Culex (Melanoconion) lucackermanni Talaga, 2022

Talaga, Stanislas & Gendrin, Mathilde, 2022, Three new species of Culex (Melanoconion) (Diptera: Culicidae) from French Guiana based on morphological and molecular data, Zootaxa 5205 (2), pp. 177-189 : 183-186

Culex (Melanoconion) lucackermanni Talaga , n. sp.

Zoobank LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EBF54E64-DA7C-48CE-9719-5596450631CF

BIN: BOLD:AET1273.

Male. Habitus not examined. Genitalia ( Fig. 4A‒G ): Tergum VIII not clearly separated into lateral lobes. Tergum IX with 2 distinct lobes, shape as shown in Fig. 4F , bearing 29‒33 setae equally distributed in 2 groups of distinct sizes, outer setae clearly longer than the inner setae. Gonocoxite stocky, ovoid; ventrolateral setae strongly developed; ventromesal surface with small, scattered setae from base to level of distal division of subapical lobe, setae longer basally; lateral surface with a patch of very long setae (lsp) at level of subapical lobe; proximal part of ventrolateral surface with scales. Subapical lobe clearly divided into 2 divisions. Proximal division divided into 2 slightly divergent arms, proximal arm shorter than distal arm, both arms bearing 1 long, robust, sinuous, apically hooked seta (setae a and b), both setae equivalent in length and width; a patch of short setae inserted mesally at base of distal surface. Distal division subdivided into inner and outer arms; inner arm columnar with 4 apical setae, 3 long, apically expanded, appressed flattened setae (f), and 1 shorter, apically truncated, flattened seta (f); outer arm with 2 apical setae, 1 long hooked seta (h), and 1 short, curved, saber-like seta (s); 2 subapical setae, 1 broad, asymmetrical, striated foliform seta (l), and 1 long, narrow, saber-like seta (s) inserted at base of seta l. Gonostylus slender, curved, widened on distal 0.5 in lateral view, tapering to apex, bearing an inconspicuous subapical crest on ventral side, restricted to widest part; ventral surface with small laterally directed lapel-shaped fold, and a small hyaline fold apically with smooth border; gonostylar claw, short, leaf-like, 2 close setae before gonostylar claw, distal seta conspicuously larger than proximal seta. Phallosome with lateral plates longer than aedeagal sclerites; distal part of lateral plate with median and tergal processes, sternal process not developed; apical median process broad and curved on ventral side, apical margin irregular, ending in 1 or 2 points tergad; apical tergal process long, equivalent in length to apical median process, pointed and directed dorsolaterally; base of lateral plate with a markedly distinct tergal process. Proctiger elongate; paraproct narrowed distally, expanded basally, crown a row of about 8 or 9 short simple blades, apical blade conspicuously more sclerotized than basal blades. Cercal sclerite long and narrow with 1 cercal seta. Basal plate and paramere as figured. Tergum X somewhat rectangular in outline, rounded at apex.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Luc Ackermann, the conservator of the Réserve Naturelle Nationale de La Trinité, for his continuous efforts in documenting the biodiversity of this preserved area of French Guiana.

Bionomics. Very little is known about the bionomics of Cx. lucackermanni . Immature stages were collected among roots and dead leaves at the edge of a rainforest stream ( Fig. 5B ). Water was clear, moderately warm (24.8°C), almost neutral (pH = 7.45), with a conductivity of 180 µS/cm. Immature stages of Cx. lucackermanni were collected together with An. (Lophopodomyia) squamifemur Antunes, 1937 , Chagasia bonneae Root, 1927a and Cx. (Mel.) corentynensis Dyar, 1920 .

Distribution. Culex lucackermanni is only know from the type locality ( Fig. 1A ).

Type material. Holotype: Adult male in 96% ethanol with dissected genitalia mounted on a microscope slide and associated pupal exuviae in 70% ethanol (specimen numbers ST1#01742, BOLD: FGMOS2927-22 ), FRENCH GUIANA: Montagnes de la Trinité, Crique Baboune (53.40525° W, 4.58359° N, 90 m above sea level), 8-XI-2020, S. Talaga, IPG . Paratypes: Two adult males individualized in 96% ethanol with dissected genitalia mounted on separate microscope slides and individualized associated pupal exuviae in 70% ethanol (specimen numbers ST1#01743, BOLD: FGMOS2928-22 and ST1#01744, BOLD: FGMOS2929-22 ), same collection data as the holotype, IPG .

Figures

FIGURE 1. A, Map showing the distribution of Culex (Melanoconion) sallumae n. sp. (red star), Cx. (Mel.) hutchingsae n. sp. (green dots) and Cx. (Mel.) lucackermanni n. sp. (yellow triangle) in French Guiana; B, Maximum Likelihood (ML) tree of the COI barcodes obtained from the type specimens of the three new species. Bootstrap support values under 500 replications are indicated near nodes. The specimen number, species name and Barcode Index Number (BIN) provided by the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) are indicated for each barcode sequence.

FIGURE 4. Male genitalia of Culex (Melanoconion) lucackermannin. sp.A, Gonocoxopodite, lateral aspect; B, gonocoxopodite, mesal aspect; C, paraproct, tergum X and basal plate, lateral views; D, paramere, lateral view; E, lateral plate and aedeagal sclerite, lateral views; F, tergum IX; G, tergum VIII. AeS, aedeagal sclerite; BP, basal plate; dSL, distal division of subapical lobe; Gc, gonocoxite; GC, gonostylar claw; Gs, gonostylus; LP, lateral plate; lsp, lateral setal patch; Ppr, paraproct; pSL, proximal division of subapical lobe; X-Te, tergum X.

FIGURE 5. Aquatic habitats of (A) Culex (Melanoconion) hutchingsae n. sp. and (B) Cx. (Mel.) lucackermanni n. sp. in the Réserve Naturelle Nationale de La Trinité, French Guiana.