Viridopromontorius aequus, Roy, Sukhendu & Hazra, Niladri, 2016

Roy, Sukhendu & Hazra, Niladri, 2016, Record of a new species of the genus Viridopromontorius Luna de Carvalho (Strepsiptera: Corioxenidae) from India with a revised key to Corioxenidae, Zootaxa 4154 (5), pp. 567-573 : 568-569

Viridopromontorius aequus sp. n.

( Figs. 1–9 ) (Plates I–IV)

Material examined. Holotype male (Type No. BU Ent. 274), India, West Bengal, Krishnanagar (23°40'N, 88°50'E), 01.ix.2015, light trap, Coll. S. Brahma ; paratype 1 male, India, West Bengal, Malda (25°28'N, 88°38'E), 26.XII. 2015, Malaise trap, Coll. S. Roy.

Etymology. The name, “ aequus ”, refers to the latinized version of almost equal size of antennomeres IV and V.

Male adult (n=2). Total length 2.84 mm; length of the metathorax 0.75 mm; width of metathorax 0.36 mm; length of the antenna 1.05 mm. Colour. Head and thorax deep brown, abdomen light brown, hind wing smoky (Plate I).

Head ( Fig. 1 ). Head transverse. Head length 0.3 mm, width 0.7 mm. Eyes prominent with 17–20 spherical ommatidia with interommatidial microtrichia (Plate II). Each eye with approximate 17 to 20 ommatidia when viewed dorsally. Antenna five segmented ( Fig. 2 ), antennomeres I and II almost equal in length, I 0.06 mm long, II 0.06 mm long, III with flabellum 0.7 mm long, IV with flabellum 0.8 mm long, V 0.8 mm long. Mandible absent. Maxillary palp double in length in comparison with the maxillary base ( Fig. 3 ). Maxilla with a stout 0.2 mm long base and 0.4 mm long palp. Thorax. Prothorax and mesothorax without distinctive diagnostic characters. Metathorax ( Fig. 4 ). Anterior portion of the prescutum oval on anterior margin, 1.5 times broader than long; scutellum quadrangular, slightly wider than long (length 0.29 mm; width 0.33mm); postlumbium biconvex, 3 times broader than long (length 0.06 mm; width 0.2 mm); postnotum 1.5 times longer than wide (length 0.50 mm; width 0.33 mm) and posterior margin semicircular.

Hind wing ( Fig. 5 ). Hind wing with one detached vein R3, R3 long and almost touching the wing margin; distal end of R4 swollen and curved away from R5; R5, MA and CuA2 touching the wing margin; CuA1 half the length of CuA2; CuP as long as CuA1.

Legs ( Figs. 6–8 ). Fore coxa 0.36 mm long, fore femur 0.49 mm long, fore tibial length 0.39 mm, tarsomere I 0.4 mm, II 0.21 mm, III 0.16 mm and IV 0.05 mm long. Mid coxa 0.42 mm long, mid femur length 0.48 mm, mid tibial length 0.36 mm, tarsomere I 0.33 mm, II 0.2 mm, III 0.15 mm and IV 0.05 mm long. Hind femur length 0.3 mm, Hind coxa 0.23 mm long, hind femur 0.43 mm long, hind tibial length 0.37 mm, hind tarsomere I 0.44 mm, II 0.24 mm, III 0.16 mm and IV 0.04 mm long (Plate III). Tarsomere IV on all legs 0.07 mm wide. Tarsomere IV shortened, widened, nearly trapezoidal, ventral surface on tarsomere IV hairy, without any claw; tarsomeres I–III with oval sensorial spot; tarsomeres II and III with distal process.

Abdomen ( Figs. 9–10 , Plate IV). Abdominal segment IX 0.96 mm long. Aedeagus ( Fig. 10 ) 0.8 mm long. Basal 7/8th of the aedeagus nearly straight, while distal 1/8th of it little bowed upwardly with sharply pointed 0.1 mm long tip (in lateral view). Abdominal segment IX ventrally elongated for accommodation of the aedeagus.

Remarks. The proposed species is included under the genus Viridopromontorius after the following combination of characters: antenna 5-segmented, antennomeres III–IV each with a long flabellum; maxillary base and palp elongate, and tarsi 4-segmented (with sensorial spots on tarsomeres I–III) without claws. The shape of scutellum, length ratio between CuA2 and CuA1, and between tarsomere I and combined length of tarsomeres II–IV, and hind wing of the Viridopromontorius aequus sp. n. come nearer to that of Viridopromontorius vanharteni . The total length of the V. vanharteni (> 3 mm) is greater than V. aequus sp. n. (<3 mm). The length of the maxillary base of V. aequus sp. n. is half of the length of the palp while base and palp are almost equal in length in V. vanharteni . The antennomeres IV with flabellum and V are equal in size in V. aequus sp. n. whereas the antennomere V is longer than antennomere IV with flabellum in V. vanharteni . R5 is in line with R 4 in V. vanharteni but R4 curved away from R 5 in V. aequus sp. n. Interestingly, wing of the Proceroxenos jordanicus Pohl, Kathbeh-Bader & Schneider (1996) of the family Proceroxenoninae and V. aequus sp. n. are quite similar. The tarsomere IV of V. aequus sp. n. is nearly trapezoidal but V. vanharteni possesses a cordiform one. The following combination of characters justifies the proposed species as a new member of Viridopromontorius: five-segmented antenna, about equal size of antennomeres IV–V, maxillary base half of the length of the palp, vein R4 curved towards R2, distal process on tarsomeres II–III very small, tarsomere IV almost trapezoidal, and distal 1/8th of the aedeagus somewhat upwardly curved in lateral view.

Female: Unknown.

Host: Unknown.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. Viridopromontorius aequus sp. n., adult male. 1: head in dorsal view, 2: antenna, 3: maxilla, 4: metathorax in dorsal view, 5: right hind wing.

FIGURES 6 – 10. Viridopromontorius aequus sp. n., adult male. 6: prothoracic leg, 7: mesothoracic leg, 8: metathoracic leg, 9: aedeagus (dorsal view), 10: aedeagus with abdominal segments (right lateral view).