FIGURES 1 – 7. Habitus images of Neochauliodes spp. 1. N. fletcheri Kimmins, holotype male; 2. N. indicus (van der Weele), paralectotype male; 3. N. nepalensis sp. nov., holotype male; 4. N. obscurus van der Weele, holotype female; 5. N. simplex (Walker), lectotype male; 6. N. subfasciatus (Westwood), lectotype male; 7. N. truncatus Kimmins, holotype male. Scale bars = 5.0 mm.

FIGURES 25 – 29. Neochauliodes simplex (Walker). 25. Male genitalia, lateral view; 26. Male tenth sternum, ventral view; 27. Male tenth tergum, dorsal view; 28. Female genitalia, lateral view; 29. Female eighth sternum, ventral view. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.