Palpares zebratus Rambur, 1842

Hassan, Muhammad Asghar, Akhtar, Saleem, Zheng, Yuchen & Liu, Xingyue, 2023, Taxonomic notes on the antlion tribe Palparini Banks (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) from Pakistan, Zootaxa 5256 (6), pp. 565-588 : 574-579

Palpares zebratus Rambur, 1842

( Figs 6–11 )

Palpares zebratus Rambur, 1842: 371 . Type locality: India (Tamil Nadu: Pondicherry). Holotype male.

Palpares trichogaster Navás, 1913: 481 . Type locality: Pakistan (Sindh: Karachi, Manora ). Holotype male. syn. nov.

Palpares nobilis Navás, 1931: 77 . Type locality: India. Holotype female. Synonymized by Giacomino & Ábrahám, 2018: 87.

Diagnosis. Palpares zebratus is similar to Palpares cephalotes in external morphology and wing markings, but can be distinguished by short white setae only limited to tergites 1–2 and proximal 1/3 of tergite 3 ( Fig. 7A–B ). P. cephalotes has tergites 1–5 in males densely covered with long white setae ( El Hamouly et al. 2019; fig. 3f), but the abdomen of P. zebratus is missing in the type photographs provided by Giacomino & Ábrahám (2018; fig. 1). This diagnosis is based on male individuals of Palpares trichogaster , a new synonym of P. zebratus in present study.

Measurement (♁n=1). Forewing length 65.0 mm, width 18.1 mm; hindwing length 60.0 mm, width 16.5 mm; body length 79.0 mm.

Redescription. Head wider than prothorax ( Fig. 7B–C ). Face yellow with short white setae. Frons brownish yellow. Vertex raised, with median longitudinal suture, brownish yellow, with a median brownish marking, narrow at posterior margin, covered with short white setae. Antenna missing in the studied and type species. Scape and pedicel brownish, with short black and white setae. Clypeus and labrum yellow with short white setae. Maxillary and labial palps brownish yellow. Labial palp large, palpimacula clavate, covered with short brown setae, sensory slit reaching apex ( Fig. 7D–F ).

Thorax ( Fig. 7A ). Prothorax short, much broader than long, pronotum yellow with a median and lateral brownish stripe, covered with long white setae, except posterior margin of median black stripe with black setae. Mesoand metathorax brown with yellow stripes, densely covered with yellow long fine setae. Mesoprescutum brown, with lateral margins yellow; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum brown with a pair of narrow median yellow stripes; metaprescutum brown, metascutum yellow with a median brownish longitudinal stripe, metascutellum brown with hind margin yellow; meso- and metathorax covered with brownish setae, laterally with long dense white setae. Pleurite densely covered with long white setae ( Fig. 8A–B ).

Wings ( Fig. 9 ). Narrow at base, wider towards apex; highly diffused brown markings present; veins mainly covered with short black setae; forewing slightly longer than hindwing.

Forewing. Costal, apical and hind margins with many irregular brown markings, particularly on crossveins; three distinct pale brown markings present; basal marking linear; second marking quadrate, divided at MA, posterior marking with irregular shape; third marking oblique at apical margin. Longitudinal veins dark brown; base of C brownish yellow; Sc with alternating yellow and brown sections after first marking; Rs and MA brownish yellow; base of Cu brownish yellow; anterior fork of CuA with alternating brown and yellow sections; CuP slightly yellow at base and apex; 1A–3A with alternating brown and yellow sections. Crossveins yellow. Rs arises just beyond cubital fork; 6–8 presectoral crossveins and one or two crossveins proximal to origin of Rs biaereolated.

Hindwing. Costal, apical and hind margins with many irregular markings; five prominent pale brown markings present; basal marking of variable shape, circular at base, slightly narrow at recurrent vein, followed by slightly curved posterior margin; second, third and fourth markings are originated from R, not reaching at hind margins; second marking variable in shape; third marking quadrate proximad basal half, distinctly curved at distal half; fourth marking divided into two independent circular markings; apical marking with two independent parallel spots, posterior marking reaching at apical margin. Longitudinal veins mainly dark brown; base of C brownish yellow; Sc with alternating brown and yellow sections after second marking; Rs and MA brownish yellow; MP brownish yellow at base, anterior branch with alternating brown and yellow sections; Rv brownish yellow apically; CuA proximally brownish yellow; CuP slightly yellow at proximal and distal margin; distal half of 1A–3A light yellow, covered with distinct black setae, proximal to 3A with some long white setae. Rs arises at same level to MP fork; two presectoral crossveins, basal crossvein proximal to origin of Rs biaereolated ( Fig. 9 ). Pilula axillaris dark brown.

Legs ( Fig. 8A–B ). Brownish, densely covered with short white and long black setae; coxa with long white setae; tibial spurs and pretarsal claws dark brown; tibial spurs nearly equal to Ta 3 in foreleg, extending to just beyond Ta 2 in mid and hind leg; Ta1–Ta4 short, Ta5 long, approximately equal to combined length of Ta1–Ta4.

Abdomen ( Fig. 6A–B ). Brownish, tergites 1–2 covered with long white setae; tergite 3 with mixed short white, and long black setae; tergites 4–8 with short black setae; sternite 1 covered with long white setae; sternite 2 with wholly short white setae or at proximal 1/3 with a few short black setae; sternites 3-6 with short black setae.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 10A–E ). Tergite 9 subquadrate, sternite 9 with round apex; ectoprocts moderately curved dorsad at base, base of ectoprocts with three stout black setae on short tubercle; gonocoxites 9 closely spaced, with obtuse apex and basal projection; gonarcal bulla present.

Material examined. PAKISTAN. Islamabad Capital Territory, 1♁, 9.viii.1989, PMNH ( C# 4117 ), leg. Faiz ( PMNH) .

Bibliography. Navás (1913: 481) described Palpares trichogaster from Karachi, Manora, Sindh based on a single male specimen, and provided the morphological description and forewing illustration. Herein we synonymized P. trichogaster with P. zebratus . Whittington (2002: 385) listed P. zebratus , and Stange (2004: 60) and Hassan et al. (2019: 515) included both P. zebratus and P. trichogaster in their catalogue of Neuropterida from Pakistan.

Distribution. Pakistan. Sindh province, District Karachi;—India ( Whittington 2002; Stange 2004; Hassan et al. 2019; Oswald 2021).

Remarks. Banks (1913) in a review of the African and Indian Palpares species considered P. infimus (Walker) as a junior synonym of P. patiens (Walker) , largely based on the similarity in wing markings. Most recently, Giacomino & Ábrahám (2018) considered P. infimus , P. patiens , and P. nobilis as junior synonyms of P. zebratus based on similar wing markings in their type species. However, these synonyms are redefined based on the prominent second to fifth pale brown markings on the hindwing reaching at apex in P. infimus ( Giacomino & Ábrahám 2018: fig. 3; Banks 1913: fig. 10) and P. patiens ( Banks 1913: fig. 12) or not reaching at apex in P. zebratus ( Banks 1913: fig. 28; Giacomino & Ábrahám 2018: fig. 1) and P. trichogaster ( Fig. 8 ). After careful comparisons of the photographs of type specimen of P. trichogaster at NHML, recent work of P. infimus , P. nobilis and P. zebratus by Giacomino & Ábrahám (2018), and new materials from Pakistan, we proposed the following new taxonomic changes: P. patiens should be a valid species and P. infimus retained its junior synonym (after Banks 1913), and P. trichogaster is considered as a new synonym of P. zebratus .

Figures

FIGURE 6. Palpares zebratus Rambur. A. Male habitus from Pakistan; B. Palpares trichogaster Navás, holotype male. Scale bar: 10 mm.

FIGURE 7. Palpares zebratus Rambur. A. Thorax, dorsal view; B. Face, frontal view; C. Head and pronotum, dorsal view; D. Labial palp, lateral view; E. Palpimacula, lateral view; F. Same, dorsal view; G. Face, frontal view of male holotype. Scale bar: 2.0 mm (A–C).

FIGURE 8. Palpares zebratus Rambur. A. Lateral habitus of male holotype; B. Lateral habitus, male from Pakistan. Scale bar: 2.0 mm (B).

FIGURE 9. Palpares zebratus Rambur. Male. Right fore and hindwing. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 10. Palpares zebratus Rambur.A. Male genitalia, lateral view; B. Male sternite 9; C. Gonocoxites gx 9 + gx 11, dorsal view; D. Gonocoxites gx 9 + gx 11, ventral view; E. Gonocoxites gx 9 + gx 11, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 11. Regional distribution map of Palpares zebratus Rambur in Pakistan.