Ipsvicia jonesi Tillyard, 1919

Lambkin, Kevin J., 2020, Revision of the Ipsviciidae of the Late Triassic of Queensland (Hemiptera Cicadomorpha: Scytinopteroidea), Zootaxa 4860 (4), pp. 503-520 : 507-511

Ipsvicia jonesi Tillyard, 1919

( Figs 1–32 )

Ipsvicia jonesi Tillyard, 1919a: 879–881 , text-fig. 13; Tillyard, 1923: 483, 493, text-fig. 90, plate xliii, fig. 38; Tillyard & Dunstan, 1924: frontispiece; Tillyard 1926: fig. ZA7; Handlirsch, 1939: 9, 16; Evans, 1956: 248–249, figs 30A, 30C; Becker- Migdisova, 1962a: figs. 542A, 542B; China 1962: 158; Evans, 1963: 17–20, figs 1(a), 1(b), plate 1C; Evans, 1964: 180; Carpenter, 1992: 232; Jell, 2004: 45, 2 unnumbered figs.

Ipsvicia maculata Tillyard, 1919a: 881–883 , text-fig. 14; Tillyard, 1923: 483; Handlirsch, 1939: 9, 16; Evans, 1956: 248; Evans, 1963: 17; Jell, 2004: 45. Syn. nov.

Ipsvicia acutipennis Tillyard, 1919a: 883–884 , text-fig. 15; Tillyard, 1923: 484; Handlirsch, 1939: 9, 16; Evans, 1956: 248; Evans, 1963: 17; Jell, 2004: 45. Syn. nov.

Material. Holotype tegmen GSQ122a, holotype tegmen of Ipsvicia maculata GSQ 208a, holotype tegmen of Ipsvicia acutipennis GSQ 204a/b, Denmark Hill. Fifty-four additional specimens: Denmark Hill: tegmen GSQ226, hind wing GSQ285a, tegmina + hind wing GSQ340a ( Tillyard 1923); Dinmore: fragmentary body specimens: QM- F60157 a/b, QMF60158–60160, ACCI.63, I.69; tegmina: QMF60161a/b–60165a/b, QMF60166–60194, ACCI.10, I.59, I.60, I.61, I.62a/b, I.64, I.170; tegmen and part hindwing: ACCI.171; clavi: QMF60195a/b, 60196; hind wing: QMF197a/b. Possible ipsviciid nymph, QMF60198.

Description. Tegmen 14.3–21.7 mm long (holotype 15.4 (estimate)), 3.9–6.5 mm wide (holotype 4.8), length/ width 2.8–3.4; both shape and venation of apex ( Figs 11–16 ), and shape and pattern of finely tuberculate patches ( Figs 17–32 ), highly variable, with no two specimens the same; patches of fine tubercles darkly shaded, rest of tegmen either mottled with darker and paler areas, or entirely pale.

Notes. Tillyard distinguished his I. maculata and I. acutipennis from the type species on differences in tegmen size, shape, apical venation, and pattern of the patches of fine tubercles. All the differences, however, fall within the range of the highly variable tegmen of I. jonesi . Tillyard gave the length measurement of the holotype as 14.2 mm which seems to be of the specimen (which lacks its extreme base) rather than that of total length, estimated herein as 15.4 mm. The apical venation of the holotype is poorly preserved as alluded to in Tillyard’s notional representation of it as dotted lines in his original figure ( Tillyard 1919a, text-fig. 13). This figure has been much reproduced (e.g., Tillyard 1926; Evans 1956, 1963; Becker-Migdisova 1962a; Kukalová-Peck 1991; Carpenter 1992, fig.149.2a) but is inaccurate in showing CuA as two-branched, and three rather than two R-M crossveins. It is also of note that the weakly developed dSc was not detected by Tillyard.

The isolated hind wings match those associated with the tegmina of I. jonesi in specimen GSQ340a as well as the hind wings partly exposed under the tegmina in some of the fragmentary body specimens, and on this basis they are therefore ascribed to I. jonesi . None of the specimens of Ipsviciopsis preserve the hind wings.

The naming of Ipsvicia jonesi followed a quite peripatetic historical pathway. Queensland Government Geologist, Benjamin Dunstan, who pioneered the collection of the Denmark Hill specimens and promoted their description and publication, encouraged Tillyard to name the genus “Jonesia”, with type species “Jonesia triassica”, in the new family “Jonesiidae”, in honour of the Queensland Minister for Mines at the time, Alfred James Jones. It was Dunstan’s belief that “the offer of this name will result in more fossils being got from Ipswich” ( Tillyard 1919b), although Tillyard was not happy with the suggestion, asking Dunstan in July 1919 “Are you still desirous of inflicting the awful name Jonesia on some of your loveliest fossils?” ( Tillyard 1919b). Tillyard apparently acquiesced and informed Dunstan on 23 October 1919 that he would write to the Minister for permission to use the Minister’s name and “take the chance to emphasise the value of the Ipswich beds, and express a hope that more material may be got out of them” ( Tillyard 1919c). The final decision on the name was apparently taken very soon after (the paper was published on 26 November 1919) by A. B. Walkom, editor of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, as recorded by Tillyard in March 1920 —“I hope Mr A. J. Jones will be satisfied with Ipsvicia jonesi . Dr Walkom made the decision in my absence; it seems a good one” ( Tillyard 1920). There was also a mysterious additional twist in the naming story – it seems that the family name “Willcoxiidae” rather than Ipsviciidae , was also a possibility – this manuscript name appearing in error on page 865 of the published paper ( Tillyard 1919a), Tillyard being unable to correct the final proofs ( Tillyard 1920). W.T Willcox was a geologist on Dunstan’s staff “who assisted in opening up the [ Denmark Hill] quarry—and who found many of the type specimens” ( Dunstan 1923, p. 63).

Figures

FIGURES 1–3. Ipsvicia jonesi Tillyard, tegmen: 1, QMF60166; 2, composite of QMF60175, QMF60187 (base of clavus), QMF60163a (marginal membrane at apex of M) and QMF60166; 3, QMF60168 (mirrored); bc, basal cell; cf, costal fracture; cv, costal veinlets.

FIGURES 4–6. Ipsvicia jonesi Tillyard: 4, tegmen, QMF60167 (mirrored); 5, 6 hind wing: 5, QMF60197a (mirrored); 6, composite of QMF60159 (apex), ACCI.171 (details of anal area) and QMF60197a/b.

FIGURES 7–10. Ipsvicia jonesi Tillyard, body specimens: 7, QMF60157a; 8, QMF60158; 9, QMF60159; 10, ACCI.69.

FIGURES 11–16. Ipsvicia jonesi Tillyard, tegmen apex (excluding marginal membrane), variation in shape and venation, all QMF except Fig. 16: 11, 60164a; 12, 60174; 13, 60189; 14, 60170; 15, 60188; 16, ACCI.62a.

FIGURES 17–32. Ipsvicia jonesi Tillyard, basal M and CuA cells of tegmen, to illustrate variation in shape and pattern of patches of fine tubercles, all QMF except Figs 23, 31: 17, 60172; 18, 60168; 19, 60169; 20, 60164a; 21, 60188; 22, 60179; 23, ACCI.170; 24, 60181; 25, 60166; 26, 60189; 27, 60167; 28, 60191; 29, 60175; 30, 60185; 31, ACCI.69; 32, 60171.