Nemoleon ghoshi, Suryanarayanan & Ábrahám & Bijoy, 2023

Suryanarayanan, Thangalazhi Balakrishnan, Ábrahám, Levente & Bijoy, Chenthamarakshan, 2023, Description of two new species of Nemoleon Navás, 1909 (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae) from India, Zootaxa 5339 (6), pp. 547-561 : 550-554

Nemoleon ghoshi sp. nov.

( Figs. 2–4 )

Material examined: Holotype ♁ INDIA, Kerala State, Kasaragod Dist. [rict], Ranipuram , 774 m, coordinates: 12°24′58.61″N, 75°21′50.28″E, 08.IV.2022, leg. Suryanarayanan. T. B., ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV24570.

Paratypes: 2♁ (ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV24571 and SERLNR287), 1♀ (SERLNR285) the same as holotype. 2♁, 2♀ INDIA, Kerala State, Idukki Dist. [rict], Vallakadavu, 849 m, coordinates: 9°31′40.51″N, 77°06′40.09″E, 29.III.2023, leg. Suryanarayanan. T. B., SERLNR347, SERLNR348, SERLNR349, SERLNR350. 1♀ INDIA, Kerala State, Idukki Dist. [rict], Marayoor, 1048 m, coordinates: 10°16′41.85″N, 77°09′29.33″E, 12.V.2023, leg. Suryanarayanan. T. B., SERLNR351 .

Diagnosis. Male (length of body: 37 mm) slightly larger than female (length of body: 30 mm). Pronotum, trapezoid shaped, as long as wide, yellow with two thick longitudinal dark-brown bands. General colour of body dark-brown. Wings hyaline without marks. ( Figs. 2A–B ). Ectoproct with short digital postventral lobe. Male and female terminalia and genitalia as in Figs. 4A–E .

Description.

Measurements. Holotype male: Length of body: 37 mm. Forewing, length 29 mm, width 5 mm; hindwing, length 28 mm, width 4 mm.

Head ( Figs. 3A–B ). Vertex dominantly yellow, with dark-brown marks in two rows transversally, covered with very short black setae. Frons dull, blackish-brown, and covered with sparse black setae, dark-brown transversal stripe below and dull dark-brown stripe above scapus, inter-antennal marking distinct black, anterior tentorial pits dark-brown without setae. Gena dark-brown, hairless. Compound eyes blackish-brown, large, slightly wider than half of head width. Antenna longer than length of head plus prothorax; scape and pedicel dark-brown with light-brown annulations distally; flagellomeres annulated with wide brown and narrow yellow rings. Club thicker at apex than at base, last segment, bristle-like dominantly brown. Clypeus dark-brown, and covered with sparse long black hairs; labrum, maxillary and labial palps dark-brown; base of mandible dark-brown, with black apices at inner side.

Thorax ( Fig. 3B ). Pronotum slightly as long as wide, yellow, with a pair of longitudinal dark-brown stripes, covered with black setae except on median portion; mesonotum and metanotum generally dark-brown, sparsely covered with white setae and with long white hairs on distal margin.

Wings ( Fig. 3C ). Forewing, slightly longer than hindwing. Wing tips acute and nearly straight below, wing tapering basally, anal area very obtuse, anal margin slightly concave, venation dense. Membrane transparent without dark marks. Venation covered with short sparse dark-brown setae. C yellow with short dense dark-brown setae. Costal area with single row of cells, cells slightly longer than wide, cross-veins simple in front of pterostigma, both ends brownish. Pterostigma with 8–9 veins, 5 veins bifurcated basally and simple distally. Sc and R yellow alternating pale brown at cross-veins. 11 branches in radial sector, 7 cross-veins in front of origin of Rs. Cua 2 short not parallel with hind margin. Mp, Mp 1 and Cua, Cua 1 also pale-yellow alternating dark-brown at cross-veins. Cross-veins dominantly brown and slightly shaded in basal medio-cubital area. Cubital fork ca. 30°, acute enough. Posterior Banksian line weakly visible, brownish. A 1, A 2 and A 3 yellow basally and brown distally, A 1, A 2 simple, A 3 bifurcated distally.

Hindwing narrower than forewing. C yellow with short dark dense brown setae. Cross-veins simple in front of pterostigma. Pterostigma with 6–7 veins, one vein simple others bifurcated. Sc and R brown alternating dark-brown at cross-veins. 10 branches in radial sector, 1 cross-vein in front of origin of Rs. Mp 1, Mp 2 and Cua dominantly pale yellow but small dark-brown section at meeting points with cross-veins. Cross-veins dominantly brown basally yellow distally in medio-cubital area.

Legs ( Figs. 3D–E ). Foreleg short, hindleg short, slim. Legs yellow with dark-brown marks. Coxae yellowish-brown densely covered with small yellow setae; trochanters light-brown; fore femur yellow with densely brown dotted, and with short dark-brown hairs and upstanding long black bristles. Middle and hind femora yellow with dark-brown spots on dorsal side, covered with upstanding long black bristles in two rows laterally. Femora longer than tibiae. Tibiae generally yellow, with dark-brown spots and half rings anteriorly and ring on distal ends, covered with long stiff and black bristles and small black setae; hind tibia pale yellow, with disperse black dots at setal bases, covered with black setae. Tibial spurs almost straight, reddish-brown, as long as tarsomeres 1–2; tarsi yellow covered with black setae only distal end of last segments with brown rings; claws slightly curved, reddish-brown, 3/4 as long as tarsal segment 5.

Abdomen. Slim, brownish black, longer than hindwing, covered with short black and short yellowish-white setae; posterior margin of each tergum with brownish black with pale brown longitudinal line. Sternites dark-brown, with long black setae.

Male terminalia and genitalia ( Figs. 4A–C ). T9 nearly quadrate in lateral view; S9 quadrate, distal margin slightly incised centrally in ventral view, covered with long black and a few short white setae. Ectoproct oval plate with ventro-caudal processus, which is longer than longest axis of the oval plate of ectoproct. Pubescence on ectoproct differentiated into a two section, covered with black setae becoming much longer ventrally, white setae along lateral margins. Inner genitalia complex as in Fig. 4C in dorsal view.

Paratype female ( Figs. 4D–E ). Female: Length 28 mm (from head to abdomen); Forewing, length 29 mm, width 5 mm; hindwing, length 28 mm, width 4 mm. Abdomen shorter than hindwings. T8 quadrate in lateral; gonocoxite 8 short, covered with long black setae; T9 nearly quadrate shape; gonocoxite 9 club-shaped, posteriorly covered with some stout black setae; ectoprocts ovoid, covered with black stout setae.

Etymology. The species is named ghoshi after the Dr. Sanat Kumar Ghosh, Scientist, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), in honour of his expertise and excellence in the field of Indian Neuropterology.

Comments. The new species is similar in size to Nemoleon filiformis (Gerstaecker, 1885) , widespread species in Africa, and its wings are also without spots. However, venation of the new species is not unicolour, but light and dark sections alternate on longitudinal veins. The pronotum is much shorter and its pattern is significantly different from the African species.

Distribution. India: Kerala: Kasaragod (Ranipuram), Idukki (Vallakadavu, Marayoor) ( Fig. 9 ).

Biology. Adults are active at night, attracted by artificial light. In daytime, it sits on grass blades and bushes at rest ( Fig. 1A ). The habitat surrounded by semi-closed grassland in laterite soil (sand soil structure) which is the typical habitat for Nemoleon ( Fig. 1B ). Only the larva of N. notatus is known in the genus ( Badano & Pantaleoni 2014). It is not pit-building species, its microhabitat can be in a place protected from wind, rain, and direct sunlight. The structure of the soil is sandy on the surface.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Nemoleon ghoshi sp. nov. A—Adult male in natural habitat; B—Habitat of species in Ranipuram, Kerala.

FIGURE 2. Nemoleon ghoshi sp. nov. A—Male habitus; B—Female habitus. Scale: 10 mm.

FIGURE 3. Nemoleon ghoshi sp. nov. A—Head in frontal view; B—Head and thorax in dorsal view, C—Male wing venation, D—Foreleg; E—Hindleg in lateral view.

FIGURE 4. Nemoleon ghoshi sp. nov. A—Male terminalia, in lateral view; B—The same, in ventral view; C—Male inner genitalia, in ventral view (in sense Aspöck et al. 1980; Aspöck & Aspöck 2008; Badano et al. 2017); D—Female terminalia and genitalia, in lateral view; E—The same, in ventral view (in sense Aspöck et al. 1980; Aspöck & Aspöck 2008; Badano et al. 2017).

FIGURE 9. Distribution map of the Nemoleon species from India.