Thagria iuxta, NIELSON, 2013

NIELSON, M. W., 2013, <strong> New records of Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic sea anemones (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria and Corallimorpharia) from the Weddell Sea, Antarctic Peninsula, and Scotia Arc </ strong>, Zootaxa 3625 (1), pp. 1-105 : 57

Thagria iuxta , sp. nov.

( Plate 2A , Figs. 65–70 )

Length. Male 6.00 mm; female 7.40 mm.

External morphology. Male. General color black with numerous yellow markings on forewings; crown light brown with ocelli black, 2 small dark stripes below middle; eyes dark brown; pronotum black, bullae dark yellow; mesonotum black with small dark yellow markings; forewings black including veins, clavus with 2 yellow spots nearly equidistant from each other on each inner lateral margin, costa well marked with small to large yellow markings, apical cells with single yellow spot, anteapical and discal cells well marked with small to large, irregular shaped yellow spots; face dull yellow, clypeus with lateral margins black in distal half, clypeal suture black ( Plate 2A ). Female. Color pattern similar to male except for yellow transverse band on anterior margin of pronotum, black below with dark yellow bullae; mesonotum yellow, large, black triangular markings near lateral angles, 2 small spots separated by dark brown, inverted cross shaped marking medially; face similar to male. Head (male & female) distinctly narrower than pronotum, anterior margin obtusely rounded; crown very broad, much wider than eye width, slightly produced distally about ¼ distance beyond anterior margin of eyes, lateral margins convergent basally, disk slightly depressed, slightly carinate laterally; eyes moderately large, semiglobular; pronotum large, about as long and median length of crown, surface bullated; mesonotum large, about as long as median length of pronotum; forewings typical (apex damaged in male); clypeus long, broad, lateral margins excised near antennal sockets; clypeus short, base flat, narrower than clypeus at clypeal suture, apex nearly truncate.

Male genitalia. Pygofer in lateral view with moderately long caudoventral lobe; caudodorsal process moderately long, digitate, directed caudally ( Fig. 65 ); segment X with concealed membranous ventral process ( Fig. 65 ); aedeagus symmetrical, very long, nearly reaching apex of ventral paraphysis, in ventral view broadly sinuate ( Figs. 66, 67 ); ventral paraphysis asymmetrical, in dorsal view broad basally, tapered distally, with near medial, subapical and apical processes, near medial process prominent, curved, arising from lateral margin, subapical process short, apical spine long, curved laterally ( Figs. 66, 67 ); style rather short, exceeding base of but not reaching midlength of ventral paraphysis ( Fig. 68 ); connective typical; dorsal connective in dorsobasal view broadly U-shaped, rami attached distally to near middle of lateral arms of segment X ventral process, stem absent ( Fig. 69 ); subgenital plate typical, nearly glabrous, few microsetae present ( Fig. 70 ).

Female genitalia. Seventh sternite black, twice as long as penultimate sternite, caudal margin broadly sinuate, prominent spine on caudolateral margins.

Material examined. Holotype male. VIETNAM: Tam Dao Mts. , June 1991, V. Novotny, Brit. Mus., 1994–29, accessory labels, B16, 111 SP ( BMNH) . Allotype female, same data as holotype, except Sept. 1989, accessory labels, A6, 112 SP ( BMNH) .

Etymology. The species name is descriptive for position of subapical spine basad of apical spine of ventral paraphysis.

Remarks. From uncinata Li to which is it similar in male genitalia features, iuxta can be distinguished by the following features: clypellus with flat, narrow base (inflated, broad in uncinata ), major differences in configuration of subapical and apical processes of ventral paraphysis, nearly glabrous subgenital plate (tuft of microssetae in uncinata and presence of segment X ventral processes (absent in uncinata ). The style is not illustrated in Li’s 1989 paper, thus comparisons are not given here.

Figures

PLATE 2. A–H. Thagria, dorsal habitus. (A) Thagria intorta, sp. nov., holotype; (B) Thagria iuxta, sp. nov., holotype; (C) Thagria lobata, sp. nov., holotype; (D) Thagria longicatilla, sp. nov., holotype; (E) Thagria malenovskyi, sp. nov., holotype; (F) Thagria oldfieldi, sp. nov., holotype; (G) Thagria paraunca, sp. nov., holotype; (H) Thagria quadrimaculata, sp. nov., holotype.

FIGURES 65–70. Thagria iuxta, sp. nov. (65) pygofer and concealed segment X ventral process; (66) aedeagus and ventral paraphysis, dorsal view; (67) aedeagus and ventral paraphysis, lateral view; (68) style, lateral view; (69) dorsal connective and segment X ventral process, dorsobasal view; (70) subgenital plate, lateral view.