Austropsocus millei, Lienhard & Ch-, 2012

Lienhard, Charles, 2012, A new species of Austropsocus (Psocodea: ‘ Psocoptera’: Pseudocaeciliidae) with a peculiar forewing venation from New Caledonia, Revue suisse de Zoologie 119 (2), pp. 161-167 : 162-165

Austropsocus millei sp. n.

Figs 1-9

HOLOTYPE: MHNG (2 slides, remaining parts in alcohol); male; New Caledonia, Boulouparis, Réserve du Mont Do , 795m, Malaise trap; 7.xii.2006 - 4.i.2007; leg. C. Mille.

DESCRIPTION OF MALE (female unknown): Colouration. Body light grey-brown to medium brown. Head without striking colour pattern, compound eyes black. Antenna light to medium brown, maxillary palp dark brown. Legs light brown, tarsi and basal area of coxae darker brown. Forewing with dark brown pigmentation along most of the veins forming a striking pattern (Figs 1, 2), hindwing hyaline except for a slightly brown zone in basal half along anterior margin (Fig. 3).

Morphology. Head shape normal, vertex regularly rounded, without median emargination, ocelli well-developed, compound eyes relatively small (IO/D 2.4). Antenna 13-segmented, flagellum bearing long hairs and some shorter setae; long hairs particularly dense on first flagellar segment, this flagellomere slightly curved and somewhat thicker than second flagellomere (Fig. 4). Maxillary palp with terminal segment relatively short and thick, not longer than twice its width (Fig. 6). Lacinial tip with a short inner tine and a longer, broader and apically bifid outer tine (Fig. 5). Marginal labral sensilla of type 2 ( Mockford, 1984: fig. 2). Legs with 3-segmented tarsi, pretarsal claws lacking preapical tooth, with broad, membranous pulvillus. Pearman's organ on hindcoxa well-developed.

Wings of normal shape (i. e. greatest breadth at about 2/3 of their length), flat and membranous (not coriaceous and folded or vaulted), lacking distinct bulges or lobes. Forewing with a very distinctive venation (Figs 1, 2): Rs and M each with 5-6 branches, R1 bifurcate distally in pterostigma, the latter posteriorly with a long spurvein; areola postica angled, with a short spur-vein at its apex, directed towards M; left forewing with a crossvein between CuP and A1 and two short crossveins between posterior branches of R; both forewings with an irregular and slightly variable reticulation in the area between veins R/R1 and M+Cu/CuA, this reticulation formed by Rs and M (not recognizable as principal veins) and a series of accessory transversal veinlets and spur-veins. Margin and all veins of forewing setose, mostly with more than one row of setae. Only one row of setae in CuP, CuA1, M branches, most of Rs branches, most accessory veins and posterior margin between wing base and nodulus. Hindwing (Fig. 3) with normal venation (left hindwing with a short vertical spur-vein at about 1/3 of CuA directed towards Rs+M), veins bare, margin setose between R1 and M, with microtrichia from M to posterior wing base.

Terminalia as in Figs 7-9. Clunium simple, laterally completely fused with hypandrium; epiproct simple; paraproct sensorium with 14 trichobothria in basal rosettes surrounding two shorter setae without rosettes, posterior margin of paraproct with a small hair and a particularly stout seta close to each other. Hypandrium trilobate, median lobe tapering to narrowly rounded tip, lateral lobes much shorter, more pointed and slightly rugose; a pair of broadly rounded sclerotized areas present on dorsal side of hypandrium, between lateral and median lobes (see interrupted lines in Fig. 9). Phallosome with a pair of subtriangular plate-like lateral sclerites and an apically pointed aedeagal sclerite; the latter medially bearing a subapical thickening extended into a short anteriorly-directed rod; endophallus with a suboval, irregularly delimited sclerotized area on each side but lacking denticulate structures. Eversible vesicles on ventral side of abdomen not observed.

Measurements. BL = 1.7 mm; FW = 2.9 mm; HW = 2.2 mm; F = 635 µm; T = 1058 µm; t1 = 293 µm; t2 = 53 µm; t3 = 75 µm.

ETYMOLOGY: The species is dedicated to its collector, Dr Christian Mille (IAC, Institut Agronomique néo-Calédonien, La Foa, New Caledonia).