Spilosmylus spilopteryx, Badano, Davide & Winterton, Shaun L., 2017

Badano, Davide & Winterton, Shaun L., 2017, New Philippine species of Spilosmylus Kolbe (Neuroptera, Osmylidae), ZooKeys 712, pp. 29-42 : 31

Spilosmylus spilopteryx sp. n. Figs 1A, 2A, 3, 4

Material examined.

Holotype. Pinned, genitalia in glycerol, preserved beneath the specimen. PHILIPPINES, South Luzon, Tigaon, Camerines sur, February 2015, 1 ♂, local collector, (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien).

Diagnosis.

Medium sized osmylid with uniformly brown body; both wings with intermittent dark dashes on Sc and R; forewing membrane with a distinct pattern composed by three large light brown markings; hind wing membrane hyaline (Fig. 1A).

Description.

Dimensions. Body length: 10.48 mm; forewing length 17.46 mm, width 6.03 mm; hind wing length: 16.35 mm, width: 5.08 mm.

Head. Mostly brown. Vertex light brown. Frons and clypeus reddish brown with a central rounded darker marking. Labrum and gena light reddish brown. Maxillary and labial palpi pale. Scape reddish brown, flagellomeres yellowish, slightly darker apically.

Thorax. Predominantly brown. Pronotum distinctly longer than wide, with undefined paler stripes running longitudinally to it (Fig. 3); mesonotum and metanotum uniformly brown; thorax covered with dark setae. Legs. Pale brown.

Wings. Forewing relatively broad with a slightly pointed apex, membrane hyaline with conspicuous markings and shades (Fig. 2A). Venation brown. Costal area progressively narrowing toward the apex. Pterostigma brown, lighter medially. Sc and R yellowish, with intermittent, parallel, black dashes. Subcostal area uniformly yellowish. Area between R and Rs uniformly light brown from the first crossvein until the pterostigmal area. Apex of forewing with a brown marking. Forewing medial fork clearly basal to the first branch of Rs. Forewing membrane with a diagnostic pattern composed by: a basal large, oval brown marking present at forewing middle length, a median elongated marking curved outward in proximity of the internal gradates and an apical elongated marking curved inward covering the external gradates (Fig. 2A). The latter marking is slightly more contrasted than the other two marks. MP, CuA, CuP and anal veins shaded with dark brown and with darkened crossveins. The apex of most veins reaching the hind margin is darkened. Embossed spot absent. Hind wing relatively broad. Sc and R yellowish, with intermittent, parallel, black dashes. Subcostal area yellowish like in the forewing but the rest of the membrane is unmarked with the exception of a few slightly shaded veins along the hind margin (Fig. 2A).

Abdomen. Tergites and sternites uniformly brown. Apex of the abdomen slightly lighter.

Male genitalia. Tergite 9 relatively narrow, extending slightly beyond the ectoproct. Sternite 9 subrectangular. Ectoproct rounded, with a prominent and relatively large callus cercus. Between the two halves of the ectoproct there is a narrow dorsal sclerotization curved downward (Fig. 4A, B). Parameres fused dorsally in an arch-shaped sclerite, rod-like in lateral view (Fig. 4A, B). Mediuncus relatively large, characterized by conspicuous distal paired flanges, connected to the gonarcus by membranes (Fig. 4A, B). Gonarcus narrow, arch-shaped, extending ventro-proximally as a flattened rod; distal section of the gonarcus in lateral view distinctly curved downward then bending up again in an almost straight apex; apical section of the gonarcus with a strongly sclerotized median thickening (Fig. 4A, B). Gonarcus equipped with a posterior entoprocessus extending posteriorly, bordering the mediuncus and narrowing apically (Fig. 4A, B).

Etymology. The specific name is a Latinized composite noun of Greek derivation, from σπίλος, spilos, meaning “marking” and the noun πτέρυξ, pteryx, meaning “wing”, thus spilopteryx , "marked wing", in reference to the large cloud-like markings on the forewing.

Comments.

Spilosmylus spilopteryx sp. n. is a highly distinctive species that cannot be easily confused with any other lance lacewing. This new species of Spilosmylus is characterized by a strongly marked wing and the absence of embossed spot on the hind margin of forewing, resembling the condition observed in the closely related genus Thyridosmylus . Nevertheless, overall wing shape and venation, the intermittently dashed markings along the Sc–R space, and male genitalic morphology allows us to confidently allocate this species to Spilosmylus . The presence of a narrow, dorsal sclerotization between the two halves of the ectoproct is characteristic of many species of Spilosmylus , and it might be of systematic relevance within this large genus. Despite several Spilosmylus species being characterized by pigmented wings with markings, bands and suffusions (e.g., S. monticolus (Banks, 1937), S. formosus Banks, 1924, S. inquinatus (McLachlan, 1870)), none of them display the extensive and conspicuous markings of this new taxon. Following New (1986, 1991), Spilosmylus spilopteryx sp. n. appears similar to S. ocellatus ( Krüger, 1914) but strongly differing in the shape, extent and contrast of forewing markings. In particular, New (1986a) considered S. ocellatus as an easily recognizable species thanks to its wing pattern, which vaguely resembles the new species in his drawings, although composed by lighter shading and poorly contrasted markings ( New 1986a: figs 115-116, New 1991). Nevertheless, the type specimen of S. ocellatus , preserved in the Naturhistoriches Museum Wien (Austria) bears no trace of such intense shading and its wing membrane appears mostly hyaline (Fig. 5). Noteworthy, a hand label of Navás suggest that the latter author also mistook this specimen for the inconspicuously marked S. modestus (Gerstaecker, 1893) (as also noted by Krüger 1914) (Fig. 5). Based on the examination of the type material of Krüger, we consider S. ocellatus and S. spilopteryx sp. n. as two very different taxa only sharing the lack of embossed spot. Further specimens are necessary to assess the identity of the morphospecies attributed by New (1986a) to S. ocellatus .