Disparomitus spatula Michel 2019, n. sp.
Creators: name: Michel, Bruno
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Neuroptera
Ascalaphidae
Disparomitus
Disparomitus spatula

description: Disparomitus spatula n. sp.
(Figs 64–70, 93, 126–128, 135, 136)
Diagnosis. Wing length (mm): ♂ forewing 24–26, hind wing 22–23; ♀ forewing 26–29, hind wing 23–26. Male unmistakable with abdominal segments 7 and 8 strongly expanded laterally (Fig. 64). General coloration dark brown with reddish brown markings. Mesoprescutum with two discal brown reddish dots. Female (Fig. 68) with first abdominal tergite saddle-shaped bearing slender erect setae (Figs 69, 70).
Description. Male. Head. Labrum and clypeus yellowish. Face and genae pinkish brown. Frons with white setae and a small lateral tuft of black setae. Base of antennae and vertex with white and black mixed setae. Setae of dorsal part of vertex black. Thorax (Fig. 93). Pronotum brown reddish and dark brown. Mesonotum: prescutum dark brown with two discal brown reddish dots of variable size. Mesoscutum with two reddish brown longitudinal stripes separated by a narrow dark brown line. Mesoscutellum with two lateral reddish brown markings. Metanotum: scutellum with two reddish brown markings. Dorsal erect setae slender and black. Legs. Yellowish with two dorso-transverse dark lines sometimes visible on femur and tibia. Wings. Membrane hyaline. Costal and subcostal veins yellowish, remaining longitudinal veins brown reddish. Crossveins black. Abdomen (Figs 64–67). First tergite saddle-shaped, dark brown with the posterior surface lighter in colour. Dorsal surface with black stout long erect setae and few anterior more slender setae (Figs 65, 66). Tergite II with a reddish brown marking on anterior half included a more or less visible dark brown spot (Fig. 64). Lateral margins bordered with small black spines. Tergites III to VI like tergite II but devoid of lateral black spines. Tergite VII and VIII with two reddish brown markings, more or less merged medially. Ectoprocts of male triangular in posterior view, slightly laterally developed in the lower part. Sternite III with a median longitudinal dark brown line, enlarged along the anterior margin. This line is narrowed towards the middle and does not reach the posterior margin (Fig. 67). Sternites IV to VI with the same colouration as sternite II but the median line is lighter in colour and only the anterior margin is bordered with dark brown. Sternites VII and VIII strongly developed laterally, largely bordered with yellowish along posterior margin with the disc darker (Fig. 67). Intersegmental membrane expanded laterally with dorsal stigmata (Fig. 64). Subgenital pate yellowish with apical white setae bordered on each side by a tuft of black setae. Male genitalia. Gonarcus-parameres complex as in figures 126–128. Female. Same coloration as male. First abdominal tergite saddle-shaped with slender black erect setae (Figs 68–70).
Material examined (13 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀). Holotype Ƌ. MALI, Natiékoura, around 20 km West of Sikasso, 11.322383/-5.698398, alt. 413 m, 26.ii.1997, around 04h 30 p. m., on a vertical face of a lateritic stone, B. Michel leg. (Cirad-CBGP) (Fig. 64). Paratypes. MALI: s ame locality as holotype, 1 ♂ 15.iii.1997; 1 ♂ 22.ii.1997; 2 ♀♀ 25.ii.1997; 1 ♂ 2 ♀♀ 26.ii.1997; 4 ♂♂ 1 ♀ 27.ii.1997; 1 ♀ 04.iii.1998; 1 ♂ 07.iv.1997; 1 ♂ 07.iv.1998; 1 ♀ 17.iv.1997; 1 ♂ 08.v.1997; 1 ♂ 1 ♀ 24.v.1998; 1 ♂ Sikasso, 11.322383/-5.698398, alt. 413 m, 25.iv.1997, attracted to light (all B. Michel leg., Cirad-CBGP).
Distribution. Known only from southern Mali (Fig. 139).
Ecology and Behavior. D. spatula lives in shrubby savanna (Fig. 137). Its lateritic stone colour makes the detection of resting specimens difficult (Fig. 138). Adults occur during the dry season from the end of February to end of May. (Michel & Cadet 2009). The males have the enlarged part of the abdomen sometimes covered with an intense white pruinosity. When resting on stone the male can twist its abdomen to display this white surface that appears like a white dot on the dark background. This behavior could represent a visual signal for attracting conspecific females. However, without more precise field observation the function of this behavior remains uncertain (Michel & Akoudjin 2013).
Etymology. The epithet spatula (noun in apposition, from Latin, a broad, flat piece) refers to the shape of the abdomen of the male that is strongly enlarged.
description: Published as part of Michel, Bruno, 2019, Revision of the genus Disparomitus van der Weele, 1909 with descriptions of four new species (Neuroptera, Ascalaphidae), pp. 1-39 in Zootaxa 4551 (1) on pages 24-27, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4551.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2622492