Armillipora Quate, 1996

Jaume-Schinkel, Santiago & Mengual, Ximo, 2024, A revision of the genus Armillipora Quate (Diptera: Psychodidae) with the descriptions of two new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 925, pp. 161-178 : 163-164

Genus Armillipora Quate, 1996

Armillipora Quate, 1996: 29 . Type species Armillipora selvica Quate, 1996 (by original designation).

Armillipora – Jezek et al. 2020: 418 (updated diagnosis, redescription of type species, and description of new species).

Differential diagnosis

The genus Armillipora has been placed in the tribe Maruinini Enderlein, 1937 based on the presence in the wing of a radial fork being basal to the medial fork and both forks located basally on the wing, as well as the broad and dorsally flattened shape of the ejaculatory apodeme ( Quate 1996; Kvifte 2018; Ježek et al. 2020). At first glance, species of Armillipora resemble those of Alepia Enderlein, 1937 and Platyplastinx Enderlein, 1937 mainly by the wing maculation and the presence of two different types of tenacula on the epandrial appendage (see Quate 1996: fig. 11; Ježek et al. 2020: figs 1–20; Jaume-Schinkel et al. 2022: figs 1–15; Jaume-Schinkel & Kvifte 2022: figs 1–16). But species of Armillipora can be easily differentiated using characteristics of the male genitalia as follows: the characteristic shape of the irregularly-asymmetrical epandrial appendage (not irregularly asymmetrical in Alepia and Platyplastinx ), the long accessory tenacula (long in Alepia , but short in Platyplastinx ) with a group of short cylindrical tip-folded tenacula (not present in Alepia and Platyplastinx ), with the absence of apical tenacula (usually none, one or more apical tenacula in Alepia and Platyplastinx ), the lack of gonostyli and the gonocoxites fused in Armillipora (gonostyli present and gonocoxites usually not fused in Alepia and Platyplastinx ), and the absence of the aedeagal sheath (present in Alepia , but absent in Platyplastinx ) (see Ježek et al. 2020). Females of Armillipora can be differentiated of those of Alepia and Platyplastinx by the following characters: antennal flagellomeres with double circle of teardrop-shaped pores in the center, although less conspicuous than males they are present in Armillipora (absent in Alepia and Platyplastinx ); Armillipora with the subgenital plate longer than wide (subgenital plate length variable in Alepia , usually about the same length as its width in Platyplastinx ), with apical lobes separated by a broad concavity (concavity is broader than twice the length of the apical lobe) with a pair of long spines on apical margin of concavity (apical lobes not separated by broad concavity (concavity being less than the length of apical lobe) and pair of long spines on apical margin of concavity absent in Alepia and Platyplastinx ).

Biology

To date, nothing is known about the immature stages and the biology of the species of Armillipora . Given the known information about the tribe Maruinini , it is expected that larvae of Armillipora breed in some aquatic or semi-aquatic environment.

Species included

Armillipora imitata sp. nov., A. muyu sp. nov., A. selvica Quate, 1996 , A. suapiensis Ježek, Oboňa & Le Pont 2020 . Species distribution is shown in Table 1.