Ameromyia clepsydra Tavares, 2023

Tavares, Leon Gustavo de Miranda, Machado, Renato Jose Pires & Calor, Adolfo Ricardo, 2023, The Neotropical antlion genus Ameromyia Banks, 1913 (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae), systematics and redefinition under a phylogenetic approach, Arthropod Systematics & amp; Phylogeny 81, pp. 499-553 : 499

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/asp.81.e89641
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E628C8DC-C920-4941-9CDE-818F4B61AF03
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/E99FA856-5DA0-5132-BB5E-FA8E52A49446
treatment provided by	Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny by Pensoft
scientific name	Ameromyia clepsydra Tavares
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

4.4. Ameromyia clepsydra Tavares sp. nov.

Figs 17 View Figure 17 , 18 View Figure 18 , 19 View Figure 19

Diagnosis.

Black and white coloration. Thorax lateral side black with no apparent longitudinal pale band. Wing veins alternating black and white coloration. Wing membrane with many markings and infuscations, mostly on radial, rhegmal and substigmal areas. Sectorial and presectoral area crossveins sometimes with an infuscated biareolate “8” shaped pattern. Male genitalic clavate setae club subglobose.

Description.

Adult. Head: Antennae clubbed (4 mm) with 31 flagellomeres, light brown with yellow rings between the flagellomeres. Vertex white with grey patches, and dark brown spots on lateral margins; with a transversal and a longitudinal dark brown streak at anterior and posterior row, forming a “T” shape. Vertex decumbent setae white. Interantennal area white with a dark streak in the middle, and dark spots under each scape. Frons light yellow near antennae and light grey near clypeus, and median, transversal dark brown patches. Frons setae black. Interocular distance less than eye width. Clypeus white, with two dark brown marks pointing ventrally. Labrum marginally yellow, dark brown centrally. Mandible dark brown. Palpi dark brown, with white joints. - Thorax: Thorax black, with white or light brown markings. Thorax on lateral view dark, with no lateral longitudinal band under wings. Pronotum as broad as long, white with a longitudinal dark brown band on each side. Pronotum marginal setae white. Mesonotum dark, with white markings on mesoscutum and mesoscutellum. Metanotum dark with light brown medially on metascutum and a longitudinal light brown band on metascutellum. - Wings: Wing tip acute, frequently notched on posterior margin or with a strongly falcate and sinuous apex posterior margin. Veins with dark brown and white dashed pattern. Wing membrane hyaline, with dark infuscations along crossveins, with more intensity on forewing than on hind wing, except for infuscations on presectoral and on radial areas, which are evident on both wings. Presectorial and radial areas in both wings sometimes with longitudinal crossveins between vertical crossveins, forming a pattern akin to an “8” shape. Forewing mediocubital area with dark infuscations around vertical crossveins which become sparser along MA vein, culminating on rhegmal area. Forewing CuP and hind wing CuA veins extending well before CuA fork and MP fork respectively, with at least four crossveins connecting them and posterior branch of fork. Pterostigma frosted white, encompassing four crossveins. Cells delimited by transversal veins in hind wing posterior area higher than long. - Legs: Coxae dark. Femur and tibiae with long black bristles. Femur white, suffused with black spots. Femur decumbent setae black. Profemural sense hair longer than profemur, and mesofemural sense hair much shorter than mesofemur. Tibia white with distal joint and near apical joint black. Tibial spurs slightly shorter than pretarsal claws. Five tarsomeres, white, except for distalmost and third to distalmost tarsomeres which are black. Pretarsal claws at least 1.5 times longer than basitarsus. - Abdomen: Abdomen mostly black, turning dark brown at terminalia. Tergites with scarce white setae, and sternites with black setae. Male ectoproct with many long black setae on posterior face, and a very short, slight round postventral lobe, which is less than 1/3 ectoproct height. Parameres hinge with a row of short setae on each side. Gonarcus arch positioned not above paramere plates on lateral view. Genitalic sac with many short, subclavate setae. - Larva (third instar): Head: Head capsule as long as broad in dorsal view, slightly longer than broad in ventral view. Head capsule dorsally grey, with dark brown patches medially, and on anterior margin. Clypeolabrum light brown medially, and dark near mandibles. Head capsule ventrally light brown. Short dolichasters on head dorsal surface cone-like. Head capsule dolichasters mostly black, with a few white dolichasters near anterior and lateral margins. Row of dolichasters on labrum anterior margin black. Dorsal surface with mostly white thread-like setae near posterior and posterolateral margins, and sometimes on mandibles. - Thorax: Thorax dorsally dark, with sparsed light brown patches, and ventrally light brown with small dark spots on setal insertion. Thorax dorsal surface with dark and white thread-like setae, and many short, black dolichasters. Mesothoracic spiracle borne on tubercle, which is about two times longer than broad. - Abdomen: Abdomen with dark thread-like setae on dorsal surface. Abdomen with prunescence, dorsally dark, with sparsed light brown patches, and ventrally light brown with small dark spots on setal insertion and near each basal abdominal margin. Abdominal setiferous processes with black and white setae.

Examined Material.

Holotype: BRAZIL • ♂; BAHIA, Andaraí, Rio Piabas ; 12°57′02.3"S 41°16′37.4"W; 25.xi.2018; Coleta Noturna, Lençol; Assmar, A; DZUP GoogleMaps . Paratypes: BRAZIL • ♂; BAHIA, Andaraí, Rio Piabas ; 20.i.2018; Coleta manual noturna; Tavares, L.; MZUSP • 2 ♂; BAHIA, Andaraí, Rio Piabas , rochas à margem do rio; 25.xi.2018 (reared from larval stage); Tavares, L; UFBA • ♂; BAHIA, Andaraí, Rio Piabas , 16.vi.2021 (reared from larval stage/emerged 05.ix.2021), coleta manual; Tavares, L.; UFBA • ♂; BAHIA, Andaraí, Rio Paraguacu ; 15.v.2010; Bandeja; UFBA . Other material: (3♀, 11 Larvae) BRAZIL - BAHIA • 11 larvae; Andaraí, Rio Piabas , rochas à margem do rio; 25.xi.2018; coleta manual; Tavares, L.; UFBA . - RIO GRANDE DO NORTE • 1♀ ; Serra Negra do Norte, ESEc Seridó, casa da entrada; 10-11.xii.2002; api (noite); Varellim, A.A.; UFBA • 1♀; same collection data as for preceding; 06.iv.2003; UFBA • 1♀; same collection data as for preceding; 01-02.xi.1999; Coleta manual; sob luz fluorescente; Varela-Freire, A.; UFBA .

Etymology.

“Clepsydra” translates to “hourglass” in Latin. The characteristic pattern formed by transverse crossveins in forewing presectoral and radial sector area resembles an hourglass (Fig. 13B View Figure 13 ).

Distribution.

Brazil (Fig. 12 View Figure 12 ).

Biology.

Larvae were found anchored to bedrock, buried in small pools of shallow water-deposited sand near a river (Fig. 15A View Figure 15 ). The bedrock was not protected from rain and/or sunlight, and the area is accessible by tourists and susceptible to trampling. The larvae accepted prey at both day and night while reared in captivity. Male adults were observed making quick, short low flights, resting at the bedrock. A third instar larva was collected at 25.xi.2018, began pupating 70 days later, and a male emerged 30 days after pupating. Other larvae collected at the same date (25.xi.2018) from various instars developed up to the third instar before all specimens died until ix.2020, which suggests this species can spend at least near two years at larval stage, although specimens might have not been able to pupate earlier due to the lack of a hard, suitable achorage. Dimarella riparia larvae collected at A. clepsydra sp. nov. type locality, and in the same microhabitat, were able to develop normally in captivity under the same conditions, which suggests the new species is much more sensible to microhabitat alterations. Other 17 larvae collected in vi.2021 were able to develop normally in captivity when provided with more appropriate microhabitats.

Remarks.

This species is remarkably distinguishable from other Ameromyia species, mostly because of the contrasting black and white coloration (Fig. 1E View Figure 1 ) which is only found in A. explicata sp. nov. (Fig. 1F View Figure 1 ) and in A. strigosa (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ) (black and yellow in the latter). The conspicuous “hourglass-shaped” venation patterns were most common to specimens collected over Bahia state. The postventral lobes of the male ectoproct in this species are also much shorter than in other species (Fig. 18A, B View Figure 18 ), and male genitalic sac bear much shorter, subglobose clavate setae (Figs 7D View Figure 7 , 18D View Figure 18 ), in contrast to other Ameromyia species.

This species wing venation patterns and crossvein density on both wings seems to be very plastic. Specimens collected at Bahia state have a biareolate pattern which resembles an hourglass or an “8” shape on presectorial and radial areas of both wings (Fig. 17B View Figure 17 ), while the specimens from Rio Grande do Norte state lacks this characteristic (Fig. 17C View Figure 17 ). Stange (1970) suggests that crossvein density may have relation with habitat humidity, with in this case makes sense as the Bahia specimens were all collected near rivers, while Rio Grande do Norte specimens are from deep into a semiarid region on Caatinga biome (Fig. 12 View Figure 12 ).