Macrosiphoniella remaudierei, Barbagallo, Sebastiano & Nieto Nafria, Juan M., 2016

Barbagallo, Sebastiano & Nieto Nafria, Juan M., 2016, Macrosiphoniellaremaudierei, a new species of aphid on Helichrysum in Iran (Hemiptera, Aphididae), ZooKeys 640, pp. 69-78 : 71-75

Macrosiphoniella remaudierei sp. n. Figures 1, 3; Table 1

Diagnosis.

Body pale in apterae morph with slightly brownish head in macerated specimens; dorsal body setae without pigmented spots at their basis; antesiphunculur sclerites lacking. Legs with coxae slightly pigmented; trochanters pale; tibiae with a pigmented basal part less extensive in length than their brown distal part. Subgenital plate pale. Cauda much less pigmented than siphunculi; their ratio (cauda length/siphuncular length) 0.7 or less. Antennal joint III with (12)18-37 secondary sensoria, extended over 66-93% of its basal length. Alate morph (two specimens seen) with 36-40 secondary sensoria on III antennal joint; otherwise similar to apterae. This new species resembles very much Macrosiphoniella aetnensis from which it can be separated as quoted in the taxonomy paragraph.

Description.

Apterous viviparous female (51 specimens). Macerated body length: 1.65-2.25 mm. Colour in life unknown, but probably green with a waxy secretion, as in the very similar Macrosiphoniella aetnensis . Head pigmented brown, darker on anterior half and with a deep frontal sinus (0.22-0.35 of the distance between the inner apices of antennal tubercles), median frontal tubercle lacking. Thorax and abdomen pale, lacking any dorsal pigmentation, including the pre-siphuncular sclerites (although the area is quite sclerified) or the scleroids at the base of the dorsal setae. Very small, wart-like tubercles at the base of the setae irregularly present from the metathorax to the 7th urotergite. Dorsal body setae are blunt or faintly flattened at apex, mainly on frons and along the spinal area of the thorax and abdomen, yet becoming gradually more acute on marginal areas of the body and terminal segments of the abdomen. Their maximum lengths are: 62-82 µm (1.80-2.70 of the basal articular diameter of antennal joint III) on the frons, 53-86 µm on the 2nd and 3rd urotergites, and 60-86 µm on the 8th urotergite. The latter urite bears 5-7 (usually 6) quite curved setae.

Antennae 2.37-3.18 mm long, or 1.27-1.57 of body length, are mostly pigmented, except for a more or less extended paler basal part of joints III, IV, and occasionally V. Antennal joint III (0.56-0.76 mm), 0.77-0.98 times the processus terminalis of joint VI (0.69-1.00 mm); the latter is 3.90-5.00 times the length of the basal part (0.16-0.20 mm) of the same joint. Secondary sensoria on joint III only, ranging from 12-37 in number (most frequently 22-30), but only rarely less than 20, and then in smaller specimens, down to 1.65-1.80 mm of the body length. These sensoria are flat or very slightly protruding and of variable size, up to 0.35-0.66 of the basal diameter of joint III; they are distributed on the ventral side of the joint along 0.66-0.95 of its length. Primary rhinaria are regularly ciliated. Antennal setae are quite stout, blunt, or subcapitate at the apex, particularly on the first two joints, then gradually more or less flattened and more acute towards the antennal apex. Those on joint III have a maximum length of 26-40 µm, or 0.80-1.28 of the basal articular diameter of the same joint.

The rostrum extends to behind the posterior margin of the hind coxae and is well pigmented towards its distal part. The ultimate rostral joint is stiletto-shaped, 0.145-0.195 mm long, or 1.10-1.36 of the second joint of hind tarsus (including the unguiferous); it usually bears 6 supplementary hairs (rarely 5 or 7), of which 4 are anterior and 1-3 are dorsal and smaller.

Legs with coxae moderately pigmented (more or less similar to head capsule); trochanters are usually pale. Femora are also pale at their one-third basal part and well pigmented (darker than the coxae) towards their distal part, where a depigmented macula is more or less evident on all legs. Dorsal femoral hairs are more or less blunt or subcapitate, and the ventral hairs are always more acute at the apex; the former have a maximum length of 32-50 µm, 0.54-0.85 of the trochantro-femoral suture. Tibiae are unpigmented for most of their length, except for the brown basal and distal parts. The basal pigmentation is usually less extensive than the distal brown part and no longer than about 2.0-2.5 of the tibial width at the same basal point on the hind legs. Tibial setae are mostly pointed except for the more proximal on the outer side, which are quite blunt or subcapitate at the apex. Longest tibial hairs reach 34-50 µm, 0.84-1.20 of the median tibial diameter on the hind legs. Tarsi are brown, with their second joint (0.130-0.154 mm) 0.72-0.90 of the basal part of antennal joint VI. First tarsal chaetotaxy is 3:3:3, which is usual for the genus.

Siphunculi (0.34-0.50 mm) are well pigmented, 0.15-0.23 of body length, 3.19-4.30 of their basal diameter, and slightly tapering towards the apex, which is flangeless. They are usually straight, but sometimes slightly curved outwards; reticulated distal area 0.36-0.53 of their total length.

Cauda (0.18-0.30 mm) is pale or very slightly pigmented, digitiform in shape, and faintly constricted, or almost tongue-shaped and not constricted (mostly in smaller specimens); it is 0.53-0.68 of the siphunculi and bears 9-14 (most frequently 10-12) long and quite curved setae.

The genital plate is pale and faintly sclerified (although not pigmented), bearing 2-5 discal (2 long and 0-3 much shorter) and 8-12 marginal setae.

Alate viviparous female (from 2 specimens). Colour in life unknown. Head and thorax are pigmented brown; abdomen is pale as in apterae, except for the fairly brownish genital plate. Papillae on abdominal dorsum are not evident. Antennae 2.79-3.43 mm and 1.36-1.44 of body length, darker than in apterae with quite pale basal parts of joints III and IV; joint III has 36-40 secondary sensoria distributed along its length. All veins of the forewings have a narrow brown border, mostly evident on Cu1 and Cu2. Pigmented legs are very similar to apterae, with darker coxae and subdistal parts of the femora. Siphunculi are more slender than in apterae and cover 0.17-0.18 of the body length. Cauda, 0.66-0.70 of the siphunculi, is darker than in apterae but paler than the siphunculi.

All other morphological features are very similar to those of the apterous viviparous female. Body length: 2.05-2.38 mm.

Types.

All type specimens came from three samples collected in Iran from Helichrysum armenium DC. by Prof. G. Remaudière. The holotype is an apterous viviparous female (see table 1, specimen no. 1) collected 25 km east of Tehran (35.48 N / 51.34 E), 11.VI.1955, 2000 m a.s.l. (sample no. i 515a). Paratypes are 50 apterous and 2 alate viviparous females collected as follows: 1. locality and date as for the holotype, 13 apterae and 1 alate (sample no. i 515a); 2. Dali Tchahi [from the notes of G. Remaudière], near Yaroud (Qazvin province) (36.31 N / 50.20 E), 21.VII.1955, 1900 m a.s.l., 32 apterae and 1 alate (sample no. i 834); 3. fifty km NW of Shahr-e-Babak (Kerman province) (30.24 N / 55.05 E), 14.IX.1972, 2400 m a.s.l., 5 apterae (sample no. i 3744). All types have been deposited at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (France).

Etymology.

The new taxon is named in honour of the late Prof. Georges Remaudière, a great leader in aphid taxonomy.

Ecology and distribution.

The new aphid species, as far as is known, feeds on the aerial parts of Helichrysum armenium in Iranian mountainous regions (range of collecting localities: 1900-2400 m a.s.l., co-ordinates as above). Only viviparous morphs (apterae, alatae, and nymphs) were collected, so the aphid life cycle remains unknown. The aphid is probably monoecious and holocyclic, like Macrosiphoniella aetnensis (Barbagallo, 1969), as it is unlikely to survive winter as viviparous morphs at such high altitudes.

The host plant has a mainly Eastern Mediterranean-Iranian distribution, ranging from its western boundary (Lebanon, Syria) eastwards to Iran, through Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iraq. The aphid, unless it can survive on additional congeneric host plants, is therefore likely to have a similar biogeographic distribution.