Bromusicoccus gulsunae Kaydan

Kaydan, Mehmet Bora & Szita, Éva, 2017, Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) with oral rim ducts; description of a new genus and species from Turkey, and discussion of their higher classification within the Pseudococcidae, Zootaxa 4227 (3), pp. 444-450 : 447

Bromusicoccus gulsunae Kaydan sp. n.

( Figure 1)

Type material. Holotype: adult female, Turkey, Van, Özalp Road, N: 38°39.522’; E: 043°57.287’, ex Bromus sp., coll: M.B. Kaydan, 05.vii.2005 ( KPTC: 2017; MBK 239 ) . Paratypes: 2 adult females on 2slides, same data as holotype ( KPTC: 2017).

Description. Live appearance. Not recorded.

Slide-mounted adult female: Body elongate-oval, 1.30–1.46 mm long, 0.58–0.64 mm wide. Eye situated on margin, about 25 µm in diameter. Antenna 7 segmented, 260–275 µm long, with 4 fleshy setae, each seta 20–35 µm long; apical segment 70 µm long, 25.0–27.5 µm wide, with apical setae each 30–35 µm long. Clypeo-labral shield 180–185 µm long, 150–160 µm wide. Labium 3 segmented, 90–100 µm long, 60–70 µm wide. Anterior spiracles each 40–45 µm long and about 25 µm wide across atrium; posterior spiracles each 50–58 µm long and about 30 µm wide across atrium. Circulus present, situated between III and IV abdominal segment, 20–25 µm wide. Legs well developed; data for posterior legs: coxa 115–125 µm long, bearing 22–32 translucent pores; trochanter + femur 185–200 µm long; tibia + tarsus 205–210 µm long, claw 22–25.0 µm long. Ratio of lengths of tibia + tarsus to trochanter + femur 1.11–1.13:1; ratio of lengths of tibia to tarsus 1.58–1.71:1; ratio of length of hind trochanter + femur to greatest width of femur 4.11–4.44:1. Tarsal digitules capitate, each 30–38 µm long. Claw digitules capitate, 22–25 µm long. Both pairs of ostioles present; anterior ostioles each with a total for both lips of 6–9 trilocular pores and no setae; posterior ostioles each with a total for both lips of 17–22 trilocular pores and 1–3 setae. Anal ring 60.0–68 µm wide, bearing 6 setae, each seta 45–53 µm long.

Dorsum. Derm membranous; without any cerarii around body margin. Setae on anal lobe flagellate, each 25– 27.5 µm long; body setae short flagellate, each 12–35 µm long, scattered on head, thorax and abdominal segments. Trilocular pores each 3–4 µm in diameter, scattered over entire body. Oral collar tubular ducts and multilocular disc pores absent from dorsum. Oral rim tubular ducts with each duct 10–11 µm long and 7–10 µm wide at mid-width, rim of duct opening 15–17 µm wide, present over entire body and as single rows across abdominal segments, as follows: segment I, 8 or 9; II, 10 or 11, III, 9–11; IV, 11–14; V, 8–12; VI, 6–10; VII, 5–8; segments VIII + IX, 0.

Venter. Setae flagellate, each 12–60 µm long, longest setae situated medially on head. Apical setae of anal lobe each 102–105 µm long. Multilocular disc pores each 7–9 µm in diameter, present on abdominal segments as follows: segment IV, 0–2; V, 6; VI, 21–24; VII, 24–26; segments VIII + IX, 15–19. Trilocular pores, each 3–4 µm in diameter, and minute discoidal pores, each 2 µm in diameter, scattered throughout. Oral collar tubular ducts, each 7–10 µm long, 5 µm wide, present over most of body and as single rows across the abdominal segments, as follows: segments I–III, 31; IV, 29–32; V, 41–49; VI, 45–50; VII, 38–57; VIII + IX, 18–29. Oral rim tubular ducts, each duct 10–11 µm long, 7–10 µm wide at mid-width, rim of duct opening 15–17 µm wide, present on submargins of thoracic segments.

Etymology. This species is named after a good friend of the first author, Dr. Gülsun Dülgeroğlu, who studies the Philosophy of Education in Çukurova University, The Faculty of Education, Adana, Turkey.

Comments. Bromusicoccus gulsunae Kaydan sp. n. is characterized by the following combination of features: (i) complete absence of cerarii; (ii) multilocular disc pores absent from dorsum; (iii) oral collar tubular ducts scattered on the head and thorax, and present in rows across the abdomen; (iv) translucent pores present on coxa, and (v) antenna 7-segmented. In the phylogenetic tree (based on the DNA of 28S and COI genes) given in Kaydan et al. (2015), Fig. 1, B. gulsunae is a sister taxon of Mirococcopsis multicircularia (which was also found on a grass in Turkey). Although these two species share some common morphological features such as the presence of oral rim tubular ducts, a fully developed anal ring and the complete absence of cerarii, B. gulsunae differs from M. multicircularia in having (features for M. multicircularia in brackets) (i) only one circulus (more than one); (ii) oral rim tubular ducts on dorsum in transverse rows across the segments (only a few on dorsum); (iii) antenna 7 segmented (6 segmented), and (iv) absence of oral collar tubular ducts on dorsum (oral collar tubular ducts present in single rows across dorsal segments). These two species maybe congeneric, but we believe that this group of mealybugs needs further morphological and molecular studies which include many more taxa to clarify the generic concept.