Austrogymnocnemia pallida New, 1985

Machado, Renato Jose Pires & Oswald, John David, 2020, Morphological phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the former antlion subtribe Periclystina (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Dendroleontinae), Zootaxa 4796 (1), pp. 1-322 : 139-142

Austrogymnocnemia pallida New, 1985

( Figs. 60 , 65–66 )

Austrogymnocnemia pallida New, 1985:14 (OD); New 1996:68 (cat); Stange 2004:100 (cat); Oswald 2018 (cat).

Diagnosis. Body mostly grey; forewing hyaline; hind wing with rhegmal area brown infuscated; profemur with a series of long white setae on dorsal surface.

Description. Lengths: forewing: 21–28 mm; hind wing: 18–25 mm.

Head ( Figs. 65 a–b): Labrum pale; set with a line of elongate setae. Clypeus pale; set with few elongate black setae. Frons predominantly yellow with dark brown marks; generally surrounding antennae, mainly inner and dorsal surface (in some specimens the marks are larger and fused, but in others marks are very weak, just an infuscation); set with black setae. Gena pale. Vertex strongly raised with lateral corners straight; in anterior view pale with two short transverse dark brown marks laterally and a rounded central dark spot; in dorsal view mostly pale with two central perpendicular dark brown lines and two black marks posterolaterally; covered with short black setae and few white setae on corners. Ocular setae absent. Antennae clubbed; elongate, about three times longer than pronotum; distance between antennae wider than scape width; scape and pedicel pale with posterior surface brown in some specimens, flagellomeres with basal half brown but apical half pale, in general posterior surface darker but four to five subapical flagellomeres entirely pale on anterior surface; torular membrane pale; flagellomeres almost as long as wide at base, apical ones much wider than long; all segments set with short black setae. Mandibles pale, with tip black. Palpi, maxillary and labial pale; apical labial palpomere fusiform, palpimacula opening oval-shaped, located medially.

Thorax ( Fig. 65b ): Pronotum as long as wide; posterior margin as wide as anterior; subapical furrow present; mostly pale except for some grey marks as follows: a broad longitudinal central line enclosing a thin pale line (sometimes interrupted at furrow), lateral margins enclosing a pale spot on posterior surface, two small spots at furrow, two small spots on posterior margin; beset with short black setae and long white setae on borders. Mesonotum mostly grey with pale areas as follows: two lateral rounded spots on prescutum, two broad longitudinal lines near midline (enclosing a short longitudinal grey line), two rounded spots near wing base at scutum, a medial line and two rounded lateral spots at scutellum; covered with short white setae. Metanotum mostly grey, except for irregular pale areas (mostly around midline on scutum), covered with few short white setae. Pterothoracic pleura grey to brown with irregular pale marks between sclerites; covered with many long white setae; Miller’s organ present.

Wings ( Fig. 65c ): Rather narrow with tip acute; anterior and posterior Banksian lines present in both wings; veins mostly pale, but some veins intercalated with brown spots, beset with short black setae. Male pilula axillaris present. Forewing membrane mostly hyaline with small brown marks concentrated at tip and posterior margin; pterostigma white; CuA fork located near RP origin; three presectoral crossveins; subcostal veinlets simple; some specimens with costal area large with some veinlets sinuous; prefork area wider than posterior area, with many longitudinal crossveins. Hind wing membrane mostly hyaline except for rhegmal area brown infuscated; MP fork located near RP origin; subcostal veinlets simple; one presectoral crossvein.

Legs ( Figs. 65 a–b): All pairs of legs, femur elongate (> 2x length of coxa); tibia, femur and tarsi about same size; tibial spurs absent, but some specimens with a unique very short spur, particularly on metaleg; T3 and T4 about same size, T2 slightly longer than T3, T1 and T5 about same size, but twice longer than T2; claws about half of T5 length; coxa, trochanter, femur and tibia set with white setae, mainly at femur where setae are longer and numerous; femur, tibia and tarsi set with black setae, and scattered long black setae, mainly at femur apex; T5 ventrally with two rows of thick, long, black setae. Proleg sense hair short, slightly longer than femur width; tibia with antennal cleaning setae ventroapically; coxa, trochanter and femur with external surface light brown and internal pale, tibia posteriorly pale but anteriorly light brown with a pale subbasal mark; tarsi mostly pale. Mesoleg with colour pattern similar to proleg, except for tibia and femur with brown areas are larger. Metaleg with femur and tibia slightly longer than in other legs; colour pattern similar to mesoleg, except for tibia pale with base brown.

Abdomen: Mostly grey with scattered pale marks, mainly on sternites medial areas and tergites distal margins. Beset with short white setae.

Male Terminalia ( Figs. 66 a–c): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded in lateral view, set with elongate black setae. 9 th Sternite short, with posterior margin rounded in ventral view; set with elongate black setae. Gonarcus broad, arched, with anterior margin thin and curved, in lateral and posterior view. Mediuncus absent. Paramere broad in lateral view, with an elongate apical hook curving downwards.

Female Terminalia ( Figs. 66 d–e): Ectoproct posterior margin rounded, covered with thin elongate setae. Lateral gonapophyses rounded, much smaller than ectoproct, set with few thickened setae. 7 th sternite small, with distal margin sclerotized and with a small medial concavity in ventral view; covered with black setae. Pregenital plate a transverse bar, in ventral view. Posterior gonapophyses broad, long, with tip recurved; covered with long black setae, and with few cavisetae dorsoapically. 9 th tergite with a long membranous digitiform process. Anterior gonapophyses absent. Ventral membrane gonapophyseal plates present.

Distribution ( Fig. 60 ). Australia: NT, QLD, WA. Known from scattered records across northern Australia.

Adult activity period. Records for October to January.

Biology. Unknown, larva unknown.

Name-bearing type. Austrogymnocnemia pallida : Holotype (by original designation), female, MVM, examined. Type locality: Australia, Northern Territory, Alice Springs (town). From original description: “ Holotype, ♀, Northern Territory, Alice Springs, 27.xi.1954, WH ( MVM)”. Condition: good, meso and metalegs missing, terminalia dissected.

Additional material examined (18♂, 34♀). AUSTRALIA: Northern Territory: Alice Springs : 19.xi.1989, R.B. Miller (2♀, TAMU; 3♀, FSCA) ; x.1966 (1♀, ANIC) ; xi.1954 (1♂ PT, MVM) ; Tilmouth Well: Napperby Creek , 22:48:40S–132:35:40E, 13.i.2001, M.S. & B.J. Moulds (1♂, 1♀, AMSA) ; Queensland: Bollon : x.1957 (1♀, ANIC) ; Lawn Hill: Adels Grove , W of Gregory Downs, 19.xii.1986, M.S. & B.J. Moulds (1♂, 2♀, AMSA) ; 110 km NW of Mount Isa , 27.xi.1990, at light, W.F. Chamberlian (1♂, FSCA) ; xi.1940 (1♀, QMBA) ; Western Australia: Fitzroy Crossing: Derby-Broome road, 3.xi.1978, M.S. & B.J. Moulds (2♂, 6♀, AMSA) ; 70 air km WWNW of Gascoyne Junction , 24.87559 oS– 114.55150 oE ± 90m, 21.xii.2012, M.V., Oswald, Diehl & Machado, Oswald #613 (3♂, 3♀, TAMU) ; Langi Crossing : x.1960 (2♀ FSCA) ; Marble Bar : i.1914 (1♀, ANIC) ; Millstream : x.1970 (1♂, 2♀, ANIC) ; highway 136, 13 air km NENE of Nanutarra Roadhouse , 22.47124 oS– 115.60040 oE ± 70m, 22.xii.2012, M.V., Oswald, Diehl & Machado, Oswald #614 (4♂, 2♀, TAMU) ; Highway 138, 9 air km EENE of Newman , 520m, 23.34699 oS– 119.82137 oE ± 80m, 25.xii.2012, M.V., Oswald, Diehl & Machado, Oswald #616 (2♂, 2♀, TAMU) ; Tu- nel Creek : E of Derby, 1.xi.1978, M.S. & B.J. Moulds (2♂, 5♀, AMSA) ; Wittennom : xi.1970 (2♂, ANIC) .

Comments. Large specimens of Austrogymnocnemia pallida are among the largest specimens in the bipunctata species group, and its wings are more acute than those in the other species. The body and wing colour pattern clearly distinguish this species from the other species in the genus. For phylogenetic relationships see Fig. 4 .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Strict consensus tree of morphology-based parsimony analysis of species belonging to the former subtribe Periclystina (ingroup, names in black), and outgroups (names in red). Former Glenoleon species are shown on blue branches, former Austrogymnocnemia species on green branches. Numbers above branches are Bremer support values; numbers below branches are bootstrap values (shown where>50%).

FIGURE 60. Distribution of Austrogymnocnemia species (part).

FIGURE 65. Austrogymnocnemia pallida: a) head, anterior; b) head and thorax, dorsal; c) wings, dorsal.

FIGURE 66. Austrogymnocnemia pallida: male: a) terminalia, lateral; b) genitalia, lateral; c) genitalia, posterior; female: d) terminalia, lateral; e) 7th sternite and pregenital plate, ventral. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.