Ptiloneura cuzcoensis, García Aldrete & Obando & Gironza, 2020

García Aldrete, Alfonso N., Obando, Ranulfo González & Gironza, Nancy Carrejo, 2020, On the genera Ptiloneura Enderlein, Loneura Navás, and Loneuroides García Aldrete (Psocodea: ‘ Psocoptera’: Ptiloneuridae), Zootaxa 4751 (2), pp. 291-309 : 300

Ptiloneura cuzcoensis sp. n. Male

( Figs 14-19 )

This is the species redescribed by New (1977) as Ptiloneura bidorsalis Enderlein.

Diagnosis. Related to P. columnaris sp. n., although having the hypandrium of three sclerites; differing from it in the shape of the areola postica, in the shape of the central sclerite of the hypandrium, and in the shape of the phallosome and endophallic sclerites

Color. Body dark brown. Compound eyes black, ocelli hyaline, on small black tubercle. Vertex with dark setae; posterior border with two rows of dark brown spots; similar spots either side of midline and immediately dorsal to compound eyes. Frons with small median dark patch. Genae dark. Postclypeus darkened and with 4-5 indistinct striae either side of midline. Anteclypeus and labrum dark brown. Mx4 distally darkened. Antennae with scape and pedicel very dark, flagellum pale brown. Thorax very dark brown. Legs with coxae dark brown, femora I and III pale, femur II dark, apices of all tibiae dark, apex of t1 and whole of t2 and t3 dark. Forewing with dark brown markings as in Fig. 14 , pterostigma dark brown, with a hyaline area in the middle. Hindwing hyaline, venation dark brown. Abdomen pale, with dark brown dorsolateral stripes (slightly modified from New, 1977).

Morphology. Forewings ( Fig. 14 ), L/W: 2.64, pterostigma: lp/wp: 5.11, elongate, broadly triangular, wider in the middle, proximally petiolate. M eight-branched, areola postica narrow, tall and arched, slightly slanted posteriorly, apically rounded, la/ha: 0.73. Hindwings ( Fig. 15 ), l/w: 2.87, M five-branched. Hypandrium ( Fig. 19 ) of three sclerites, central sclerite sulcate in the middle, with a posterior process in the middle, distally rounded; a tuft of dense macrosetae on each side of the longitudinal midline; side sclerites elongate, proximally rounded, distally pointed, with a tuft of macrosetae proximally on each outer border. Phallosome (Figs 16,18), Y-shaped anteriorly, with wide side struts; external parameres stout, with rounded apices. Five endophallic sclerites, a mesal, transverse sclerite, with anterior and posterior borders concave in the middle, lateral processes wide, narrowing distally, with apices curved outwards; anterior sclerites irregularly rounded, lateral sclerites long, bow-shaped, proximally wide, distally truncate. Paraprocts ( Fig. 17 ), broad, oval, with setae as illustrated, sensory fields with 35 trichobothria on basal rosettes. Epiproct ( Fig. 17 ), broad, posteriorly rounded, with an anterior mesal, sclerotized line bearing three setae, a field of microspines between this line and anterior border, other setae as illustrated.

Measurements (in µm). FW: 6706, HW: 4646, F: 1676, T: 2968, t1: 1125, t2: 105, t3: 180, ctt1: 35, f1: 1275, f2: 1215 ( New, 1977).

Material studied. Holotype male. PERU. Cuzco. Machu Picchu (museum, 1385 m), 1 male, 11-14.VIII.1971, C. & M. Vardy col., at light, BM 1971-533 ; in the British Museum (Natural History), London.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to Cuzco, Peru, where the holotype was collected.

Comments. New (1977), considered that the male studied belonged in Ptiloneura bidorsalis Enderlein , on basis of the forewing markings and body coloration, although the hindwing R is 5-branched, differing considerably from the specimen of P. bidorsalis var. octoplumosa , in which the hindwing R is 2-branched; he decided to deal with this difference by stating that “it is…preferable to regard the hind wing venation as having little taxonomic value in the genus, at least until series of several Ptiloneura species have been examined to assess variation.”

Table 1 shows the variation in the number of branches of the hindwing M, in 24 specimens of Ptiloneura columnaris , the HW M varies from 4 to 6 branches. Table 2 shows the variation in the HW M in 11 species of Ptiloneura (89 males and 9 females); the interspecific variation is from 2 to 5 branches. But in all cases of Tables 1 and 2, the intraspecific variation is of one-two branches. In P. bidorsalis , a variation from 2 to 5 branches is extreme, not shown by any Ptiloneura species. Besides, the shape of the areola postica in P. bidorsalis , and in the male studied by New (1977), is distinctly different (Compare Figs 1A and 1B ). We then concluded that the male studied by New (1977) is different from P. bidorsalis Enderlein , and hence its erection as P. cuzcoensis sp. n.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A. Ptiloneura bidorsalis Enderlein, 1900. var. octoplumosa, female, redrawn from original description of Enderlein, 1900. B-C. Loneura crenata Navás, as in redescription of New (1976). D-E. Forewing and hindwing of Loneura crenata Navás, 1927, redrawn based on Navás’ original (Navás, 1927: Fig. 8).

FIGURES 14−19. Ptiloneura cuzcoensis sp. n. Male. 14. Forewing. 15. Hindwing. 16. Phallosome, as in New (1977). 17. Epiproct and right paraproct. 18. Phallosome, with endophallic sclerites in normal position, from New (1977). 19. Hypandrium. Illustrations based on photographs of the holotype deposited in the Natural History Museum, London. Scales in mm.