Brueelia (Painjunirmus) alba sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: EBA67F37-C773-48C5-A8AB-E1AEA64A4B7A

Figs 25–32

Diagnosis

Brueelia (Painjunirmus) alba sp. nov. is most similar to Br. (P.) chilchil, and Br. (P.) magnini, with which it shares the following characters: aps absent from male tergopleurite III (Figs 1, 25, 33) and proximal mesosome slender and more or less rectangular (Figs 6, 30, 38).

Brueelia (Painjunirmus) alba sp. nov. is separated from Br. (P.) chilchil on the following characters: sternal plates not modified laterally in Br. (P.) alba (Figs 25–26), but modified in Br. (P.) chilchil (Figs 1–2); lateral margins of mesosome distally convergent in Br. (P.) alba (Fig. 30), but near-parallel in Br. (P.) chilchil (Fig. 6); parameres much more slender in Br. (P.) alba (Fig. 31) than in Br. (P.) chilchil (Fig. 7); basal apodeme slender in Br. (P.) alba (Fig. 29), but broader in Br. (P.) chilchil (Fig. 5); vulval margin gently rounded in Br. (P.) alba (Fig. 32), but with median bulge in Br. (P.) chilchil (Fig. 8).

Brueelia (Painjunirmus) alba sp. nov. is separated from Br. (P.) magnini on the following characters: male abdominal segments III–V with 3 ps on each side in Br. (P.) alba (Fig. 25), but 2 ps on each side in Br. (P.) magnini (Fig. 33); proximal mesosome smaller in Br. (P.) alba (Fig. 30) than in Br. (P.) magnini (Fig. 38); female subgenital plate roughly quadratic in Br. (P.) alba (Fig. 32), but more trapezoidal in Br. (P.) magnini (Fig. 40).

Etymology

The species epithet is derived from the Latin ‘ alba ’ for ‘white ’, referring to the near-complete lack of pigmentation in this species.

Type material

Holotype NEPAL • ♂; Mar. 1937; R, Meinertzhagen leg.; ex Argya striata striata (Dumont, 1823) [as Turdoides terricolor terricolor]; 9339; NHMUK010709544; NHMUK .

Paratypes NEPAL • 3 ♀♀; same data as for holotype; 9339–40; NHMUK010709545; NHMUK .

Type host

Argya striata striata (Dumont, 1823) – jungle babbler.

Type locality

Nepal.

Description

Both sexes

Head convex dome-shaped (Fig. 27), lateral margins of preantennal area slightly convex, frons shallowly concave. Marginal carina deeply displaced and much widened at osculum, lateral sections slender with slightly irregular median margins. Ventral anterior plate not visible. Head chaetotaxy as in Fig. 27. Extent of head pigmentation as delimited by thin dotted line in Fig. 27, interior of preantennal nodi unpigmented. Thoracic and abdominal segments as in Figs 25–26; proepimera with light brown pigmentation; metepisterna, metasternum, and anterior and posterior sections of sternal plates with very faint brown pigmentation.

Male

Scape as in Fig. 27. Distal abdomen destroyed during mounting of single examined male, and not illustrated. Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Fig. 25; aps absent from tergopleurite III; tps present on tergopleurites VI–VII; 3 ps on each side of segments III–V and VII, 2 ps on each side of segment VI. Sternal plates without lateral extensions. Subgenital plate with very pale brown pigmentation in anterior end, distal end missing in specimen. Basal apodeme long and slender (Fig. 29). Proximal mesosome short, roughly rectangular (Fig. 30). Lateral margins of mesosomal lobes convergent distally, antero-lateral horns short, more or less straight. Rugose area of distal mesosome extensive; pmes as in Fig. 30. Gonopore small, distal margin deeply concave; ames as in Fig. 30. Parameres slender, much elongated; pst1–2 as in Fig. 31.

MEASUREMENTS (n = 1). HL = 0.36; HW = 0.31; PRW = 0.20; PTW = 0.33; AW = 0.49.

Female

Scape as in Fig. 28. Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Fig. 26; segment II with 2 ps on each side, segments III–VIII with 3 ps on each side. Sternal plates without lateral extensions. Subgenital plate with very faint brown pigmentation in anterior end, but posterior limit of pigmentation diffuse and not illustrated; plate moderately broad, with broad connection to cross-piece (Fig. 32). Vulval margin gently rounded to slightly flattened medianly (Fig. 32), with 3 short, slender vms and 3–5 short, thorn-like vss on each side; 4 short, slender vos on each side of subgenital plate; distal 1 vos median to vss.

MEASUREMENTS (n = 3). TL = 1.80–2.01; HL = 0.41; HW = 0.34–0.36; PRW = 0.21–0.22; PTW = 0.34– 0.36; AW = 0.56–0.60.

Remarks

The occurrence of two different species of Brueelia (Painjunirmus) on Turdoides striata in different parts of its range may indicate that these species are geographically limited. No detailed collection locality is given on the type slides, and more collections are needed to establish whether Br. (P.) alba sp. nov. is more widely distributed.